USU Black Student Union honors history and celebrates diversity
February is national Black History Month, and the Black Student Union has been celebrating the history and culture of the black community through activities designed to promote diversity here at USU.
“People need to know the good and bad things that have happened in history so mistakes of the past don’t happen again,” said Jene Robinson, a freshman majoring in premedicine.
Raising awareness of the history and culture of the African-American people is one of the group’s main goals, said Robinson, who is the recruitment vice president for BSU.
Many of the black students on campus aren’t from Utah, which has made it difficult for some to adjust to the culture here.
Jennifer Gowon, president of the BSU and a senior in human resource management, is from Nigeria and has lived in many different parts of the United States for the last eight years. She said coming to Utah has been interesting because of the cold winters and the culture.
“I realize that not everyone understands what it means to be black. Like a little girl once asked me why I was black, and I just told her that’s the way God made me. I try not to sweat the small stuff, but I don’t like the way it feels when people treat me different because of color,” Gowon said.
“Many people have the misconception that all the black students at Utah State are athletes, but I’m not,” said Shannon Stevenson, an undeclared sophomore. Because of stereotypes and other misunderstandings, the members of BSU work hard to raise awareness about black history and culture.
Their celebration of Black History Month has been through activities that have been open to the whole campus, like the Soul Food Dinner held earlier this month, along with some African poetry readings, said Stevenson, the union’s historian. At the dinner, they discussed the history of soul food as well as other important events in black history.
During the rest of the year, the union puts on other events such as concerts, a candlelight vigil for Martin Luther King and a discussion group called “Black Out Loud,” used to educate students about HIV and AIDS, Stevenson said.
BSU started more than 20 years ago, and with the help from Multicultural Student Services and other interracial groups on campus, they promote diversity and equality.
“I like being a part of BSU because I like to represent my people,” Robinson said.
Even among the black student community, there seems to be a line drawn between those native to Africa and those who are native to the United States, Gowon said. She said she and the other members of BSU are working together with the African Student Association to encourage more unity between the two groups.
Gowon said the union has suffered in years past with small numbers and finance. Being a smaller club, they face the challenges of putting on fun activities with a limited budget, she said. Gowon said she hopes that someday one of the BSU events will have the crowds that an ASUSU event has.
“BSU isn’t just for people of color, but it’s for everyone,” Robinson said. The BSU meets once a week and invites anyone to come. For more information about the union, people can find a link to its Web site by clicking on “Organizations” on the Multicultural Student Services site, www.usu.edu/multiculture.
-dwkoecher@cc.usu.edu