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SPORTS…SPONSORED BY XFINITY!> <ANCHOR INTRO: STUDENT ATHLETES WHO ATTEND DARTMOUTH COLLEGE ARE A PART OF MULTIPLE – INCLUDING THE STUDENT-BODY, ATHLETIC, AND HANOVER COMMUNITY..BUT THERE IS ONE COMMUNITY THAT IS BEING STRENGTHENED BY THE CREATION OF THE DARTMOUTH ALLIANCE….EARLIER THIS WEEK, I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO LISTEN AND HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THE FOUNDERS OF THE D.B.S.A.A… çááTAKE PKGááÑ TOLA: “BEING VIRTUAL IS REALLY SUCH A BARRIER RIGHT NOW BECAUSE ONE OF OUR MAIN GOALS FOR THE ORGANIZATION IS BUILDING A COMMUNITY. EVEN THOUGH MOST OF THE BLACK ATHLETES ARE FRIENDS OR COOL WITH EACH OTHER, THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY A COMMUNITY BECAUSE WE REALLY HAVE TO DO WORK AND BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT MAKING A SPACE THAT IS A COMMUNITY.” GARRISON WADE: “I REALLY THOUGHT I KNEW EVERY BLACK ATHLETE ON CAMPUS, BUT THAT WAS NOT THE CASE.” TOLA: “IN THE IVY LEAGUE IT IS A VERY UNIQUE PLACE TO BE A BLACK STUDENT ATHLETE. BECAUSE IN OTHER CONFERENCES YOU SEE THE MAKEUP IS MAJORITY BLACK ATHLETES. SPECIFICALLY CONCENTRATED IN THE FOOTBALL AND BASKETBALL PROGRAMS. BUT IN OUR CONFERENCE, ALTHOUGH THERE ARE A LOT OF BLACK ATHLETES IN THE FOOTBALL AND BASKETBALL PROGRAMS. ONCE YOU LOOK AT OTHER PROGRAMS, IT’S MAYBE LIKE ONLY ONE OR TWO PER SPORT. AND THAT IS LIKE ACROSS THE MK: “WHAT DO YOU SEE FOR THE FUTURE OF THIS?” GARRISON: “ONE OF OUR MAIN GOALS IS ESTABLISHING A MENTORSHIP PROGRAM WITH INCOMING FRESHMAN OR A SOPHOMORE AND KIND OF JUST SHOW THEM THE ROPES. I KNOW ON MY TEAM I HAD UPPERCLASSMEN THAT WERE BLACK STUDENT ATHLETES THEY KIND OF SHOW THEM THE ROPES THEY KIND OF SHOWED ME WHAT’S WHAT, WHERE TO GO WHERE NOT TO GO. WHERE TO GET YOUR HAIR CUT, WHERE YOU WANT TO GET SOME FOOD OR WHATEVER, I HAD THAT HAD A LOT OF BLACK STUDENT ATHLETES ON MY TEAM. BUT I KNOW A PERSON ON THE SOCCER TEAM PROBABLY DOESN’T HAVE THAT OR A PERSON ON THE TENNIS TEAM OR THE SQUASH TEAM PROBABLY DOESN’T HAVE THAT. OUR GOAL IS TO ESTABLISH LIKE THAT MENTORSHIP PROGRAM SO LIKE THESE STUDENTS WHO ARE LIKE THE ONE OF ONE OR ONE OF TWO ON THE TEAM. THEY CAN HAVE SOMEONE TO LOOK UP TO AND THEY CAN JUST ASK EASY QUESTIONS LIKE THAT.” TOLA: “I THINK TO ADD TO THAT TOO, WHEN I FIRST CAME IN I WAS THE FIRST VISIBLY BLACK FACE ON THE VOLLEYBALL TEAM IN LIKE 10 OR 12 YEARS. SO I DIDN’T HAVE ANYONE TO BE LIKE ‘HEY WHAT DO I DO?’ KIND OF LIKE JUST HAVE TO FIGURE THINGS OUT ON MY OWN. HOPEFULLY THIS DOESN’T HAPPEN, BUT ALONG THE LINES MAYBE IF THERE AREN’T THAT MANY BLACK PEOPLE ON A TEAM AND YOU DON’T HAVE ANYTHING OR YOU DON’T HAVE ANYONE. BE LIKE ‘OH , HEY THE DBSA, ASK THIS AND THIS PERSON THERE AND WE GOT YOU’ INSTEAD ON YOUR OWN. MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WAS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT BEING ON A VERY WHITE TEAM IN A WHITE SPORT, FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE LIKE ME IN THOSE KIND OF SPACES, ALSO HAVING A SUPPORT SYSTEM.” çááOUTááÑ BESIDES CONNECTING UNDERGRADS…THE ORGANIZATION HAS PUT TOGE

Our Sports, Your Story: Dartmouth Black Student Athlete Alliance

The Black student-athlete community at Dartmouth College is getting even stronger due to the creation of the “Dartmouth Black Student Athlete Alliance.””Being virtual is really such a barrier right now because one of our main goals for the organization is building a community. Even though most of the Black athletes are friends or cool with each other, that is not necessarily a community because we really have to do work and be intentional about making a space that is a community,” senior volleyball player and D.B.S.A.A. cofounder Tola Akinwumi said.“I really thought I knew every Black athlete on campus, but that was not the case,” Junior basketball player and D.B.S.A.A. cofounder Garrison Wade said. “In the Ivy League it is a very unique place to be a Black student athlete. Because in other conferences you see the makeup is majority Black athletes. Specifically concentrated in the football and basketball programs. But in our conference, although there are a lot of Black athletes in the football and basketball programs. Once you look at other programs, it’s maybe like only one or two per sport. And that is like across the conference,” Akinwumi said.”One of our main goals is establishing a mentorship program with upperclassmen are paired up with incoming freshman or a sophomore and kind of just show them the ropes. I know on my team I had upperclassmen that were Black student athletes they kind of show them the ropes They kind of showed me what’s what, where to go, where not to go. Where to get your hair cut, where you want to get some food or whatever, I had that because I had a lot of Black student athletes on my team. But I know a person on the soccer team probably doesn’t have that or a person on the tennis team or the squash team probably doesn’t have that. Our goal is to establish like that mentorship program so like these students who are like the one of one or one of two on the team. They can have someone to look up to and they can just ask easy questions like that,” Wade said.“I think to add to that too, when I first came in I was the first visibly Black face on the volleyball team in like 10 or 12 years. So I didn’t have anyone to be like ‘hey, what do I do?’ Kind of like just have to figure things out on my own. Hopefully this doesn’t happen, but along the lines maybe if there aren’t that many Black people on a team and you don’t have anything or you don’t have anyone. Be like ‘Oh , hey the DBSA, ask this and this person there and we got you’ Instead of just having to figure things out on your own. My personal experience was a little bit different being on a very white team in a white sport, for people who are like me in those kind of spaces, also having a support system,” Akinwumi said.

HANOVER, N.H. —

The Black student-athlete community at Dartmouth College is getting even stronger due to the creation of the “Dartmouth Black Student Athlete Alliance.”

“Being virtual is really such a barrier right now because one of our main goals for the organization is building a community. Even though most of the Black athletes are friends or cool with each other, that is not necessarily a community because we really have to do work and be intentional about making a space that is a community,” senior volleyball player and D.B.S.A.A. cofounder Tola Akinwumi said.

“I really thought I knew every Black athlete on campus, but that was not the case,” Junior basketball player and D.B.S.A.A. cofounder Garrison Wade said.

“In the Ivy League it is a very unique place to be a Black student athlete. Because in other conferences you see the makeup is majority Black athletes. Specifically concentrated in the football and basketball programs. But in our conference, although there are a lot of Black athletes in the football and basketball programs. Once you look at other programs, it’s maybe like only one or two per sport. And that is like across the conference,” Akinwumi said.

“One of our main goals is establishing a mentorship program with upperclassmen are paired up with incoming freshman or a sophomore and kind of just show them the ropes. I know on my team I had upperclassmen that were Black student athletes they kind of show them the ropes They kind of showed me what’s what, where to go, where not to go. Where to get your hair cut, where you want to get some food or whatever, I had that because I had a lot of Black student athletes on my team. But I know a person on the soccer team probably doesn’t have that or a person on the tennis team or the squash team probably doesn’t have that. Our goal is to establish like that mentorship program so like these students who are like the one of one or one of two on the team. They can have someone to look up to and they can just ask easy questions like that,” Wade said.

“I think to add to that too, when I first came in I was the first visibly Black face on the volleyball team in like 10 or 12 years. So I didn’t have anyone to be like ‘hey, what do I do?’ Kind of like just have to figure things out on my own. Hopefully this doesn’t happen, but along the lines maybe if there aren’t that many Black people on a team and you don’t have anything or you don’t have anyone. Be like ‘Oh , hey the DBSA, ask this and this person there and we got you’ Instead of just having to figure things out on your own. My personal experience was a little bit different being on a very white team in a white sport, for people who are like me in those kind of spaces, also having a support system,” Akinwumi said.