[bfsa] Holiday Greetings and Happy New Year

[Victor Wan-Tatah]

Fellow BFSA Members:

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you holiday cheers 
and a happy New Year. I would also like to thank all of you for your 
involvement in the organisation, especially in the onerous task of 
putting together a Taskforce Report on Diversity on our campus. The 
final document was supposed to be ready this fall, partly due to my 
fault and because one of the committees delayed in  forwarding their 
committee report to me.When I did finally receive it, it was too late to 
compile the final report close to exam week,, preparations for Jabali on 
December 7, and the publication of the Africana Studies Newsletter, The 
Ogele, which by coincidence contains considerable coverage on BFSA. You 
are encouraged to get a copy from the Africana Studies Program or 
Editor-in-Chief,Lae'l Hughes-Watkins.
The final report will be presented to the Executive Council at the 
begining of the spring semester, and later on brought to the general 
assembly. By the end of January, we should be able to circulate copies 
to the relevant authorities.

I am looking forward to the spring semester with excitement because of  
new opportunities for the visibility of BFSA. One of them will involve a 
conference on Black Political Leadership in the Mahoning Valley. This 
actually is a follow-up of a lecture and promise which  was made by then 
candidate for mayor of Youngstown, Jay Williams last year. The 
difference this year would be that the format and scope would bring 
together other Black religious, community and political leaders. I 
deliberately excluded this event from African American History Month 
programming to give BFSA exclusive control and maximum exposure.

Finally, I requested permission from the Interim Director of Human 
Resources, Ron Chordas , to give our members permission to attend the 
Martin Luther King Breakfast coming up when school reopens in January. 
He asked  me to forward a list of of our members, which I did, thanks to 
our Vice President Brenda Scarborough for her updated list.Ron seemed to 
understood the need for such an official approval, and  I expect him to 
make it easy for our members to attend.

Thank you again for your active participation in BFSA, and I hope and 
wish that those of you who have not be as involved before, can make room 
in their schedule to be active members of BFSA.
Happy New, and see you soon.
Victor Wan-Tatah
President