Photo courtesy of Gabby Ricciardi/Hofstra Athletics

With February being Black History Month, it is crucial to recognize the achievements and progressiveness of Black culture, especially throughout Hofstra.

While Hofstra has numerous groups dedicated to campus diversity, its newest organization is the Black Student-Athlete Association (BSAA). Its mission is unifying and cultivating diversity by being committed to celebrating Hofstra students and student athletes of color and uplifting the diverse community we live in here at Hofstra.

The organizations’ liaisons are the head coach of the women’s basketball team, Danielle Santos Atkinson, and the head coach of the men’s basketball team, Speedy Claxton.

BSAA holds numerous events ranging from movie nights to celebrations of Black history.

Kayla Stadeker, a junior global studies major and track and field and cross country team member, is also a member of numerous campus groups that promote diversity. Those organizations are Black Student Union (BSU), Black Leaders Advocating for Change and the Center for Civic Engagement (CCE). Stadeker also serves as a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

“Some of the Black athletes decided to create the organization because we wanted a space where we could come together and discuss issues that affect us as athletes at a PWI [predominantly white institution],” Stadeker said.

When asked what BSAA means to her, she said, “To me, BSAA means being able to have a safe space where Black athletes feel that their peers are not judging them.”

Charles Small, a senior criminology major, member of the Student-Athlete Diversity Committee and member of the wrestling team, shared his thoughts on what BSAA means to him.

“It’s a safe space for athletes,” Small said. “There are not that many of us on campus. It’s also a space for us just to be Black outside of the regular interactions we have on campus and to come together and share ideas. There’s only two [Black athletes] on my team … there’s less than three on most teams, and the majority of them are on the men’s and women’s basketball teams”.

Despite the lack of diversity regarding Black individuals, Small believes faculty and staff have done an excellent job of being more progressive.

“For the most part, they’ve enabled us very well, just being able to have the organization, funding us and finding sponsors for us,” he said.

In terms of steps taken to amplify Black voices, Small said partnerships with other Black associations on campus are helping them move forward as an organization, seeing as they are newer compared to established groups such as BSU and CCE.

Kayla Robertson, a junior communications major and member of the women’s lacrosse team, shed light on her experiences as a member of BSAA.

“To me, it really means a lot because, as you know, I’m on the women’s lacrosse team, and it’s not a very diverse sport … there are only two Black people on the team,” Robertson said. “So, to have an outlet and a group of people going through the same experience as me at the same time as other athletes of color, Black athletes, means so much. I can connect to people and can make friendships easier because we all have busy schedules, so it’s sometimes hard to reach out or make friends, so it’s just really special to have a sense of community in the student-athlete world.”

Robertson added that it could be challenging to have conversations regarding people of color when most of the people on campus are not of color. Hence, topics such as feeling lonely, non-Black people saying the N-word and not always relating to teammates are joint discussions throughout the organization.

Robertson also mentions the organization shrunk in numbers due to the number of people that graduated. “There have been ups and downs as we’ve grown the organization, but we’ve been navigating through that by filling in executive board and membership in general,” she said.

“It’s truly a safe space, and it truly means a lot to athletes of color to have a safe space on campus and feel supported navigating our time through Hofstra,” said Robertson on what she would like people to know about BSAA. “So to people who maybe are nervous about coming to meetings, programs, or anything like that, I would say that just give it a try. You’ll really see how much you’re missing out on a sense of community and people that always have your back and support you no matter what.”

For the most part, athletic administrators have been highly supportive of BSAA, and members feel their voices are being heard. BSAA is preparing to hold more events and programming for Black athletes on campus to be more progressive.

By bringing more awareness to organizations like BSAA, Hofstra Athletics is doing its part in showing its continued commitment to diversity, inclusiveness and gender equity among student-athletes, coaches and staff.