When students flock to Auburn for their studies, they may be moving hundreds of miles away from home. For Black students who make up only a small fraction of the student body, this culture shock may be especially challenging.
The Black Student Union and the National Pan-Hellenic Council offer a space for Black students to build community bonds, excel academically and develop professionally at Auburn.
Zach Graham, senior in electrical engineering and president of BSU, explained that BSU seeks to support all students but specifically represents the needs of Black students. Graham is also a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and the former vice president of administration for NPHC and its “Divine Nine” historically Black sororities and fraternities.
Through Graham’s involvement in both BSU and NPHC, he has found life-long friends and endless opportunities.
“I think most of my friends come from BSU. I think that is the biggest part. I’ve also got to meet a lot of alumni who were in my position through BSU,” Graham said. “And [I] just have had a lot of say in opinions and things that have happened involving students on campus.”
When Graham reflected back on his first semester at Auburn, he recalled being the only Black person in his dorm and that by the end of the year, a friend of his transferred from Auburn due to having few friends. To Graham, BSU makes Auburn special by helping students establish relationships on campus that encourage them to stay for the duration of their degree.
“[BSU] contributes to the family feel. So often, I’ve met people who were on the verge of transferring because they didn’t feel like they had anybody to come to,” Graham said. “And so I think it helps retain Black students, but also give students, not even just Black students, but like anybody who wants to come, just a sense of family and togetherness.”
Auburn’s “family feel” is what Kamran Kimber, junior in business management and president of NPHC, cites as his favorite part of the university’s culture.
“I like synergizing. I like coming up with new ideas with other people. I like meeting new people. And I think that’s my favorite part about Auburn’s campus. You never know who you’re gonna meet ever,” Kimber said. “A lot of the people I know now are because of the mutual connection between someone I know in my fraternity or between someone I know throughout the council.”
Kimber crossed the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity during the fall of his sophomore year with the welcome and support of his prophytes, a term for older members of a D9 organization. Within a year, Kimber served as NPHC vice president of service.
“It’s definitely taught me how to almost grow up, in a way,” Kimber said when asked how the NPHC has shaped his college experience. “It’s taught me how to be more open and how to accept change more quickly.”
Brooke Gates, senior in software engineering and vice president of outreach for BSU, is no stranger to the shocking changes students experience in college. Gates remembered being “shell shocked” seeing Auburn’s contrasting demographics to her hometown in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. However, she found comfort in knowing that there were other Black students experiencing a similar situation across campus and that BSU has the full support of Auburn University.
Following the passing of SB-129 or the “DEI Bill,” Director of Student Involvement Brad Smith encouraged BSU to keep expanding.
“Brad looked us in our face and was like, ‘You gotta keep going, honestly. Be bigger. Do more,’” Gates said. “BSU and Auburn, it’s like, the bond they hold is insane.”
Gates is also the president of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. BSU and NPHC are two distinct organizations at Auburn, but due to overlapping membership, ties between the groups have always been strong.
Gates finds inspiration from the women alumni of Auburn’s NPHC, BSU and engineering department, citing them as some of the strongest, most nurturing and giving people she has met.
“All these people come back and give so much to Auburn and just give so much to like things that they're really passionate about. So I feel like that's one thing I would carry on with myself,” Gates said. “Auburn just really showed me, if you really give everything, it's gonna come back tenfold.”
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Jennifer Santiago is a freshman in exploratory studies from Enterprise, AL. Santiago has been with The Auburn Plainsman since Fall 2024.
