San José State’s Tower Lawn was the spot for mingling with the community as the Black Leadership and Opportunity Center (BLOC) hosted its fifth annual BLOC Party on Thursday.
The event was filled with music provided by SJSU alumni and DJ Quam Akande, dancing and other activities such as hula hooping.
BLOC Program Coordinator MyShaundriss Watkins said she was very pleased with the event turnout, using this event as a way for people to learn more about what SJSU has to offer.
“I think the event has been very successful,” Watkins said. “Students have come out and learned not only about campus resources but also resources that are here in San José within the local community.”
Some of these resources included free on-campus tutoring organization Peer Connections, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion which focuses on systemic change for all students and baked goods from BLOC Peer Success Ambassador Rosalia Black.
Black said she has her own baking company, RB Desserts, and used this event as an opportunity to promote her custom pastries business.
“It's good exposure for my business, but it’s also good networking for me as a student and as a person,” she said.
The second-year management information systems student also said she enjoyed the community aspect of the event and urges students to come to more events like these.
“I think it is a great thing especially for new students to come out and see what the community has to offer,” she said.
The sense of community seemed to be a big highlight of the event.
Meinliah Kaye, another Peer Success Ambassador for the BLOC shared some more insight on the effect of community on campus.
“I love to get back to my community,” Kaye said. “It’s one thing that I have always been very proud of.”
Multiple African-American organizations came out to show SJSU students what is in store for them. Some of these organizations included the Black Student Union, the Nigerian Students Association and the African American Community Service Agency.
Like Black, Kaye also mentioned the importance of holding events like these on campus for students.
“Most of the time people won’t even know where to look,” Kaye said. “Coming to these kinds of events they show you where to go. They get a chance to see the faces behind the names of these organizations.”
The third-year political and data science double major used the word “umoja” to describe the different clubs and organizations coming together for this event, calling it her favorite part of the event.
“Umoja” is the Swahili word for unity which seemed to be well represented at the BLOC Party, according to The International African American Museum webpage.
“Sometimes, it is difficult for students to go to faculty and staff, but at an event like this, students can see faculty and staff,” Watkins said. “I hope that not only do they hear that we are here to support them, but they feel that we are here to support them.”
