Jeffrey Tillus takes on role of UMOJA Planning and Facilitating Chairman

This past Sunday, Wharton sophomore Jeffrey Tillus was elected the new planning and facilitating chairman of UMOJA, the umbrella organization for groups of the African Diaspora at Penn.

Tillus sat down with The Daily Pennsylvanian to explain UMOJA’s plans for the upcoming year.

The Daily Pennsylvanian: What are your goals for next year?

Jeffrey Tillus: To continue to support advocacy campaigns … to develop internal relations [and] to further our relationships with [our constituent groups].

[Another goal] is institutional memory … [housed in the ARCH Building,] Makuu is a space where a lot of black students go … They’re having ARCH renovations, and so we want to make sure that in those renovations, enough space is allocated for Makuu.

DP: Why did you run for this position?

JT: The concerns of black students is something that’s very personal to me … After a year of working with [UMOJA], I felt as though it would be both an honor and a privilege — and obviously an obligation — for me to continue my work with UMOJA.

DP: How is the incoming board different from the previous one?

JT: The previous board had about three or four … veterans … Our new board has about three or four new freshmen.

It’s going to be a little difficult to try and get them acclimated to what UMOJA actually does, but in terms of the passion that’s on the board, it’s still there. We have fresh faces who are eager and ready to get the job off and running as soon as we turn over in January.

DP: How do you plan to increase collaboration between UMOJA’s constituent groups?

JT: One of the ways is definitely with [the Tangible Change Committee] Having [constituents] come in more and try to get the funding for their events.

I would personally want to sit in on [constituents’] board meetings. That’s not something that’s been done often in the past … That’ll help improve the constituencies’ role with us.

DP: What’s the biggest challenge facing UMOJA this year?

JT: The biggest challenge facing us this year is to continue to push for higher retention and ratio of black students on campus. We’ll be working closely with Admissions and the alumni department … We definitely want to increase the recruitment of talented black students … We only represent eight percent of the campus, so we feel as though we can increase that number.

DP: How would you describe the presence of UMOJA on campus?

JT: It’s very subtle, but it’s quite powerful on campus. We work closely with the [Undergraduate Assembly]. We work closely with the [minority coalitions] … We push for one another’s events. We push for one another’s initiatives. And we’re working also closely with [the Penn Consortium for Undergraduate Women] … so our presence, although subtle, is growing, and it’s very powerful.

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