Every year, members of the Student African American Society come together to nominate a Black Graduation committee to organize Itanwa Orinwa at Syracuse University.

The commencement event, also referred to as “Black Graduation,” will take place on Friday at 8:30 p.m. in Goldstein Auditorium at Schine Student Center. This year’s theme is, “Black by Popular Demand: Be Celebrated, not Tolerated.”

The event will be hosted in Schine for the first time in its history due to its increasing size.

While the celebration is for graduating seniors who identify as black or Latinx, SAAS President Taryne Chatman said the event is meant to bring together many identities under one umbrella.

“Our achievements and the struggles we’ve endured as people of color on this campus is real,” said Chatman, a senior triple major in African American Studies, political philosophy and citizenship and civic engagement. “Honoring that in a celebration that shines light and gives recognition to that feeling, to that struggle.”

The entirely student-run celebration has been led and organized by Chatman and SAAS Vice President Fanta Cherif. The two have worked together for months to ensure everything runs smoothly.

The event will open with a prayer and the black national anthem for the introduction, before showcasing student speeches and performances of dances, songs, transmedia art and poetry. All of the performances are meant to reflect the students and their culture in a way that the traditional convocation isn’t always able to, Chatman said.

Cherif said she’s excited to see all of their work unfold, but she’s especially looking forward to the Don C. Sawyer Award, which is presented to a student who has faced adversity but overcame it to dedicate themselves in the classroom and through community service. The recipient won’t know they’ve won until the event, Cherif said, and this year’s student is “very deserving of the award.”

Seeing students working toward Itanwa Orinwa is something that Rachel Vassel, the assistant vice president of the Office of Program Development, said she enjoys. While the event wasn’t organized until after she graduated in 1991, Vassel said it’s an opportunity for her to get to know the students and continue that as alumni.

Cherif and Chatman reached out to OPD for support, Cherif said.

“What’s so nice is that they have really been taking the lead on the event, at the level where we’ve just come in to support what they’re doing,” Vassel said. “We’re just there to really be a part of it.”

Angela Morales-Patterson, the assistant director of OPD, has worked with Cherif to provide support for the event, and said she’s loved seeing how SAAS “took it and ran with it.” As for the event’s increasing size over the years, Morales-Patterson said she expects the trend to continue.

“Years ago when this thing started, they had a speaker, they didn’t have any performances, they didn’t have any of that stuff,” Morales-Patterson said. “This event has grown, and I’m sure it’s going to grow down the road.”

Cherif, a public health major and psychology minor, said Chatman has been a supportive partner throughout the process of planning. Whenever she was busy, Chatman was there to provide her and the committee support.

“He’s always there to let everyone know on the committee that what we’re doing is really great, and we’re working towards something bigger than all of us,” Cherif said.

For Chatman, taking on that leadership role and guiding the next Itanwa Orinwa gave him the opportunity to advocate for black and Latinx students, he said.

“I want to facilitate this space,” Chatman said. “I want to be able to use this leadership position to restructure and rethink the way we think about our campus framework and our students.”

Published on May 9, 2018 at 1:22 pm

Contact Lydia: lnilesst@syr.edu