Women’s basketball head coach Kelly Cole and sophomore forward Mide Oriyomi were selected Nov. 2 to reside as members of the United for Change executive committee. The CAA established a 14-member CAA Family committee in order to address social and racial justice issues that are present in America.

The committee members represent the entire CAA conference and include six athletic administrators, four coaches and four student-athletes. The Senior Women Administrators, or SWAs, came together and decided that forming a committee was necessary to ensure the success of educating our community. 

Oriyomi, who also serves as the Northeastern University’s Black Athlete Caucus Co-President, has been trying to provide outreach opportunities and work with the university to create a safe space for black athletes since being selected for the committee. 

“Look around at your community, see what your community needs and make the leap that way,” Oriyomi said. “Open dialogues, education, opportunities and outreach are things we hope that we can implement sooner rather than later. We need to be open to change because it is coming.” 

For Cole, she said that education is at the forefront of all the programs that the CAA, United for Change and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committees have put out, including a voting initiative earlier in the year. 

“From the CAA commissioner down, it’s showing how important fighting against racism is and using the platform of athletics is so crucial and is something I’m extremely proud to be a part of,” Cole said. “We’re going to use our voices to make a change and heighten awareness about things that need to be changed that haven’t been yet.” 

The change dives deeper than this committee as well, with all CAA women’s teams hoping to pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King with special events in conjunction with games on the weekend prior to the federal holiday in his name.