This Saturday, Binghamton University students came together for a night of education, empowerment and performance for the Powerful United Ladies Striving to Elevate (PULSE)’s 10th-annual banquet.

The banquet, titled “Transcendent: The Story Begins With Us,” was themed after the Harlem Renaissance and the Roaring Twenties. Attendants dressed in 1920s-inspired dresses and suits for dinner and mocktails. The Mandela Room was decorated with balloons and lights, with three different photo booth setups for attendants to take pictures. Proceeds for the event went to the Discovery Center of the Southern Tier, an interactive children’s museum.

The banquet began with introductions by Adé Abbey-Peter, the president of PULSE and a senior majoring in sociology. Abbey-Peter selected the theme for the event to honor PULSE’s motto, the “three Es,” to educate, elevate and empower women.

“Education was not always inclusive to women,” Abbey-Peter said. “Education in all facets, whether by traditional standards or later accepted forms like the arts and STEM, was not welcoming to women, especially women of color. However, for arts and STEM, for years to come, beginning in the 1910s and 1920s specifically, women of color began to break down the barrier and become the hidden figures behind the advancement of society in all realms.”

PULSE was founded in 2007 by Joanna Cardona-Lozada, the senior academic counselor for the Educational Opportunity Program, who wanted to address the lack of mentorship for women of color at the University. Initially called The Women’s Meeting, PULSE was officially chartered by the Student Association on International Women’s Day in 2010. Since its inception, PULSE has been dedicated to “provid[ing] women of color and all women in general with a safe space to grow in all aspects” through a variety of events, including their leadership conference, Breast Cancer Festival and the annual banquet.

Guests competed in a sing-along challenge for a 50 dollar ULTA gift card, and booklets given to each guest had trivia questions about the Harlem Renaissance and Black artists and educators. The banquet showcased multiple artistic performances, including a dance inspired by 1920s ragtime from the Black Dance Repertoire and a routine by MajorNoir, Binghamton’s first Black majorette dance team. The Black Student Union Vanguard also had a poetry reading, featuring works from Maya Angelou and original pieces.

Madelyn Payano, attendee at the event and a sophomore majoring in philosophy, politics and law, commented on her experience of the banquet.

“I loved how they connected their motto of ‘we educate, we elevate, we empower’ in their banquet and by giving awards to educators and showing their appreciation to their interns,” Payano wrote. “I enjoyed seeing the [collaboration of] both dance groups, [with] MajorNoir [and] Black Dance Repertoire especially showing the majorette dance. It was a very nice way to see them embrace their culture, especially in a PWI, and a way for people to learn more about Black culture, especially something seen at HBCUs. It’s a very great representation to show at [BU].”

Throughout the banquet, staff, organizations and students were honored with awards, including the Black Cabinet Award for faculty, which was awarded to Kimberly Peabody, director of health promotion and prevention services, and the Harlem Spotlight Award for supportive organizations on campus, which was given to the Caribbean Students Association. Additionally, the Mary McLeod Bethune scholarship of 500 dollars was awarded to Farida Larry, a senior double-majoring in integrative neuroscience and Africana studies. PULSE members were also honored at this event, as interns Mwende Wagner, a sophomore majoring in sociology and Briana Santana, a freshman majoring in business administration, were given the Renaissance Award for their dedication.

“I think [the banquet] went absolutely amazing,” Wagner said. “I was really proud of obviously the board’s work and then us interns helping out. I was just really proud to see that it came together in the end … I honestly was not expecting [to be awarded], so it was a bit of a shock, but it warmed my heart to know that me and [Santana] were chosen for that.”