BLACK TALKBLACK TALKThe Official Newsletter of the Harvard Black Student Association

In This Issue:

Letter of Welcome...............................pg.1

You Don’t Want to Miss This!......pg. 2

About the

Freshman Black Table......................pg. 3

Words from a past FBT Vice President....................pg. 4

September 2012B

Special Freshman Edition of

Dear Incoming Class of 2016,

I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of our mem-bers, especially the members of the Class of 2016! This year, the BSA will continue to make our community as inclusive as possible, through new collaborations, thought provoking discussions, various community service events – as well as the best social events on campus. BSA will also be very active this election season, promoting civic en-gagement all across Harvard and within the greater black community beyond Harvard’s gates. Although Rush Hour, Apollo Night, the Black and Brilliant Banquet, and Renais-sance Ball will surely provide some of the greatest memo-ries of the year, I hope you will also enjoy and remember the conversations, fellowship, and camaraderie that is truly the foundation of the BSA and the black community at large. Lastly, no matter how hard our board works, the BSA is ultimately what you all make of it. The passion and enthusiasm all our members bring to constantly better the black community is key to making this year a success – I can’t wait to see what we can do this year!

~ Jermaine Heath 2012-2013 BSA President

You Don’t Want to Miss This!

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Calender of Events

Sept. 7

Sept. 5

TBA

Sept. 29

Sept. 20

Sept. 19

Oct. 1

Freshman Wel-come Reception in Holden Chapel3:30pm - 4:30 pm

Rush Hour 4 Party10pm - 11pm

Freshman - Senior Mixerat Queen’s Head Pub

FBT Elections5pm-6pm

Welcome Study Break8pm - 9pm

Freshman Retreat

1st BSA General Meeting7pm - 9pm

BLACKTALK Issue 1, Sept. 2012

 

Freshman WelcomePlease join the members of BSA, Presi-dent Foust, Dean Hammond and addi-tional faculty as we welcome the fresh-man to Harvard College. There will be light refreshment served.

Rush Hour: The Party Join members of the Asian American Brotherhood, Black Men’s Form, BSA and Chinese Student Association for the first party of the year. DJ NIX will be on the 1’s and 2’s.

Freshmen-Senior Wing NightEveryone can bond over some great wings! Come hang out and meet with the class of 2013 over 25-cent wings at the Pub (under Annenberg)

BLACKTALK Issue 1, Sept. 2012

About the Freshman Black TableWhat is the Freshmen Black table?The Freshmen Black Table (FBT) is a sub section of the BSA board made up of six freshmen. It provides freshmen with the option to get directly involved in the Black Community at Harvard (See the September Newsletter for more info on the structure of Harvard’s Black community). The FBT plans events for their fellow freshmen ranging from a retreat that happens during September to various study breaks. The upper-classmen on BSA board will help the members elected to the FBT to plan and execute all of their events. We hope that some of you will run for the Freshmen Black Table, it is a great opportunity to get further involved in the Black Community at Harvard.

Freshmen Black Table PositionsPresidentThe President of the FBT shall set the overall agenda for the FBT and be the visionary for the FBT’s pro-gramming. He/she shall preside over all FBT board and membership meetings. The President shall be the spokesperson of the FBT, and will initiate contact with on-campus leadership, university administration, and students regarding FBT matters. Additionally, the President will serve as Freshmen Representative of the BSA board, thus assuming the responsibilities of a BSA board member. He/She will be expected to attend BSA events as well as board meetings regularly.

Vice-PresidentThe Vice-President shall lend general support to the President and will assist in creating a cohesive agenda

for the FBT. The Vice-President will assume the responsibilities of the President in the absence of the President.

SecretaryThe Secretary shall maintain detailed minutes of board meetings and report them to board members in a timely fashion. The Secretary will also assist in the maintenance of the black2016 listserv as well as the BSA 2016 Facebook group.

TreasurerThe Treasurer shall maintain record all expenses and disbursements from FBT events. He/she will also be responsible for seeking out and securing funding for events from sources such as the Harvard Founda-tion and Harvard Undergraduate Council. He/she is expected to meet with the BSA Treasurer regularly to ensure the FBT is staying within its budget.

Social ChairThe Social Chair shall be responsible for all logistical planning of FBT meetings, events, and trips. He/she will be responsible for coming up with detailed action plans for board members to ensure that all FBT events run smoothly.

Publicity ChairThe Publicity Chair shall be responsible for advertising FBT events to members and the general student body. He/she will be responsible for designing flyers, posters, Facebook groups, and e-mails to inform the member-ship of FBT programming.

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The Freshman Black Table became, for me, a crash course in black life at Harvard. I didn’t

decide to take the timid route and get my feet wet, I dove head first with my eyes, mouth and nose open. I nearly almost drowned, until I realized that I had a whole community lifting me up to the sur-face. Today I have a disproportionately large black friend base, more than I had back at home. I was not at all involved in the black community back at home. Here, I realized the beauty that can come out of such a community and it shaped my growth at Harvard in ways that I cannot even begin to explain. Being the Vice President of the Fresh-man Black Table put me in a position where I was interacting with Dean Hammonds and my future roommate in one breath. I got to fully experi-ence the politics of the college’s administration, as well as the inner workings of throwing events like Apollo Night and Black & Brilliant. The best part about FBT was working closely with the BSA board. They mentored us and guided us; they were always honest and up-front about the role that FBT was playing in the black community, and how we went about it. I truly treasured each of my interactions with these upperclassmen. I took great pride in my color and even began to enhance its contrast. On a regular basis I was thinking about what kind of role we played as black students on a cosmopolitan campus and in the world at large. I didn’t just fall in love with being black, I became

obsessed. I made it my mission to see that I con-tributed 110% to anything I did concerning the black community. The 2011-2012 board made great efforts to see that the class of 2015 formed a strong bond; one that would weather issues far beyond the color of our skin. We organized study breaks and out-ings, for all types of reasons. The main goal was to continue the growth of the black community on Harvard’s campus and I believe we accomplished more than we had set out to. I’m more than proud to say that I’m black; it’s no longer an issue that I skate around. Beyond that I was able to discover so many other layers that I had underneath my skin. It was the black community that showed me how brave I could be, how determined I could become, and how passionately I could feel about people and issues. These people have opened my mind and my heart to the person that I’ve always wanted to become, and there is no amount of attendance or involvement that I could put in that would pay these people back. However, I do hope that I can work with my peers to leave a legacy; one that boasts of love, strength and vision. There are so many shades of black, and our goal was to show that to the Harvard community. Our legacy will be the brilliance that can come from united diversity. This is why I am obsessed with the black commu-nity here on campus; it inspires.

Words From a Former Freshman Black Table Vice President

By Mandi Nyambi

BLACKTALK Issue 1, Sept. 2012

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That’s a Wrap!

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Share Your Talents!Every month, BlackTalk will recognize one student from each class as one of the “Talented Four”. Look for their stories in the monthly newsletter. Nominate yourself or someone else for the talented four; e-mail publications@harvardbsa.com for details.

E-mail us at publications@harvardbsa.com for inquiries, comments, etc. on this month’s newsletter.

Send us pictures, ideas, etc. that you would like to see in future install-ments of BLACKTALK. We love to hear from you!

WWW.HARVARDBSA.COM

Newsletter Edited by Ahsante Bean

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