With events marking Black History Month at the University of Wyoming in full swing, students may have spotted the Black Student Alliance tabling in the Union to get the word out about its renewed presence on campus.
After a short dormant period following the graduation of most of its executive members, the RSO is back in action hosting a week of events as part of Black History Month to engage the campus community and make itself known to anyone and everyone interested in joining.
BSA President Timberly Vogel, a junior student majoring in Sociology, said she had wanted to find some familiarity after arriving in Wyoming as an outsider from Nashville.
“When I came here, it was a culture shock to walk around and sort of be the only person of color,” Vogel said. “I searched for the BSA, not because I felt like I couldn’t make friends — I just needed a comfort, to be around people who were experiencing the same uncomfortableness or apprehension you feel when you go into situations like that.”
Vogel took initiative to provide that comfort for those who may feel out of place, and the RSO came back online with a restored purpose during the fall semester.
“The main reason we created BSA was to create a stronger sense of ourselves and know ourselves better,” Vogel said.
BSA Vice President Tyra Gutrick, a sophomore majoring in Communication and Journalism, grew up in Cheyenne and has more experience being among Wyoming’s small black minority.
“What we’re going for in BSA is to create a stronger sense of community, especially the black community on campus because we don’t really have a strong connection with those around us who are like us because we’re so used to being different,” Gutrick said.
Vogel and Gutrick agreed that despite issues of belonging, they haven’t encountered direct race-based hostility at UW — at least not personally.
“That’s sort of why I wasn’t super concerned about moving to Wyoming because I’d always heard that people in Wyoming are so nice,” Vogel said. “I can’t speak for other people, but I have heard stories of people being verbally assaulted. Especially during election season, I think that was a contentious time on campus where fears, a lot of emotions were heightened.”
Gutrick said it can still be uncomfortable to be so visually differentiated from, and identified by, other students based on skin color.
“A lot of people don’t know if they’re being insensitive or they don’t know what to say or how to say it, so most people just isolate themselves from that topic,” Gutrick said. “So they kind of just let the professor speak, and most of the time when I’m in class I get a lot of stares, so they expect me to answer the questions and for me to the spokesperson for that topic.”
People of color may come from a broad background of different cultures and nationalities independent of their skin color, but that color still results in experiences most have in common. The clash of individual identity versus the assumptions and stereotypes made by others is something Vogel and Gutrick have both encountered and hope to help other students address and overcome.
“Microaggressions are hard to call out sometimes, because I don’t believe they’re always malicious, it’s an ignorance that I don’t think is willful,” Vogel said. “It’s difficult to navigate, especially depending on the relationship you have with the person.”
As a way of addressing certain issues and making all feel welcome, the BSA is open for anyone and everyone to bring their voices and ideas to the table.
“I think the topics and things we go over and the things we host are appealing to a certain demographic — not racially divided, but a mindset,” Vogel said. “That’s our biggest thing: being able to start conversations that can sometimes be either difficult to start or for some people that it’s not even on their radar to talk about or think about.”
As part of Black History Month, the BSA sponsored a showing and discussion of “Get Out” Tuesday and is hosting several other events this week. A full list of events, culminating in Friday’s History of Hip Hop Dinner and Dance event at the American Heritage Center, can be found on the BSA’s Facebook and RSO pages, as well as UW’s news site.
