Black Empowerment Student Alliance elects its board members

Black Empowerment Student Alliance elects its board members

I am pleased to announce the results from the 2006-2007 Black Empowerment Student Alliance (BESA) elections. These students have been actively involved in a variety of roles and community service activities at UST and in the Twin Cities area. Collectively, the new e-board boasts a mean GPA of 3.2. The new officers are:

Chair/President - Jada Lewis

Co-Chair/Vice President - Shanika Alston

Secretary - Yolonda Rogers

Finance Chair - Martrice Jackson

Co-Finance Chair - Princess Gaye

Community Liaison - Angela Wachira

Sub-Officers (2) - Malik Watkins and Dominique Simonton

Student Adviser - Alisha Gray

BESA’s purpose is to create a support network for all black students on the UST campus. The preamble to the BESA constitution states: “The Black Empowerment Student Alliance will promote the ideals of Pan-Africanism, which is the unification of people of African descent along with gaining a greater awareness of black culture and black presence within the UST community at-large. BESA also will highlight the struggles, aspirations, and victories of black people through celebrations such as: Black History Month, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, the annual Pan-African conference and other events that emphasize academics, political awareness and social consciousness.” Furthermore, the constitution makes it clear that “it is not necessary to be black to be a member of BESA, but it is necessary to share the same ideals and goals of BESA to be a member.”

Please join me in congratulating the new executive members and extending a huge thank you to all current executive board officers for the work they have done to move BESA onward and upward.