Sponsored by the Congress of African Students (CAS), the 3rd Annual Black Student Union Conference was held at Dickinson on September 27, 1980.
The Conference's keynote speaker was Dr. Marion Oliver, who spoke on the topic of "1980's: Challenge to Succeed" in the Social Hall. After Dr. Oliver's address, attendees of the Conference broke off into small discussion groups, ate a buffet dinner, and then had a "Disco" as a closing social event.
The brochure for the Conference, besides providing a list of the day's events, also contained collected comments from Black Dickinsonians on what it was like to be Black at Dickinson. One student, Patience Bonner ('82) said,
"I think life on a predominantly white campus would be better if more students looked at me as a person instead of a color [...] As always, some of their values leave me speechless."
Another student, Brenda Gordy ('81) referenced Strayer House in her comments, recognizing it as a place of "relaxation, recreation, learning" and a space where Black students can "keep [...] in tune with [their] culture." Gordy references the Martin Luther King Memorial library and the array of political and social functions CAS holds in Strayer as affirmative experiences that the CAS and the House provide.