Glitz and glamour while fostering a sense of solidarity and resilience. The 6th annual Black Student Union (BSU) gala was a meaningful event hosted on Feb. 22 in Dolan Event Hall filled with speakers, awards and performances. BSU president Blessed Stephen curated a beautiful evening to honor both the legacy and the future of BSU. The gala’s purpose was to celebrate BSU’s amazing accomplishments, and the night called for luxurious dresses and dashing suits.
I had the opportunity to attend the BSU gala this year and speak to many of their remarkable members and allies. The theme changes every year with this year’s being “Enchanted Elegance: A Night of Empowerment and Unity.” The color scheme was navy blue, purple, teal, gold and beige. Each color holds their own special meaning in connection to BSU’s identity.
The Mirror wrote about the color theme last week in the article, “BSU To Host Annual Gala This Saturday.” The article noted that navy blue connects to the community the BSU provides for Black students; purple is associated with empowerment; teal emulates “balance and well-being”; gold alludes “excellence and achievement,”; and lastly beige highlights “inclusivity and accessibility.”
At the gala, I spoke with attendees about their outfit choices. First-year basketball player Cyanne Coe looked gorgeous in her gold gown. Coe shared “It does mean excellence and achievement, but I also think gold makes everyone happy and it brings joy. I chose it for joy. Gold is happening.”
Blue seemed to be a very popular color choice for the gala this year. First-year Ana Aviles, a member of the Latinx Student Union (LSU), wore a stunningly blue dress with gem stones in her hair. She attested to what the BSU gala meant to her. “The BSU gala is so fun. It feels like a community and somewhere we can all be together as a family.”
First-year volleyball player Harlan Wyche stated that “I hope to get more involved with the BSU throughout the years. I chose to wear blue because I never wear this color, so I wanted to take the chance.” She also noted to not underestimate the power of Amazon when you need a dress in a short time span!
Sophomore Seraphina McKay shared, “I chose blue because it matched the theme. I liked that this dress had flowers on it,” matching the enchanted theme. She went into the details about why she chose that blue dress in particular, “I thrifted this dress two years ago,” validating the power of thrifting culture for both its sustainability and uniqueness.
Sophomore Tiara Campbell was the event coordinator for BSU this year. She wore a gorgeous beige dress with a breathtaking flower ruffle sleeve. “I chose this dress because our theme is Enchanted Elegance and I wanted to look like a fairy or a flower.” Campbell was excited to share that her dress was from Fashion Nova. She vocalized why she chose beige specifically as it means “inclusivity and accessibility. Here at Fairfield, we want to be inclusive to everyone. You see how fun a party is when everyone’s here?!… not just one specific race or person.”
Junior Kevin Camy spoke about winning a BSU award in his name. “I never had anything named after me before: The Kevin Camy member of the year award for distinguished service. It was an incredible honor,” he said. “It’s my third year being a part of and supporting BSU.” Kevin also talked about his outfit choice to wear a navy suit. “I figured I’d go all blue. This is my fit for tonight, I’m going to rock it. I have my blazer for any special occasion that I have with my pins. I feel really good tonight.”
Fairfield’s BSU gala this past weekend was definitely one to remember. From speakers to awards, delicious food and good friends, to a rapper and breakdancer, the BSU gala was truly a night of unity and empowerment. The way we dress has power and a voice to symbolize the message we want to share to the world.
Leave a Reply