But this food policy mainly impacts multicultural organizations on campus, who want to provide authentic cultural food for events or as a method of fundraising. The food policy creates a tedious process in attempting to outsource food production to a business other than BUDS.

With few exceptions, all food must be provided by BUDS, and all cuisine-related requests are required, at the very least, to be presented to BUDS. As described by the food policy, “All food and beverages served on campus must be provided through BUDS, with limited exceptions, such as an event where food and beverage cost totals under $200, or in the case where specialty food or support of local establishments is in the best interest of the University.”

If an organization wants to cater food on campus that costs more than $200, they must pass the service request through BUDS, and BUDS can deny the request for the organization to be able to use an alternative provider. Even after BUDS rejects the contract, the organization and their chosen caterers must adhere to a strict protocol to make sure the food is securely prepped and delivered. A stated criterion is posted on the University food policy website, outlining that businesses must show proof of insurance and a business license. Additionally, there is a delivery requirement for businesses within a 75-mile radius of campus.

Organizations who want to use food as a method of fundraising also must comply with the rules, which state groups are only allowed to sell prepackaged foods and low-risk food items. This again sets a barrier for multicultural organizations who use the sale of cultural cuisines, such as pastelitos or mangu, as a source of revenue. When complying with the new policy, organizations are left selling items that may not make them a profit, or even allow them to cover the costs of the fundraiser. BU students on campus deserve to have access to something that is a profound part of their culture. Food is a method in which students of cultural communities reconnect with their distant communities.

Failure to follow these strict guidelines can have serious repercussions. As described in the policy, the highest penalty could be expulsion from the University. Organizations that violate the rules could see sanctions imposed on them. The policy states, “For students, this may include charges under the Code of Student Conduct and sanctions up to and including suspension or expulsion from the University.” There is clearly a desire by both BUDS and the University that students adhere to the guidelines presented by the food policy.

If we look at the food in the dining hall, there’s a vast array of cuisines from a multitude of cultures. However, all of this food is a westernized take on authentic ethnic cuisine, which is an integral pillar of many cultures. If a multicultural organization wants food that realistically represents food that comes from their culture, they can’t easily access it because of BU’s restrictive policies on food.

While there is a “simple” way around this process, it would be at the cost of a great inconvenience. An organization that is throwing an event could host the event off-campus, therefore out of BUDS’ jurisdiction. But this would remove the convenience that hosting an event on campus comes with, particularly for younger students, who live on campus and might have difficulty accessing an off-campus event. Unintentionally, the food policy has created a burden on all students who want to eat genuine ethnic food and on multicultural organizations that use food as a source of income.

The event featured vocal, dance and spoken word performances and cultural cuisine. Students were also honored for their work toward mentorship and leadership within the local community.

This year’s theme, “Rosé Palais,” was reflected in the event’s location, a mansion filled with blue, pink, white and orange decor. The banquet featured a dessert station of cupcakes, fruit and cotton candy, and the night was filled with elegance and high energy.

Lauren Millwood, a sophomore majoring in philosophy, politics and law, opened the show with her rendition of The Fugees’ “Killing Me Softly.” Millwood serenaded the crowd as she strummed her guitar under the somber pink light, and followed up the song with a cover of Summer Walker’s “Come Thru.” As she sang, the crowd erupted into applause.

The Black Dance Repertoire graced the stage with dance selections, featuring music from Ciara, Drake and Bhad Bhabie. In the style of hip-hop, dancers gave an enthusiastic performance.

JUMP continued its annual skit, which is acted out by its e-board members. This year’s skit focused on breaking the glass ceiling of Black women in coding. The story followed Jade, a skilled coder who develops an app that connects youth to mentors across the New York City area. Jade experiences many obstacles of breaking into the industry, from struggling to get investors to give her a chance to being betrayed by her best friend. In the end, she prevails and successfully breaks the glass ceiling.

Later, Kendra Gourgue, a sophomore double-majoring in human development and English, ignited the crowd with her poem, “The Kids.”

“Instead, let’s explore the joy of the children that may not be on TV, but are the only children I’ve ever seen filled with promise, hopes so high,” she said. “You can teach anything but you can’t learn that drive because for these kids it’s inside.”

The banquet leads up to JUMP Nation’s annual leadership conference, titled “JUMP-ing Into College: A Pathway to Success,” which provides high school students an opportunity to be exposed to higher education through workshops and forums. The conference will be held on Saturday, Nov. 9.

Clearly, Skormin found the image very humorous because he felt the need to post it on his personal Facebook account, for all his fellow “comedic” friends to see. But Skormin made a bad decision, even though he clearly felt free to do so.

Obviously offended, many students, staff and faculty have criticized Skormin’s actions. But this isn’t the first time Skormin has faced controversy. In March 2018, Skormin replied to an email regarding an event being held by The National Society of Black Engineers with a retort saying, “Please let me know about a dinner of the National Society of White Engineers. Thank you.” Although he did apologize for his comment, that doesn’t make it alright, especially since anyone with a basic level of intelligence would know how deeply ignorant a comment like that is.

Skormin says he just wants to see us laugh. But offensive pictures are not a good way to spread humor, and nor is bringing up the moot point of no one protesting women who wear ripped jeans, as Skormin did when he was called out on his racist behavior.

If he was seriously apologetic, he wouldn’t also say that people are entitled to wear whatever they feel like as long as it doesn’t offend others, even though all the clothes he wore in the photo are clearly offensive to multiple groups.

It’s a terrifying feeling knowing that professors at your school find topics like these comical. It upsets me to know that professors like Skormin can show their little racist — oh wait, I mean “comedic” — tendencies and still have a job; because not everyone deserves a second chance.

People of color at this school often feel excluded and ignored on this campus. Letting Skormin slide off his second offense feels like a slap to the face of those students, especially for students of color in engineering who are already in a field that lacks diversity. They have to sit in a class being taught by a man who finds humor in “REDNECK JEW” shirts and Confederate flag hats. Skormin himself is a racist and a joke for posting such a clearly offensive picture and then being surprised by the backlash. But maybe we are also jokes because we keep expecting better from a predominantly white institution that has clearly demonstrated it does not really care.

Chance the Rapper is not your typical contemporary hip-hop and R&B artist, mostly because of his transparency about his personal struggles with addiction, poor mental health, his upbringing in Chicago and the importance of family successes in his music. On his social media, he shares pictures, videos and moments with his family, including his beautiful daughter Kensli. And “The Big Day” speaks to his joy as a young Black man from Chicago marrying his sweetheart, with songs like “I Got You (Always and Forever)” that is about his love for his wife or “Eternal,” a song that speaks about the value of monogamous relationships.

However, the main focus of the album, the wedding between him and his longtime sweetheart Kirsten Corley, was not well received by critics. In Rolling Stone, a reviewer blasted it as an album with “about as much tonal variation as a leather-bound wedding photo album.” Similarly, Pitchfork reviewers seemed somewhat unenthused by the project, noting that it “amounts to everything and nothing at the same time.”

But nobody should be surprised about the focus of the album, especially given Chance the Rapper’s deep devotion to his family and his faith. He is not breaking character or style in the album. The better question is, why does that topic rub everyone the wrong way?

Although the idea of Black love, marriage and loving relationships is not new, most men in the music industry have not sung about or celebrated being in love with their wives. The mention of women by men in the music industry has been done in a way that sexualizes and objectifies them — not celebrates the love that they share together. Close followers of Chance the Rapper over the past four years have seen through his music and on his social media that he does not fit the typical male hip-hop and contemporary R&B artist archetype. Especially given he is just 26-years-old, he has shown himself to be nothing less than a person who is constantly changing, learning and growing.

The issue is that consumers put artists into categories. We have expectations for what we think they should be, which puts limitations and pressure on them to be a persona. This creates an image that allows them to put out music that sells, but prevents them from being their authentic selves.

But in order to grow as a community, we need to allow room for more diverse Black male artists that don’t fit the fixed image of the stereotypical hip-hop artist. We still have work to do normalizing Black boy joy in and outside of the media and in the Black community as a whole.

“I don’t really know much about Forex. I feel like it works out for some people and it doesn’t for others, but I also feel like it’s about how much work you put in.”

Lillian Carr, activities coordinator for the African Student Organization and a junior majoring in sociology

“I feel like it’s a scam and it’s like a pyramid scheme, a modern-day version of it.”

Courtney Mitchell, a first-year graduate student studying data analytics

“I think it’s cool that [Forex traders] found their own lane in which they can make money. I’m not gonna hate or bash on them.”

Indiara Jackson, graduate adviser for X-Fact’r Step Team and a first-year graduate student studying social work

“I don’t know a lot about it, but from what I do hear about it, because a lot people don’t really explain it when they are in it, it seems like a whole scam.”

Susan Obatola, a junior majoring in economics

“It has definitely taught me a lot about financial literacy and expanded my knowledge on markets that regular people have access to.”

This year’s show was titled “HBINGCU,” and followed the story of a typical homecoming weekend at a historically black university. The story was divided into different parts of the day as models got ready to enjoy the weekend, and scenes included a pep rally, a halftime show and a football game. The Mandela Room in the University Union, where the event was held, was decorated with vivid green lights and an abundance of multicultural organization banners, which showcased unity.

The opening scene, titled “Wake Up,” showed models beginning their day and getting ready for homecoming events. Models wore pajama pants and silk loungewear designed by Tiamat Fontes as they struck a fierce pose for the camera.

Another scene was dedicated to women of color in business. All of the pieces, which ranged from pantsuits to skirts, were designed by Simone Sullivan, catering to the business casual side of women’s fashion. Although the clothing was meant for a professional environment, many of the pieces were versatile and could be used for nightly outings. Models confidently walked down the runway ready to take on the day, giving women of color a spotlight that deviated from the sexualized images often seen in pop culture.

The halftime show featured performances from Binghamton University’s X-Fact’r Step Team as they engaged in a hard-hitting step battle and the Black Dance Repertoire, which engaged the audience with dances inspired by majorette dancers and featuring music by Beyoncé. In addition to the dancers, a marching band comprised of kids and teenagers from Brooklyn United Music & Arts also performed, breaking into high-energy dances and stick tricks throughout the show.

The high energy from the marching band was contagious and as the night progressed, the audience became invested in the models’ every move.

The football scene featured an all-male cast of color going head-to-head. The clothing in this scene was designed by Jarret Dines and Austin Johnson from their brand Epok. Models sported blue and red tracksuits and athletic shorts as they performed stunts. The segment created a sense of camaraderie and black boy joy as smiles were brought to audiences’ faces.

The closing of the show conveyed the show’s main message. Titled “The Culture,” the last scene demonstrated that even with having descent from Africa in common, we as a community are composed of multifaceted individuals. In this scene, models were able to express their own personalities, walking the runway under different categories. The models got a chance to showcase themselves as opposed to clothing. This scene also catered to the different ethnic identities within the African diaspora for Latinx, African and Caribbean students.

Although we go to a predominantly white Institution, this year’s BSU fashion show reminded all of us that no matter what, we should be proud of our melanated skin. Our community is filled with many talented and multidimensional individuals. We are leaders, creators, artists, game-changers and the future. We will continue to progress and grow as long as we unite and support one another.