Neither rain nor wind stopped approximately 600 students from kicking off the Fall semester with music and burgers at the CMI Welcome Back BBQ. Under the Oakland Center’s pavilion, the Center for Multicultural Initiatives (CMI) and the Association of Black Students (ABS) hosted their first event of the semester to bring the Oakland University community together.
“I was a little anxious, since it’s a rainy day, but it actually turned out a lot better than I thought,” Tyliah Weathersby, ABS vice president, said. “The energy is really great, everyone looks like they’re having a good time, and that always makes me want to have a good time.”
Empty trays of cornbread, burgers and pasta after an afternoon of dancing attested to the enthusiasm of returning and new students on Sept. 3. CMI Senior Director, Omar Brown-El, characterized the event as an “extreme success, even though we had to pivot because of the rain.”
“We don’t think we lost much in terms of participation or just vibe and energy of the event,” Brown-El said. “This is the time for us to kind of, you know, get our synergy together in terms of a family environment, setting a tone for the academic year, knowing that we have a long stretch ahead of us for the fall semester, 15 weeks, and to get off to a good start.”
The BBQ had been cooking since June, when the CMI hosted the Student Leadership Retreat, where leaders of student organizations planned for the Fall.
“We know that this event is like ‘the one’ event, that it’s the first day of school, so it’s top priority,” Weathersby said. “When we [went] to the CMI retreat, we talked to Mr. Brown-El, we talked to Anthony and tried to get things together that way. We broke up the task of what they expected from us and then what they were going to do as well.”
The CMI Director explained that the summer retreat was part of the office’s efforts to expand the reach and impact on students as they return to campus.
“We’ve had some successes in regards to that, by working with some of the student organizations over the summer to help sort of make the connection, bridge the gap between our office and what student organizations are doing,” Brown-El said. “This is not only in terms of their programming, but also academic excellence and just well-being, mentally, physically, emotionally.”
Now a tradition in OU, the BBQ is one of many important milestones achieved by ABS at the university. The group, founded in 1968, not only helped create the CMI but also led campus peace marches in 2015.
“We honor and recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day today, because of the Association of Black Students and the protests that we put on,” Weathersby said. “We maintain these values a lot by really just listening to our students, having general body meetings monthly, allowing them to tell us our grievances and things they enjoy about campus.”
From financial literacy events to career readiness panels, ABS has planned a semester full of opportunities for students to get involved with student organizations and build networks that can advance their careers.
“We are collaborating with the brothers of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated, and we are doing a Back-to-School Survival Guide event for all students,” Weathersby said. “We will have advice for students to help them prepare themselves for this upcoming school year. We’ll be having five to six panelists, as well as alumni, current students and school leaders.”
Also coordinating a semester full of events, the CMI seeks to support students throughout the year.
“As the students are expressing [interest] in spaces like ours, then that gives us some opportunity to position ourselves for additional support that can have a greater impact,” Brown-El said. “The best way to support our office is to continue being champions for global perspective, diverse thoughts, being champions for inclusiveness and belonging, that helps what we do in our office.”
