BSU rebuilding foundation
David Kute ET Contributor
Issue date: 11/28/02 Section: News
The Black Student Union has returned. The BSU, a club with a long campus history, was inactive for an entire academic year. Last summer, after getting the needed board members, the BSU was reborn.
"I was approached by (then student trustee) Mr. Jim Geraghty with a piece of paper saying there was a BSU meeting and I just kind of took the ball and ran with it," says current president of BSU Evyonne Watts. The club has about 15 official members, seven of whom are defined as active. The advisors are Walter Turner, Rose Thompson, and Rinetta Early, and the club meets every second Tuesday between 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
"Starting from nothing, building it up to where it should be," has been a major focus of BSU," says club vice-president Diane Cook. Besides working on the fundamentals of a new club, such as organization of officers, and raising club funds, the current BSU has also decided that academics and unity are key areas where the club should have its focus. Cook feels that unity is an essential element that is missing with African-American students in the COM student union.
The concerns of the BSU also extend to the larger African-American community as well. "The one issue I see that needs to be addressed by COM is outreach into the Marin community, to encourage more of the younger people to come to school. There are 19-30 year olds on the streets, hanging out, doing nothing with their lives," says Cook.
"Some needs of the black students are being met," said Cook regarding the overall situation for black students at COM, suggesting that there are also areas to improve upon, as well as possible BSU initiatives to come. The work of students such as Watts, Cook, and others has revived BSU, has made the words Black Student Union a familiar term again on campus, laying the foundation for better things in the future.
"I was approached by (then student trustee) Mr. Jim Geraghty with a piece of paper saying there was a BSU meeting and I just kind of took the ball and ran with it," says current president of BSU Evyonne Watts. The club has about 15 official members, seven of whom are defined as active. The advisors are Walter Turner, Rose Thompson, and Rinetta Early, and the club meets every second Tuesday between 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
"Starting from nothing, building it up to where it should be," has been a major focus of BSU," says club vice-president Diane Cook. Besides working on the fundamentals of a new club, such as organization of officers, and raising club funds, the current BSU has also decided that academics and unity are key areas where the club should have its focus. Cook feels that unity is an essential element that is missing with African-American students in the COM student union.
The concerns of the BSU also extend to the larger African-American community as well. "The one issue I see that needs to be addressed by COM is outreach into the Marin community, to encourage more of the younger people to come to school. There are 19-30 year olds on the streets, hanging out, doing nothing with their lives," says Cook.
"Some needs of the black students are being met," said Cook regarding the overall situation for black students at COM, suggesting that there are also areas to improve upon, as well as possible BSU initiatives to come. The work of students such as Watts, Cook, and others has revived BSU, has made the words Black Student Union a familiar term again on campus, laying the foundation for better things in the future.