The Hall Speaks #fallsemester

Chilly Campus

#Kessa

Hey my people,

After today's events I wanted to call a meeting to discuss some possible solutions and actions our group can take at this point. We will be shown respect. And it's about time we got some. Let's meet in the Johnson room in the Union at 4 p.m.

Kessa Daniels
BSA, President
Resident Assistant

Kessa was the first one to arrive to the BSA meeting the next morning. As president, she wanted to make sure the room was arranged appropriately before the meeting began. She'd be at the head of the table along with Traeveon, the vice president. Typically the group's advisor sat in the front with them, but Kessa purposely left out Mr. Brooks. She wanted to do something that should have been done a long time ago, and scared-of-the-man Mr. Brooks wouldn't get it. He'd never allow it.

BSA members began trickling into the large royal board room. Though it was regal in appearance just like the rest of the Union, Kessa knew the group would have preferred meeting in their usual location, the BSA office.

Kessa's toes curled in her shoes, anger cramping her body. She could see the nightmare of the past two days on their faces. No one had to say a word; she knew they were just as pissed, feeling violated and much like farmyard dirt. And according to the resident last night, that was where he thought they belonged. Traeveon gave her a look, one that infused her with power. Like a switch, it helped her feel more at ease. Just being around this group made her feel like she mattered, that her role in this world actually counted for something, and tomorrow they'd all see just how much.

"Thanks everyone for coming," announced Kessa. "So I've had a lot to think about. Some of you know what happened to me last night while I was on duty. But for those of you who don't know, I was verbally assaulted by a resident." Kessa raised her eyebrows, her lips pursed. The incident still ticked her off to think about it, and saying it out loud made her want to hit something. "He called me the n word, and I about lost it. But I know things like this happen at this school all the time and no one does anything about it." She stopped, feeling her throat burn, but she wouldn't let any tears surface. "I think it's about time we should."

A girl named Diamond sat up, her eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully. "Kessa, what do you want to do? I'm down for whatever, I'm tired of this stuff too. It bothers me that these students act like the vandalism was no big deal. I swear, some of them actually think it's funny. Today when I was getting lunch I felt like these girls were making snide comments and laughing at me. I almost busted them in the head for real," she stated, her big eyes expressive and serious.

"True, true," said one of the male members. "I'm still upset about the building that's named after a Klan member. We definitely need to do something about that..."

Kessa nodded, and her eyes narrowed. "Okay then. I know this isn't the sixties, but I feel like it is on this campus sometimes, so I say we do a demonstration. A protest to get people's attention, to tell them that the way we are being treated is unacceptable," said Kessa, emphasizing every syllable in the last word. "Tomorrow is reading day, and as usual everyone will be out on the lawn around lunch to watch the live band. After the band plays, we should do the march."

The sixteen members of the BSA nodded, ready, even if it meant being a bit reckless.

The next day around lunchtime, the BSA members inconspicuously gathered on the lawn while students sprawled out on blankets, enjoying the sounds of the local band. Carefully studying the faces of her faithful BSA followers, Kessa looked to see if she saw any signs of doubt in their eyes. She too was feeling doubtful and in need of any excuse to back out this. Kessa tried to make sense of what they were about to do, and to her, something about the protest seemed like a better idea yesterday. She considered that her actions could have been a bit impulsive. But now, looking at the group and their commit to the cause, she couldn't back down. She couldn't turn back, not now.