By Justin Stearns
Staff Writer
The first Black Student Union (BSU) was founded at San Francisco State University in 1966. Now, almost 60 years later, Lindsey Wilson College’s Black Student Union is still striving to accomplish what those SFSU students set out to do.
“BSU’s purpose is to stimulate unity, respect, and self consciousness as well as bring awareness to local, national, and international issues within the black community,” said LWC graduate and BSU member Jordan Nelson. “BSU also serves as an organization where concerns and needs of black students can be addressed.”
While a student at Lindsey Wilson, Nelson served as the President of BSU.
“In 2022 we held a multicultural retreat where we talked about what it meant to be diverse, how to accept the diversity of others, and how we could bring awareness and inclusion to the campus,” said Nelson, in regards to the importance of BSU’s prevalence on college campuses.
Nelson believes that it is important for black students to feel like there's a place that they connect with “students who look like them.”
The Black Student Union is not just a club, at least not what one typically thinks of a club. They put on events, but these events have purpose. Nelson said the LWC Black Student Union fills the student body and faculty with information, especially in a world where there is so much misinformation.
According to Nelson, the club's message expands outside the campus's black population.
“It feels good to see students, faculty, and staff outside of the black community want to be active and show support within the organization...”
“It feels good to see students, faculty, and staff outside of the black community want to be active and show support within the organization,” said Nelson.
The Black Student Union wants more members and LWC student participation. Students who graduate as a member of the Union receive a special BSU sash to wear at graduation.
Students who want to be a part of the Black Student Union can attend meetings and events by simply just showing up. To become an official member, Nelson said students can reach out to the current President, K’ron Sherald for more information.
Along with Sherald, the club also has Celeste Ortega as the Vice President, Jeremy Gray as treasurer, and Kaylan Hughes and Fred Smith are the public relations team.
February is Black History Month, and is very important to the BSU.
“It's a time where we’re able to remember and celebrate the people who played major parts in the history of the black community...”
“It means everything,” said Nelson. “It's a time where we’re able to remember and celebrate the people who played major parts in the history of the black community.”
She went on to say that Black History Month is important because it celebrates those in the black community who overcame tribulations to allow things like the Black Student Union to exist.
The LWC Black Student Union celebrates Black History Month through a variety of special events and celebrations. This past week, the club organized a spirit week, where different attire was assigned to each day. Monday students were to wear red on Tuesday, green on Wednesday, yellow on Thursday, and Friday students wore Black Student Union gear. Students who participated were posted on the Instagram page @bsulwc.