On November 19th, the hashtag #BBUM was launched by the University of Michigan’s Black Student Union. The hashtag stands for ‘being black at the University of Michigan.’ After the incident with Theta Xi’s themed party, “Hood Rachet Thursday,” the Black Student Union introduced this tag as a response. Although the party was intercepted by campus officials and cancelled, the questions it raised, and impact it had on the student body still lingered. The campaign began shortly after. Members of the Black Student Union hoped to spur a dialogue about issues of race and diversity at U of M, and they accomplished just that– perhaps even exceeding the expectations of this campaign, as #BBUM became a trending topic on Twitter, and a nationally covered story. The topic has found tremendous success on Michigan’s campus as well, acting as a conversation starter for this important dialogue. Many U of M students began tweeting with this hashtag, responding to the Black Student Union’s request to hear about “unique experiences of being black at Michigan.”
Elizabeth McLaughlin, News Director and reporter for WOLV-TV, talked with Michigan students about black enrollment rates and diversity on campus two days after the #BBUM launch: “I was surprised by the wide range of answers. Students guessed black enrollment was anywhere from 2% to 35% when its actually about 4%. I think that shows that an awareness campaign like #BBUM was needed to get the conversation started about what it means to have a diverse student body.”
To watch Elizabeth’s interviews with Michigan students check out the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al–f2hYSMY