Iowa State hosts first Black Homecoming Week
Black Homecoming will include an event each day of the week hosted by Black-run organization and will conclude with a tailgate.
This year, Homecoming will include Iowa State’s first-ever Black Homecoming, an effort between black-run student organizations to create a week filled with activities and parties in hopes to unite Black students across campus.
The organizations involved in creating this week are Black Student Alliance, African Student Association, National Society of Black Engineers and National Panhellenic Council.
The hope behind Black Homecoming is to create an environment where Black students feel more involved and comfortable in the community, according to the organizer of Black Homecoming, Joseph Putman, president of Black Student Alliance and a senior in industrial engineering.
“Black students need interaction with other Black students at a Predominantly White Institution (PWI),” Putman said. “If we want an authentically Black experience at a PWI, we, the Black students, need to create that, and, to properly do that, we need to work together.”
Putman hopes holding Black Homecoming can lead to more collaborations with faculty who are Black and hopes it will encourage students who are Black to take control of their experience at Iowa State.
“Black homecoming allows all of the executive boards of larger Black orgs on campus to create a homecoming experience created by Black students, specifically for the Black student population,” Putman said.
Each day of the week features an event hosted by one of the student organizations involved.
“I challenged each org to come up with events that aren’t basic,” Putman said. “Let’s do something that grabs students’ attention.”
Event Lineup
On Tuesday, Family Feud will be hosted by the Panhellenic Council in 0205 Carver Hall from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. At this event, attendees can play the game Family Feud.
Wednesday, the Black Student Alliance will host a ‘Glo Paint Party’ in the Old State Gym from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
On Thursday, students can attend pumpkin bowling hosted by the National Society of Black Engineers from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Central Campus. The event will include a pumpkin 3-point shooting contest and free drinks and desserts.
On Friday, an Afro-skate party hosted by the African Student Association will take place at 6 p.m. in Skateland, located at 5621 Meredith Dr. in Des Moines. The event will have a 70s theme and dress to impress.
Concluding Black Homecoming is a homecoming tailgate on Saturday that begins at noon in the Black Cultural Center.
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Michelle Talbott | Nov 1, 2022 at 11:47 am
Not sure that I would call this the “first” Black Homecoming. BSA and NPHC have historically had events during homecoming week. Love that students always find a way to come together and find space and belonging here at Iowa State.