As the new school year begins, the Black Student Union (BSU) club quickly re-established its presence in person after returning from a year of computer screens and black squares. BSU strives to promote self-love, pride and the concept of maintaining a community of individuals to whom you relate. Meetings take place every other Thursday in the media center after school. Student presidents Ruth Luulay and Abigail Nwachukwu strive to make BSU an informative, enjoyable, and productive environment for their peers. 

“BSU is an extremely important part of my school life because it feels reassuring to know that there are people around me who I can relate to as well as share my struggles as a black person with. I really enjoy planning activities with Abigail for our bi-monthly meetings to make BSU a fun experience for everyone in attendance. It is a privilege to be a leader of BSU and I feel so honored to be a part of it,” Luulay said. 

At the first official club meeting on September 2nd, approximately 50 participants sat down at the media center tables expressing interest in the club. To provide members the opportunity to get acclimated to BSU, Presidents Luulay and Nwachukwu proposed that members around the room share their personal experiences with their hair journey. The stories that individuals shared about their hair journeys touched the hearts of most due to the plethora of similarities in the experiences. A majority of the members attended predominantly white elementary and middle schools, which significantly affects one’s self-image. 

“In 2nd grade, I went to a predominately white private school, and I was one of 3 black girls in my grade. One day in school, everyone thought it would be fun for my long curly hair to be the topic of discussion. I went to the bathroom and a girl came from behind me and cut my hair. I turned around and there was a huge chunk of my hair on the floor. Now there’s a part of my hair that’s shorter than the rest so I’m always reminded of it,” junior Allyson Kirksey said. 

On a lighter note, BSU recently held elections for office positions including vice president, secretary, treasurer and social media managers. Typically, vice presidents elected to serve for the current school year will automatically hold the position of president during the following school year. However, in this circumstance, senior vice president Akilah McTavish cannot take that role next school year; therefore, runner-up Allyson Kirksey will take over as the BSU president in the 2022-2023 school year. 

The involvement of the student body in BSU promotes diversity, as well as new and innovative ideas to improve the club. Although black people relate to one another in the grand scheme of things, melanin comes in countless shades, which calls for a variety of different experiences and supports the idea of diversity. 

“I want BSU to stand for unity and diversity. All backgrounds, opinions and upbringings coming together while also making sure no one feels out of place or judged. I think BSU benefits anyone because it represents a large portion of the student body, provides knowledge and enticing conversation. As events get started, I also want to celebrate the black excellence within our student body and also just have fun,” magnet senior Nwachukwu said.