Several students raised concerns regarding Emerson College’s communication about Black History Month last week during the Student Government Association’s open forum.

Journalism Senator and freshman journalism major Jules Telfort brought the topic of conversation to the assembly, saying she was disappointed about the college’s “lack of acknowledgement for Black History Month and Black students.” Telfort is also deputy copyeditor at The Beacon. 

Telfort pointed to an email sent ten days into February, which included a factual error about Mary P. Burrill, the first Black student to graduate from Emerson. The email erroneously wrote that Burrill graduated in 2004, not 1904. The college sent a correction about an hour later. The email also omitted her identity as a queer Black woman

Telfort said that nothing had been posted on Emerson College’s Instagram page about Black History Month as of the Friday meeting. The only acknowledgement Telfort has seen is from Emerson’s Black Organization with Natural Interest, or EBONI, she said. 

“I understand that we are very, very small, but we are here. And I don’t believe that we deserve … to be erased, just because we make up a single digit percentage of this college,” Telfort said. 

As of the 2023-2024 Academic Year, Emerson’s Factbook says that Black students make up 6% of the college population. The Factbook has not been updated since 2024. 

SGA Executive President Georgia Winn said that the perceived lack of communication is “very disappointing.”

Transfer Senator Rebekah Israel echoed this disappointment. She said that she noticed that the college sends out emails for other events, but when it comes to Black History Month, “it’s crickets.”

“It’s kind of disrespectful to our community. Not kind of, it is,” she said.

Executive Treasurer Oliver Katz also expressed his frustration with the recent communication blunders. 

“The fact that this shit keeps happening, and students have to demand recognition; it’s just reflective of the institutional challenges we have here,” he said.

Telfort added that, through talking to many Black students across majors, she has observed an overarching impression that “the Black community at Emerson is very disconnected.” Carlson Jones, the school of film, television, and media arts senator, responded that there used to be a BIPOC pre-orientation, but it got removed last year.

“Having some of that BIPOC outreach, coming up a couple of days [before the semester starts], would really help students who are coming in who might feel a little out of their depth going to a PWI [predominantly white institution],” she said.

Last semester, a college spokesperson wrote in a statement to The Beacon that some BIPOC pre-orientation programming was moved to the main orientation schedule so that the programs and supportive resources would be available to all incoming students. 

Jones said that in this current political moment, it’s important to have a space for international and BIPOC students to come together. 

“We need to find ways where we can still have those initiatives,” she said.

Max Brady-Lewis, communication studies senator, said he was disappointed that other events have been promoted by the college, such as that of sports communication alumnus Tim Neverett, but that he has seen no such signage regarding Black History Month.

“It’s just very disheartening. It just shows where they want to prioritize their money and time. It’s really just sad,” he said. “The bar is set in hell. Just the email thing in and of itself, that’s the barest of bare minimum for the school.”

He continued, “The fact that they can’t even do that is beyond me … they can talk some big game about wanting to change their attitude, but the actions aren’t reflective of that in any way.”

In an interview with The Beacon, Winn said she will make sure the concerns brought forth at the meeting are sent up the chain of command.

“We’ve had a serious communication problem at Emerson,” she said. “When there is a mistake like [in] that [email], that is felt. It reads as a lack of care.” 

Winn said that if the college is not going to improve communications, SGA will continue to highlight community voices. 

“We’re going to … make sure that the concerns aren’t just felt in this room,” Winn said. “[That] they’re also felt in the rooms of people who are making the decisions about how these things are being communicated.”

According to the college, communication has yet to be had between them and SGA. In an email statement to The Beacon, Vice President of Community, Culture & Belonging Shaya Gregory Poku explained the actions that the college has taken for Black History Month:

“Emerson is proud to celebrate Black History Month, and is institutionally supporting the observance of its 100th anniversary in several meaningful ways. The Cultural Engagement Center (CEC) and Student Affairs have worked closely with Emerson’s Black Organization with Natural Interest (EBONI) to organize programming throughout the month highlighting Black history and culture. CEC’s role as a College entity is to support students, in connecting across cultures, and contribute to a cohesive and creative campus community enriched by its diversity of traditions and voices. The Celebrate Diversity college-wide message, was another key platform to bring visibility to the rich diversity within the College and opportunities for engagement and learning about Black History Month beyond our Boston campus,” the statement read.  

“Collaboration, inclusion and equity are core values of the College,” the statement continued. “Our goal is for all Emersonians to feel valued and respected, and to live and learn in an environment where all community members from all backgrounds and beliefs feel welcome and celebrated on our campuses. This includes our Black students, staff, faculty, and alumni who are valued members of our Emerson community.”

Prior to the open-forum discussion, Vice President, Student Affairs Christie Anglade joined for the first 40 minutes of the meeting for a short crash course on the Office of Student Affairs before opening the floor for questions.

First-Generation and Low-Income Senator Jazzy Compton asked Anglade about how to improve communications regarding office closures and administrative reorganizations, such as that of the Office of Student Success. 

She said students have come to her with questions about the stability of some services, like the student pantry. According to Compton, SGA has been repeatedly told that an email clarifying the Dec. 11 email announcing the closure of the Office of Student Success was going to be sent out.

“How can we make that communication [clearer]? Even if it’s an Instagram post or an email, when can we expect to see the school come out and confirm that these resources are going to be available to students?” Compton asked.

Anglade said that she is one of the lead writers on the upcoming email, and they’ve “been trying to organize [their] communications as an institution … to [reach] a cadence and a pattern,” and that they “do have something in the queue waiting to go out.”

In the meantime, she said, the old OSS email address is still functional, and they’ve been responding to student concerns there. She also said she’s gotten a lot more students reaching out directly to her.

“I can’t always guarantee I can cover every single request, but I can help go ahead and define the appropriate route,” she said. “[My team and I] will do a little bit more of the exploration for things and make them right.”

She added that it is not and never has been the intention to discontinue the pantry. The pantry is stocked and currently operational out of the Office of Student Affairs, Anglade’s office.

After Anglade left, an amendment was made to the SGA election packet to move the deadline of the intent-to-run form up by one day. The form will now close at midnight on Mar. 3 instead of Mar. 4. Winn then reminded the assembly that all positions in the academic senate are open for election or reelection, and the intent-to-run form is necessary for candidates who wish to appear on the ballot.

Winn then said that she, Vice President Angus Abercrombie, Katz, and Executive Secretary Haley Clough will be graduating, and encouraged students to run for those positions.   

Editor’s Note: In addition to being quoted during the SGA meeting, Jules Telfort also wrote an Op-Ed on the subject for this week’s paper. In the Op-Ed, she details much of what she discussed at the SGA meeting as quoted by The Beacon. Telfort was not involved in the reporting of this story.