Models and spectators were dressed to impress for the Black Student Union’s (BSU) Fashion 4 Action event on Feb. 6. The show was part of the BSU’s line-up of events for Black History Month.

Alexis Tellis, freshman English major helping with the event, said the fashion show can unite students together.

“Everyone has different fashion, everyone can contribute and all work together to get a good message out. […] diverse students can work together,” said Tellis. “It doesn’t have to be just specifically white students working together, specifically black students working together. We can all work together as a team.”

Students and community members were able to volunteer to be models for the show, showing off the designer’s different styles and designs, which Tellis described as a wide and varied sampling.

She said the show’s divided segments allowed both familiar and unexpected styles.

Junior political science and philosophy double major, Gabbie Ruggiero, heard about the event through her RA position.

“[The show taught me that] the potential of UNI students is a big one and also embracing different cultures and the multicultural education that you can get at UNI if you reach out for it,” Ruggiero said.

For Grace Ritter, senior psychology major, the Fashion 4 Action show was a way to get a different perspective of campus.

“It shows more than one side of campus,” Ritter said. “I think that it allows us to celebrate the Black History Month more in-depth; it gives us a better insight into different aspects of college. I know a lot of the times people just follow fads, might not know exactly where they come from. So I think this is really a unique opportunity to gain insight to where those fashions are coming from.”

As noted by Ruggiero, the crowd was not as diverse as it could have been.

“A lot of students don’t come to these events because they think it’s for black students or ethnic students, and really everyone should be part of these events,” said Ruggiero.

No matter the ethnicity or race, there are still lessons to be learned, according to Jamiah Cross, sophomore psychology major.

“[It’s all about] appreciation, unity, teamwork — because it takes a lot to put on something like this and to make it pretty successful and working with a lot of people, personalities, working a lot of fast-paced kind of decision making,” said Cross. “It’s more like skills, it’s more like building a social foundation for yourself.”

Over the course of Black History Month, the BSU will put on more events.

On Friday, Feb. 12, there will be a 90’s-themed skate party at the WRC. Students can bring stakes, and skates will also be provided. Other Black History Month events include a Tunnel of Oppression and speaker, Rasheed Cromwell. A full list of events can be found on the