The Black Student Union (BSU) on Hawk Hill hosted its annual “Back 2 School” barbecue on St. Mary’s lawn Sept. 30 as a way to build community and help incoming students feel comfortable on campus.

Marzani Hall ’24, BSU president, said community is important for incoming first-year students who are getting to know an entirely new network of people on campus.

“You need people, you need support and I feel like that is all the community is about, the love, the support,” Hall said.

While last year’s barbecue turnout had lower attendance than desired, Hall said this year’s turnout was one of their largest ever with nearly 50 attendees.

“I’m just super happy to see the amount of people that we have,” Hall said.

Jabez Merritt ’24, BSU chief of communications, said BSU raised awareness for the event through flyers, social media posts and word of mouth. Merritt said the choice to have a barbecue was to encourage students to show up because “everybody’s gonna come out for food.”

Taliya Drummond-Cofer ’26, a member of University City’s BSU since her first year, said the barbecue was a good time.

“The food’s really good. I love the music. I like the activities going on,” Drummond-Cofer said.

Sheridan Leak ’25, BSU vice president, said barbecues and cookouts are essential to Black culture and make Black students feel more at home on campus. Leak said a comfortable space for Black students is important since St. Joe’s is a predominantly white institution (PWI).

According to the most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 8% of students enrolled at St. Joe’s in fall 2019 were Black.

“[Black students] go through some culture shock when [they] get on campus,” Leak said, “so I think it’s really important that our Black students have somewhere where they feel comfortable.”

It is important to have an event that makes students of color feel seen and welcomed, said Lauren Joseph ’27, who attended the barbecue.

“Having a place where you feel comfortable in a sense, where you have people that look like you, is very important,” Joseph said.