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Part of BSU President Micah Oliver resigns, February 3, 2016

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BSU President Micah Oliver resigns ·
Former VP Colbourne steps into presiden tial role of SA's largest club

KAINA N GUO, THE SPECTRUM

Black Student Union President Micah Oliver speaks at the open forum held on Sept. 23
about the controversial "White Only" and "Black Only" signs.

TORI ROSEMAN
SENIOR FEATURES EDITOR
Micah Oliver has resigned from his position
as Black Student Union (BSU) president.
D eidree Golbourne, formerly BSU's vice
president, has stepped into the role of presi­
dent and on Monday night, BSU unanimous­
ly elected Samirra Felix as its new vice pres­
ident, causing a major shakeup in the execu­
tive board of the club with the largest budget
in the Student Association.
Oliver declined comment about why he
left left his position, but did say he would
eventually be open to speaking to The Spec-

trum.

Golbourne, a junior history major, said
the shakeup would not affect BSU's plans
for the semester, including events like Black
Explosion and Black Ice.
"It's an internal change that won't impact
any events we're holding," Golbourne said.
Oliver, a senior business major, and BSU
were particularly active on campus last se­
mester after the ''White Only" art project
controversy. The organization held open
forums to discuss the signs, issued a public
statement, protested President Satish Tripa­
thi' annual address and, along with other
campus organizations, met with university

leaders about a potential policy on display­
ing art in public spaces on campus.
Toward the end of the last semester, Ol­
iver received what unive,rsity officials called
a racist and discriminatory letter, accus­
ing BSU and other organizations, like the
AACP, of being racist. Oliver told The Spec­
trum at that time that he's made himself "in­
tentionally accessible for things like this be­
cause that has been BSU's strategy for mak­
ing the progress that we have this semester."
Felix, sophomore geological sciences ma­
jor, ran unopposed in a closed election for
vice president in which she was given time to
make a speech and take questions from mem­
bers of the e-board and general body.
SA Vice President Sean Kaczmarek said
clubs have their own guidelines for han­
dling e-board elections and members re­
signing, and that the policy should be out­
lined in their constitutions.
Felix previously served as activities chair
for the organization and felt that she had
what it takes to move up to vice president.
"I have a thorough understanding of ev­
ery position on the e-board and I know that
my team members need improvement as
well where I need mine, and I believe that's
what makes me a great candidate for the
vice president position," Felix said.
The e-board as a whole is confident in
its ability to juggle the responsibilities that
come with such a large organization.
''We're realistic as an executive board and
remember that we're students ourselves,"
Golbourne said.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

BSU President Micah Oliver resigns
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

'We know that sometimes we need outside
help and we want to strive to succeed as do
other organizations. We lean on other orga­
nizations and they lean on us, I think that
camaraderie is something that's necessary
between all of the organizations. Even with­
in our own organization we lean on each
other. We don't always agree, and that's nec­
essary sometimes."
Golbourne didn't want to speak much
on Black Explosion, since BSU strategi­
cally releases information about the annu­
al culture and fashion show event over time
to increase interest and excite the audience.
The event has been in the works for many
months involving multiple other organiza­
tions that put the event together.
Historian Chynna Brown, a sophomore

nursing major, is particularly excited about
her posts for BSU for Black History Month.
Every day of February, she will make three
separate posts on all of BSU's social media
pages with information about black leaders,
history and other interesting facts.
Other events they plan to attend and host
are leadership conferences in order to become
more involved in the Buffalo community.
The BSU holds general body meetings on
Wednesdays at 5 p.m. in the Student Union.
It works closely with other organizations in­
cluding the Caribbean Student Association
and the African Student Association in or­
der to plan events. In addition to meetings,
the group hosts regular events for both their
members and the general student population.
email: features @ubspectrum.com

TORI ROSEMAN , THE SPECTRUM

The e-board of BSU (from left to right: Jason Hamlet. Jalyssa Gordon, Randy Ollivierre,
Deidree Golbourne. Leslie Veloz, Chynna Brown, Samirra Felix, James Battle, Alexandra
Louigarde) prepares for the upcoming semester which is full of events for both general
body members and the andergraduate population.