Black United Students Honored By Ohio Senate

On May 1st, the Ohio State Senate honored Kent State’s Black United Students (BUS) for 50 years service to Kent State University and campus communities of Kent and Ravenna.

BUS, a political organization at Kent State, aims to identify relevant issues, advocate and take action on behalf of the black community and students of color, Advisor Mwatabu Okantah said. She says BUS has a long history of activism.

“I accompanied a wonderful group of young people that have worked hard to live up to the activist tradition that BUS has carved out over the years,” Okantah said. “It was a very deep moment. In the 1970s, we would not have been invited to such hallowed space for fear that we would disrupt the place. Fifty years ago, BUS was under surveillance.”

As an alum of Kent State, Okantah has a deep history with the organization. This is his first year as BUS advisor. He says he’s surprised yet proud that the organization has reached a Senator’s office.

State Senator John Eklund said he wanted to recognize the organization for their community service and unvariting faith towards equality and justice, while still managing to be bright students. At the honoring, Eklund stressed the need for BUS and its importance to the KSU community.

 “Their work to demand equity and be a resource to the black community to help them achieve their goals is truly commendable,” Eklund said. “Their voices and opinions are a valuable asset to Ohio as we continue to strive to become a better state.”

The legislation Eklund presented on the Senate floor reads, “ Without question, Black United Students at Kent State University has proven itself to be an advocate for hope and progress in the area. We look with optimism to a future that reflects the success that has been achieved by this exemplary organization.”

The political organization is credited to have started Black History Month. It is the longest standing multicultural organization. They also founded the King Kennedy Community Center, a non-profit organization that aims to help the people of Portage County according to their website.

All members of the BUS Executive Board were present for the honoring. Patrick Ferguson, newly  elected BUS president for the 2019-2020 year, got emotional during the ceremony.

“I love BUS, that much is true, but I never imagined  recognition this big, it just warmed my heart in the moment that people understand that the work of this organization is really making an impact,” Ferguson said.

The mission and philosophy of Black student union organizations should be to help students strive for academic excellence, promote positive images of African-Americans and help students become an integral part of a college community, Okantah said. Many colleges across the nation have some sort of black student union.

These organizations can and often do serve as organizations that allow for leadership development, community involvement, networking and vocational/career support, Okantah said.

“We try and do things on a larger scale,” Ferguson said. “Some (black) student unions focus more on academia,  more focus on justice on campus for their students, we try and focus on everything. We all ourselves the umbrella org because we want students of color to come to us for anything and everything, on campus or off.”

BUS breaks down its group into: programming, academic affairs, greek life, grievances, and historical board. The acknowledgement from the state senate is the first of 50 years.

“We can only go bigger from here. I hope that with this recognition more students on campus will want to participate more and see that we are more than just a club or political organization but that we are really out here making power moves to better our community,” Ferguson said.

In the following years, Ferguson said BUS plans to strengthen its relationship with the senate’s office, continue fighting the good fight on campus, and extend its reach to further parts of Ohio. With a newly elected board, a new advisor, and a new class of freshman coming in BUS is ready to live up to the honor bestowed upon by the Senator.

Ferguson says his main goal next year as newly elected president is to address retention rates of African-American students and develop a deeper trust between the organization and student body at Kent State.

“I’m just telling everyone to show out for us cause there’s no BUS without you,” Ferguson said. “We say it all the time, but it’s true. If we don’t have students of color here, we have nobody to serve. If students of color aren’t coming to us with their issues, it kind of looks like were useless. I want the new masses of students and our current ones to see we are there for them, we have the resources to help them and want to. It’s a family at the end of the day.”

Access to the Senate Resolution 180 is available here.