By Noah Bloch
Moorhead – The Black Student Union (BSU) had a group of around twenty returning members at their first non-board meeting, Wednesday, Sept. 24.
President Casper Miller was slightly disappointed to see a lack of new members as she has her sights set on involving more of the student body with BSU.
“I know that the name says BSU, Black Student Union, but it’s really open to the entire Concordia student body,” says Miller.
“And you don’t have to be Black to come to BSU.”
Recognizing differences while also collaborating across cultures and clubs is important to Miller.
“I want [BSU] to be more open to various other cultures that are not African American culture or the very known Afro cultures like, say, Jamaican culture or South African culture,” says Miller.
Just because two countries are close geographically, does not mean they have similar cultural identities.
“We come from these Black-dominant countries, but the cultures are very different, and there’s a lot of aspects that does not carry across the borders,” says Miller.
Despite this, she says the BSU is still just that, a union of those with primarily African heritage.
“At the end of the day, we’re all Black.”
Vice President Nana Agyemang Boateng, a third-year student from Ghana, emphasizes the unity aspect of BSU.
“I think the word is solidarity between other affinity orgs, because that’s what we need.”
BSU historically collaborates with other groups and affinity organizations on campus. They often share members across these groups as well, which brings them closer together.
“All our communities face kind of the same challenges and providing a space for marginalized people and minorities to gather and feel safe, is what we should all be about,” says Boateng.
Black History Month, which takes place in February, is when BSU’s biggest events take place.
One of the most popular collaborations with another organization has been the hair care workshop with Club Access.
Taking place in Jones A/B, students had the chance to travel to different stations to learn about and receive hair care products that were formulated for their hair. Students learned their hair type, equating to the curliness of their hair, as well as the porosity (ability to hold water).
“Hair is very important,” said Boateng. “Culturally, the things we do with our hair, it just allows us a stronger sense of identity.”
The first time Boateng took part in the workshop was as a participant, not as a board member.
Another popular event they host is Soul Cafe, a collaboration with both Campus Events Commission (CEC) and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission (DEIC).
Soul Cafe has typically been a more relaxed event held in the Maize and typically includes some outside entertainment.
Boateng says, “I think last year was a group called I.N.K, it was a duel. It was kind of like a rap duel. And they were really good,” said Boateng.
Next up for BSU is folktale night. The exact date is not set but it will likely be in early to mid-November.
“It’s just sharing childhood stories,” said Miller.
The event is designed so people can get to know each other’s cultures better, students can sit down and have an opportunity “to share and be like, Oh, I’m from so and so country, and this is my tale,” says Miller.
