About 30 students filled the Phipps Lecture Hall in the Physical Science Building ready to learn tips and tricks to survive college from upperclassmen on Tuesday.

Officially called “A Class Act,” hosted by the Black Student Union, the event was meant to educate students, especially underclassmen, about the many different resources available.

BSU president Alexis Lambert said she believed the discussion bridged the gap between the under and upperclassman by allowing both to give their perspective.

The panel allowed the freshmen and sophomores to ask questions out loud in a safe and friendly environment, allowing anyone who knew the answer, to answer.

“We want to make sure students don’t feel left out,” Lambert said.

BSU members, as well as upperclassmen from the audience, provided tips to help students stay in college and gave advice on various outlets offered on campus to succeed academically, Lambert said.

Lambert also said she saw firsthand the many issues minority students have faced on a college campus, which can sometimes lead to them not returning, making the forum a way for students to know that whatever they are facing, they’re not alone.

During the forum, students were also allowed to tweet at the organization’s Twitter handle, but kept their names anonymous.

Issues such as the freshman 15 and how to handle it were discussed during the forum, which those who were freshmen found out from the upperclassmen that it is a very real issue.

“(The) freshman 15 is as real as you want it to be,” said Alyeshia Bradley, a sophomore communications studies major.

Bradley was one of five students on the panel.

From the discussion, a student from the audience tweeted a question in regards to the sophomore or junior 15, leaving the audiences side-eyed and laughing from those in BSU. Numerous people on the panel said students should have a handle on the freshman 15 weight after their first year.

Changes the audience would make at the university were also brought up. Many students in the audience expressed a need for more classes about black or Africana Studies.

One woman, who sat in the back of the room, said she felt Eastern should have more multicultural aspects and courses, which then garnered a consensus of a need for more events directed toward minorities. 

Mona Davenport, the director of minority affairs, and Lambert disagreed. 

Both mentioned to the students that there were many multicultural  offered on campus such as Latin American Heritage Month and Black History Month. 

Shamerea Richards, a senior communications major, said African-American students should also go to some of the other multicultural events put on by the other organizations.

Richards said many of the other minorities on campus may feel the same as African-Americans, so speaking to them would be a great experience for the incoming freshman. 

“Get cultured. Understand what is going on within the community,” Richards said. 

Eventually, the audience was also asked what they wished they would have known before they came into the university, which then prompted a vast majority of the upperclassmen explained to the freshmen how the GPA system works. 

Even Davenport explained how the system works with As representing four points and how the amount of credit hours taken also determine the overall GPA of a student. 

Alisa Hill, a freshman political science major, said she enjoyed the fact that the forum was multicultural, and it was a safe place for her to freely speak and express her thoughts. 

“I like to speak up for what I believe in,” Hill said. 

Hill said she felt one of the benefits to the forum was getting information and connecting to the upperclassmen so they may be able to give advice and make a freshman’s first year easier. 

Roberto Hodge can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].