Sisters Don’t Show Up
“The purpose of the events were to bring people together to spend more time with each other,” says Delrisha White, sophomore class president.
However, she admits disappointment that mostly only the event planners came out to support the festivities.
On Monday night the Hot Chocolate Sister Chat was held in the parlor of Player Hall. Sisters discussed everything from the best types of guys to date, who should and should not wear leggings, and when to help a Bennett sister who is struggling academically. Mean Girls, a comedy starring Lindsay Lohan, was shown for Tuesday’s movie night and Belles were supposed to have participated in Thursday’s Arts and Crafts night in the student union. But nobody showed up.
“Overall I think the people who were serious came out,” says White. “I took the events seriously because people complain about a lack of sisterhood, but we planned a week of events and no one barely came out.”
Many Belles claimed their tardiness on late notice. Although White agreed the programs scheduled for Monday and Tuesday were last minute, she feels there was adequate time for planning for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday’s events.
Shevon King, a sophomore Business Administration Major from Harlem, NY, says she disagrees that late notice is an excuse. “They do not care about sisterhood because if they did they would have shown up.”
On the other hand, there were some exceptions to the rule. Senior Brittany Purcell enjoyed the sister chat on Monday night with all three of her little sisters: Chelsea Weddington, Sierra Jackson, and Krystal Patterson.
Miss Royal Blue and White, Charmel Holland had fun dancing to Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” at Friday’s cocktail social with her little sisters: Evelyn Rodgers, Antoinette Morris, and Christina Garnett. “I have the best little sisters in the world and we all look forward to these types of events to spend time together,” says Holland.
The initial plan was for the senior and sophomore classes to just have a bonding day. But Alicia Ward, who serves as Miss Senior, recommended the classes’ executive boards hold a week of events. Since the sophomore class is responsible for planning the Senior Banquet, they favored the idea of having more bonding time with their big sisters.
Big Sister – Lil Sister Week was open to all Bennett College students. “A lot of people didn’t come with their big sister,” says White. “Some just came for the fellowship with their Bennett sisters.
“Monday and Friday had the best turnouts,” says Sara Finch, senior class parliamentarian.
“Although there was only a few of us we got the party started by ourselves.”
By: Myeisha Essex
It’s quite unfortunate that the Belles didn’t turn out. When I was a student, there were a number of activities for the Big and Little Sisters. Most importantly, there seemed to be a large display of sisterhood overall, on and off campus. What seems to be the issue?
Darnita L. Howard, Class of 2002
Advance notice can have a greater impact than you think. Perhaps try to plan another activity in the near future, but provide sufficient notice so you’ll have an opportunity to really advertise the events. Hanging up posters, posting notifications via the newsletter and maybe having some type of rally in the student center or on the quad could really get sisters excited about the upcoming events and sufficient planning time. If no one shows up then, just go back to the drawing board and try to come up with something of higher interest. But whatever you do, don’t give up!