Laramie, Wyo. (Oct. 12, 2015) — The University of Wyoming Athletics Department along with the UW Black Student Alliance (BSA) recently partnered on a dinner designed to bring members of the black community together to develop new relationships between students, faculty and staff and members of the Laramie community.
Over 150 individuals attended the dinner that was held in War Memorial Fieldhouse on the UW campus.
Among the individuals attending was Jacquelyn Bridgeman, Kepler Professor of Law at the UW College of Law. Bridgeman had this to say about her experience at the dinner, “I thought it was a great event, and I commend the university and in particular athletics and the Black Student Alliance for working to make the University a more welcoming and supportive place for all of our students, faculty, staff, and the greater Laramie community.”
Marlin Holmes, a doctoral student at the University of Wyoming and former president of the UW Black Student Alliance, said, “I think the event was an excellent first step at building a supportive and inclusive community for students of color. Personally, in the days following, the feelings of being connected to a greater whole has been palpable and there are several students and community members I look forward to getting to know on a deeper level.”
“I thought the event was great and had an even better turnout than I expected,” said Kayla Hendrson, UW volleyball student-athlete. “It is great to start forming a community of black athletes, administrators and students from all over campus. I really appreciated that the athletics staff and administrators took the time to put such an excellent event together. I can’t wait to be a part of more events to come.”
One of the individuals involved in planning the initial event was Allen Edwards, assistant men’s basketball coach at the University of Wyoming. Edwards had these comments following the dinner, “My family and I enjoyed the event so much so that we look forward to attending future events. Thanks to Athletics and the BSA for having this event.”
A core committee has been formed, including members of the UW faculty and staff, community members and UW Athletics representatives, to plan future events and to continue the process of building a supportive environment for members of the black community on the University of Wyoming campus and in Laramie.