Black United Students focused on the importance of academic achievement in its meeting last night.

“Beyond color, we’re students,” said academic affairs chair Quiera Lige. “All of us have GPAs and want to graduate on time. You’ve got to get to the point of why we’re here.”

Lige outlined how to use the KAPS report, showing students exactly what the different functions in the system do.

“A lot of students don’t know how to use the KAPS report, and it’s so important to be able to access that,” she said.

Lige said it is important to use the KAPS report in addition to meeting with advisers to keep students a step ahead in knowing what courses they need to take to graduate.

She also outlined how to register for classes on the new FlashFast system. She told students about two options for taking classes that many don’t know about — taking classes on audit and taking classes as pass/fail.

“It doesn’t hurt your GPA, and you still get credit hours,” she said about the pass/fail option. “It does help if you have a high course load.”

In April, students who qualify can be inducted into Alpha Kappa Mu, a national honorary society for minority students. The same night, BUS will also present Ebony Achievement Awards for students who have been successful academically. Lige encouraged students to keep their grade point averages up so they can qualify for these awards.

“It’s really just to honor any minority students who are doing well,” BUS President Sasha Parker said.

Parker also addressed keeping in touch with faculty members in the department of Pan-African Studies while they are temporarily housed in the Lincoln Building. She said possible options that BUS is looking into include having a panel discussion or coffee hour.

Board members also passed out mid-year evaluation sheets for students to fill out to get their opinion of and suggestions for the organization.

Contact minority affairs reporter Christina Stavale at [email protected].