About 30 students from the KU Black Student Union attended the 28th annual Big 12 Minority Leadership Conference held at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The three-day conference, which is held at the beginning of every year, provides African-American students with workshops, speakers and social events that try to provide students with skills they will need in the future. The conference also included a gospel and step shows. Alicia McDougal, Lenexa senior and president of the KU Black Student Union, took advantage of many of the leadership workshops.

“My goal was to improve my leadership skills,” she said. She also attended the leadership workshops with the officers of the organization. “Whatever they bring back will improve our organization as a whole.”

Some of the speakers who came to the conference included Tricia Rose, professor of American studies at the University of California, Toni Blackman, a poet, and Amon Rashidi, founder of Project Jams, a youth development organization.

Rona Remmie, Kansas City, Mo., sophomore, attended the conference as a delegate and as vice president of the Black Student Union. Remmie focused on the educational aspects of the conference.

She wanted to bring back these ideas and to educate the campus about African-American culture and issues. Students used the conference as an opportunity to get together and discuss the issues that concern them the most at their schools. Some of the issues discussed were minority relationships in predominately white schools and problems of minority retention. McDougal stressed the importance of new students attending the conference.

“I think it’s really important to meet leaders from different schools,” she said. “It’s important for people to network.”

— Edited by Austin Caster