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Makuu 10-year anniversary gala hosted by UMOJA

Makuu — Penn's black cultural center — celebrated its 10-year anniversary of continuing the legacy of black students at the University.

The anniversary gala, held in Bodek Lounge on Saturday night, drew alumni, current students, faculty and staff from around the country and marked the culmination of UMOJA’s Heritage Week.

The cultural center opened in the fall of 2000, when the Vice Provost for University Life asked Karlene Burrell-McRae — Makuu’s current director — and Graduate School of Education alumnus Sean Vereen, to be the founding directors of Makuu.

Last spring, UMOJA began the “10 for 10 fundraising initiative,” which seeks to raise $10 million in increments of 10 in honor of the anniversary.

The donations will contribute to various programs sponsored by the center. College sophomore Victor Scotti, incoming UMOJA Board Facilitating and Planning chairman, said he wishes to increase UMOJA’s and Makuu’s presence on campus.

“An overarching theme of Makuu is to provide for the next generation of students,” Scotti said. “There is no doubt that Makuu will live on.”

The fundraising initiative will also contribute to Makuu support systems to “express the cultural relevancy of people of African descent in our society and the global society,” Wharton alumna Daina Richie-Troy, associate director of Makuu, said.

The Paul Robeson Mentoring and Leadership Program has been a hallmark of Makuu’s tradition. Upperclassmen are paired with incoming freshmen who wish to become student leaders on campus, training future student leaders for the next generation of Makuu and Penn.

Makuu also sponsors many outreach programs. “A Day of Penn” offers students, ranging from fifth graders to high-school seniors, a glimpse of a day at college. They also partner with Ase Academy — an African academic and cultural-enrichment program — to bring high-school students from West Philadelphia to Penn to receive tutoring and cultural arts instruction. Richie-Troy said that Makuu students often start their own community service initiatives.

“At Makuu, if students want it to happen, we’ll make it happen. We’re dictated by the passions of the students at the center,” Richie-Troy said.

According to Wharton junior Jeffrey Tillus, outgoing UMOJA Board Facilitating and Planning chairman, Makuu excels in connecting alumni back to Penn. This gives current students opportunities to network, generate inspiring dialogue and build relationships with alumni “that no other building on campus can provide,” he said.

Makuu serves as a grounding base for many black students on campus.

Wharton alumnus Obinna Obilo, a member of the Makuu Anniversary Alumni Committee, said he hopes Makuu will continue to do what it has been doing for the past decade.

“Simply put, it was my home. I hope Makuu will keep its strength and remain familial as we transition into this new decade,” he said.

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