http://digital.lib.buffalo.edu/upimage/VF_I18G_049.pdf

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Part of Black Student Union e-board to use history to enrich the present, July 1, 2019

Text

Black Student Union e•board to use
history to enrich the present
edgeably about black history during
general body meetings as well as BSU's
community impact, including rallies and
statements members made to past UB
presidents.
SPECTR UM
"I feel like it's really important that we
BENJAMI N BLANCHET 7/1/19
carry
on that same type of spirit, and it's
ENGAGEMENT EDITOR
i
reall 1mportant that we touch the African
American community on this
campus," Ayeni said.
One of the ways she hopes
to do that is through being an
advocate for mental health like.
through her Creative Minds
event in New York City which
she organized in June. She rec­
ognizes that mental health is an
important aspect of students'
daily lives, something she saw
firsthand with her brother who
has schizophrenia.
On top of her work as a student leader, Ayeni is an entre­
preneur who oversees a num­
ber of different organizations,
including Go With The Flo
The BlackStudent Union is UB's largest
which has campaigned againstA frican
minorityclub and one of its oldest.
American
teenagers being victims of gun
Withthousands of students .taking part
violence.
over its 50-plus year history, BSU.'s incom­
ing e-board hopes to both retain and grow
Glenn Brown
its reach in the year ahead. The Spectrum sat
BSU
vice president
down with its four student leaders to dis­
Junior,
politlcal science major
cuss what's ahead, why they joined and the
It's important to Brown that he contin­
value of their organization in 2019.
ues BSU's legacy.
One of his goals as the organization's
Florence Aveni
vice president is for students to recognize
BSU president
their cultural history as well as BSU's his­
Senior, health and human services
tory.
major
"Next year, we want to give people that
Ayeni admits that when she initially
visual thinking of, 'how do we make the
joined BSU, she did not know the organi­
next steps happen,"' Brown said. "One
zation had such a prominent role on cam­
key is to give them a context of what we
pus. When she ran for publicity coordinawere able to do in the past, give them a
tor during her freshman year, she wore
context of how they can be more active
jeans and flats.
as an individual rather than just speaking
It didn't work in her favor.
about it. That is what BSU was founded
But she said she needed the experience
on and that's what we want to carry on as
even if it was an awkward way to start.
well."
"Even after that, when people get dePart of this drive for Brown is so he
nied a position, usually they stop support­
too, can analyze and speak about his own
ingthe clubbut for me, it was about gain­
history.
ing more ms1ght, more information and
"Growing up, my parents always taught
knowledge from such a club and relating
meor
sat me down to just speak about my
to them," Ayeni said.
history of being black ..." Brown said. "But
She stuck with the club, drawing closer
it's hard to be able to get somewhere if
to BSU thanks to members like former
you're not able to see it in yourself, so BSU
BSU president Samirra Felix. Ayeni was
is that ability to do that. We have alumni
by members speaking knowlwe could use to show where you could be
-1

Introducing the students
leading BSU for the 201920 academic year

inspired

and how you could do that as well."
He said he doesn't just want his club to
target black students, but students of oth­
er races to "analyze the history."
"We've always been taught the struggle
of being black, period, and not about the
aspect of the empowerment or howyou
could be able to take that struggle and lead
it to something else," Brown. said. "We
don't want to move backward, we want to
move forward, and that's the key we want
to [use] next year."

Awa Magassouba
BSU treasurer
Sophomore, psychology, sociology,
criminology major
Magassouba is in her second year and,
in the future, wants to help people with
mental illnesses, as she sees problems in
the way the medical industry treats them.
She said her decision to run for an eboard position came "out of nowhere."
But after "ups and downs" during the
club's dection process, she discover.ed the
uplifting nature of the club throughout its
history is something she also stands for.
"I'm always looking to help someone,
I'm always looking to have unity, I don't
like segregation or anyone not being welcome," Magassouba said.
"I joined because I feel like this is a really good organization and I would love to
add on to the legacy that it has. I'd love to
be able to shed light on the problems that
we face now in today's society and what we
faced previously. Like Flo and Glenn said,
the history is the most important aspect
of BSU becaus.e without the history, there
would be no BSU."
She recognizes that BSU plays a big role
at UB and wants to take part in the club's
efforts to educate the student body.
"I'm a person that believes every day
you should learn something new and I
honestly feel like there's a lack of educa­
tion in terms of diversity on this campus,"
Magassouba said. "I feel like if people
don't know about it, we can't really be upset but more so we should educate them
for the future."
Varnel Fleurisma
BSU secretary
Fifth year senior, public health major
Fleurisma has explored UB's BSU archives on the fourth floor of Capen Hall.
And history has stood out to him.
He recalls discovering a file that described a BSU president walking to cam­
pus in the '70s. The student, Fleurisma
said, was stopped by campus police who
asked for his ID. The student didn't pro-

vide 1t to othcers, who later arrested the
student on the grounds that he either resisted arrest or attacked officers.
Fleurisma said the charges were dropped
at the time but he drew parallels to the sit­
uation in the '70s to arrests by police officers happening today.
"This is being seen more because of social media.... It's things like that where I
feel [like] law enforcement takes advantage
of that authority and there's no repercus­
sions for it," Fleurisma said. "Every day on
Twitter, I see another black male or a minority being abused by law enforcement,
they're the people that are supposed to
protect us but we're afraid of them at the
same time."
He said the archive took him back to
Trayvon Martin's death in 2012, where the
justice system and law enforcement per­
sonally failed him. Fleurisma said UPD
hasn't really been a problem for the com­
munity but if an arrest or tragedy were to
happen at UB, he recognizes the power
BSU has to be that voice just as it was in
the '70s.
"I feel like that's something we all can
be, I feel like every person on the e-board
has a strong, powerful voice as an individ­
ual and when we come together, we can be
heard," Fleurisma said.
Fleurisma is also passionate about
spreading awareness for various resources
and departments on campus.
He said he feels like a lot of resources
on campus are "word of mouth," like International Student Services or the Aca­
demic Resource Center.
"Yes, [these resources are] posted in a
pamphlet somewhere or it's in a packet
during orientation but, let's be honest, how
many people read that little pamphlet or a
page your RA gives you?" Fleurisma said.
He said he's inspired by African Ameri­
can Studies professors such as James Pap­
pas and Y.G. Lulat and sees the way they
harvest history in their classrooms.
"I kind of find it funny that during Black
History Month, UB [was not] marketing
the African American Studies [program],
why is that not something that's being
done?" Fleurisma said.
He said UB needs to do more for its
programs, but it's up to students to put the
pressure on it to do more.
The Spectrum's full discussion with
the BSU e-board can be heard on our
SoundCloud : https: / / soundcloud.com/
thespectrumub
Email: benjamin.blanchet@ubspectrum.com
Twitter: @BenjamJnUBSpec