JACOB KONST/Arizona Daily Wildcat Phi Beta Sigma members from left: Gerard Kimbuende, electrical engineering senior, Rashad Robinson, aerospace engineering senior and Kyle Harris, dietetics junior. Phi Beta Sigma is active oncampus, producing a variety of events around the UA, including monthly poetry readings and black history forums.

Student groups and departments are teaming up to put on a full range of events to celebrate Black History Month, despite the small black student population at the UA.

Although the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Center on campus had a small budget last year, Alex Wright, director of African American Student Affairs, said this year there are many events planned.

Wright said there are always budget problems, but if you are creative there are ways around them.

Celebrated in February, Wright said it is more than just Black History Month.

The department of Campus Life, department of Multicultural Programs and Services, the Diversity Resource Center and the Faculty Fellows program have all helped sponsor activities through the AASA, Wright said.

"Black History Month shouldn't just be recognized by one area or department. It would be nice to see more help from other departments," Wright said. "With events like the Tunnel of Oppression, it is more of a month of making people more socially aware," Wright said.

However, some students feel although there are more events planned than last year, it is still not enough.

"Awareness could definitely be increased," said Gerard Kimbuende, an electrical engineering senior.

"Last year there was very little I was aware of," Kimbuende said.

Other students agreed with Kimbuende and said black history should be promoted more.

"I don't feel it's recognized enough. In high school, I felt like we did more things to celebrate it, but not here," said Larissa Smith, an anthropology senior.

"It could have something to do with the fact that there are only about 900 African-American students here at the UA, and some of them are of mixed descent," Smith said. "It might be one reason why it's not celebrated as much."

According to a Data on Target Populations fact sheet from the AASA, only 985 students, or 2.7 percent, at the UA are black.

Kimbuende posed that the small number of students is because people leave after a year or two.

"The retention of minority students is not good - people come and go," Kimbuende said.

According to the AASA fact sheet, first-year retention of black students is 71 percent and second-year retention is 52 percent.

Kimbuende said since he thinks not enough events are happening, his fraternity is putting on their own. Phi Beta Sigma will host two movie nights, one showing "Panther" and one showing "10,000 Black Men Named George" and they will both start at 7:14 p.m., Kimbuende said.

"Our fraternity was founded in 1914, so that's why we start our events at 14 minutes. Most black fraternities and sororities do the same thing to recognize when we were founded," Kimbuende said.

One event that the MLK Center is hoping to be successful is a rollerskating party on Feb. 11.

"I hope we can get 500 UA students out there. That would be wild, wouldn't it?" Wright said.

Wright is hoping the incentive of free entrance for the first 100 people will encourage students to attend. Wright also said El Mundo, Residence Life's diversity program, is helping to advertise for the event with flyers in residence halls on campus.

"It will be a really fun event - a good community-building exercise for the whole campus," Wright said.

Wright is also excited about the opening of a permanent art and artifact exhibit at the MLK Center.

"Over the last couple years we've been able to acquire priceless artifacts and masks in collaboration with the UA Museum of Art," Wright said.

The exhibit will span three floors and opens Feb. 25 at 8:30 a.m., Wright said.