Black Student Union to hold 22nd annual Heritage Dinner

The Black Student Union will host their 22nd annual heritage dinner on Saturday, Feb. 9. The dinner has been a staple in the Ethnic Student Center’s yearly calendar since the center’s formation in 1991.

This year’s dinner theme is “Breaking the Glass Ceiling.” The club chose this theme to shed light on the roadblocks many African Americans and other people of color must navigate to succeed.

“We’ve highlighted the struggles of people of color in different domains of society and how they’ve overcome their barriers.” said Chelsea Ghant a BSU board member.

To accompany the theme, the club has chosen a quote by Rev. Jesse Jackson, “Now that the ceiling above our dreams has been removed… there are no impossible dreams."

Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. for the dinner, and will end at 9:00 p.m. The dinner will be held in the Multi-Purpose Room in the Viking Union building on Western’s campus, and will cost $10 for students and $12 for the general public.

Each year the Black Student Union Heritage dinner is one of the most widely attended dinners held by an Ethnic Student Center club. The dinner will feature several performers including the Triple Treat Band who will be returning to be dinner’s house band for the third year in a row.

The dinner will also have two keynote speakers: Karen Dade, the new associate dean of Western’s Woodring College of Education, and Tali Hairston, director of the Perkins Center — a
center for reconciliation, leadership training and community development at Seattle Pacific University.

The Ethnic Student Center is home to 15 different ethnic and cultural clubs, including the Black Student Union, Filipino American Student Association, Latino Student Union, and many others. Two new clubs, the Thai Student Association and Japanese Student Association were added this year to the center.

For more information about the event, or for disAbility accommodations, Dylan Koutsky by phone at (360) 650-7273 or by e-mail at AS.ESC.PR@wwu.edu.

For a full calendar of Associated Students events visit: http://www.as.wwu.edu/events/.