The Revived BSU: What’s New?

This interview was conducted on February 1st, 2023. The Black Student Union was recently revived after being inactive for several years. These answers were recorded and transcribed by Leah Brent.

Question: What’s your name? What is your major? And what is your position in the BSU? And for how long?

Stephanie: “My name is Stephanie Akhigbe Egberuare. My major is Biological Sciences. I'm the President of BSU. And I've been President starting this semester.”

Molly: “I'm Molly Mobley. My major is Political Science with a concentration in Criminal Justice with an Ethnic Studies minor as well. My position in the Black Student Union is Co-Event Coordinator, and I have been Co-Event Coordinator since BSU was revived and hired me last semester, which was the fall semester of 2022.”

Royce: “My name is Royce Etheridge; I am a Biological Sciences major with an Ethnic Studies minor. I [have been] the other Co-Event Coordinator since last semester.”

Skii: “My name is Skii Allen, I'm an Applied Economics major adding a Data Science minor. I'm the Treasurer of BSU, and I got this position in January 2023.”

Question: How did you hear about the BSU? And why did you join?

Stephanie: “I'm a freshman, this is my first year. And I was here from the start, when we revived the BSU. I didn't really hear about it, I just kind of got onto campus, and I was like, ‘Where's BSU? Where are my people?’ And they were like, ‘They're not here.’ I was like, ‘Okay, why?’ So I talked to Donte [Miller], talked to Ms. Kathy [English]. And they just kind of said, ‘Okay, here, this is how to revive BSU,’ and me and Kaelyn [Alexandria], who was last semester’s President, we worked together to revive BSU and met these wonderful people that are in front of you. We started BSU and started having events and started connecting to basically all the black people on campus, and it's been wonderful. It's been a wonderful journey since.”

Molly: “Yeah, I have a little bit of a different story, and kind of the rest of us that came on to the team later. Royce, Skii, and I are all sophomores, it's our second year here at Pacific. And I came in as a freshman, having seen the BSU on the Tiger Link, you know, coming to the school thinking there's going to be an active BSU. 

And then I found out soon after that there was not, and that it had unfortunately kind of faded out a few years before I had gotten to the school. And of course, I was disappointed. When I heard via Instagram at the Fall Semester Club Fair that there was a Black Student Union being revived on campus, I was like, ‘I'm all in.’ And I joined for cultural solidarity to actually bring the black community on the UOP campus together. Because it felt for me, even though I've only been here two years, extremely disconnected. And, you know, it's really hard to get through college, for any college student alone, but especially being a black student on a campus where there are not many of us. I wanted to make sure that I had community for my own support, and so that students coming in as freshmen didn't ever feel as alone as I felt at times my freshman year.”

Royce: “Yeah, I think Molly and I heard about Black Student Union at Umoja Day. They were there for tabling. And I went there, because I was like, ‘I want to sign up for these things. Find more community.’ So when I went there, I saw that they were still finding people for executive boards. So I was like, ‘Well, I’ll put my name down.” And then just kind of finding more organizations that would help me find more community.”

Skii: “I found out about the Black Student Union through Ms. Kathy from the Black Student Services Center. She was talking to me about how last semester the BSU was making a return on campus. And my schedule was really, really busy last semester. So I didn't really have time to really commit to officially joining BSU because there are community service requirements you have to reach. But I did join this semester because I wanted the BSU to have transparency when needing access to funding. And also I knew how important my attendance is at BSU events, so I really wanted to make it a personal goal to start showing up for the BSU more, because our presence is really important. Because there's not a lot of us on this campus, and I also wanted a support system. And I also wanted BSU to know that there's a lot of funding at this school and just encourage more collaboration.”

Question: Why do you think it's important that we have a Black Student Union on the Stockton campus? 

Stephanie: “It's important to have a Black Student Union on this campus because there are black students on this campus, and it is a PWI campus and is an institution of mostly white and non-black students. And I want us to have this community and space where they can come in and see themselves and talk about things that only other people like themselves will understand. 

Black Student Union has always been something where once you hear it, and there's this group of people labeled, you know as a black person, that you can see you're safe there, you can talk to these people, you can relate to these people wherever you are. It doesn't even have to be at UOP, any other institution, BSU, as a phrase, is something that you feel safe from. So having this on this campus is having it just as a statement: you're seen. And we welcome you to this space as you are as a black person.”

Molly: “... I want to add a little bit to that. Because, you know, we can say, community is important, but to kind of elaborate on that, as you know, Stephanie started to do. You know, it really is a statement…to have a BSU on campus. And I feel like it's, unfortunately, an inherently political statement saying that, ‘We're here, and we're really going to make sure that this institution serves us.’ And that, we have a place where we can go where we feel safe. 

And that in and of itself tells you, it can be hard being the only black student in a class and maybe not having peers to study with, having teachers and classmates maybe assume your intelligence before you even have a chance to prove it. Or just having to feel like you have to prove your intelligence at all. And so, the BSU, our goal is to have a social event and a community service event every month, and I feel like that really highlights some of our key values and why we have this on campus. We want to have a social so that we can come together, and talk about so many of the things that only black people can understand in our experience as college students. 

And the community service aspect is really important to us, because having a Black Student Union on a college campus shows to the larger community that our presence is well established. And it's important for little black kids in the area to be able to see and say, ‘Okay, if I want to go to UOP, I will have a club that at least I can go there to be around my people and to continue to experience my culture and not lose my identity when I enter an institution that does not, in classrooms, never really give the opportunity to be your full and authentic self as a black person.’ So it's very important for us as individuals, for us as a community, and for the broader community at UOP and beyond.”

Skii: “I also feel having a Black Student Union is very important for black students especially, because it shows that we're here for each other and that we have people that we can rely on and speak with and have conversations that dictate shared experiences that other people walking through this campus do not go through. To the point where you realize ‘Dang, like, it's not just me.’ You realize when these conversations happen you realize that there are certain issues on campus that can be addressed and then, as a union, as 10 or more students coming forward, only being 3.9% on this campus and sharing their collective experiences, that can cultivate change, that can cultivate more inclusivity on this campus, and better the treatment that we face as well.”

Stephanie: “Just to point out exactly what you said, but just communicating between us can show places where the university has fallen short of treating all of us equally or treating us with basic things. Because if you don't communicate with other people in BSU, maybe you're used to thinking, ‘Oh, maybe I'm thinking too much of it, maybe I'm being dramatic.’ Like it wasn't anything, but once you talk to other people that are like you, other fellow black people, you realize, as in the discussion, that it's actually something you need to bring up and fix in the community on this campus. So communication, as you said, brings change, honestly.”

Royce: “I think, especially in STEM, 90% of the time, I am the only black person in my class. And so it's so important to have a space where you can be with other people that look like you and find your own community, when especially, in these classes, you often either have to represent your whole community by yourself, and kind of be the only person that's going to understand you in that class.”

Molly: “Yeah. And to add to the looking part, someone who talks like you, thinks like you, notices the same things around you. I was saying to somebody who was non-black the other day that black people are the most observant people around and that's for a reason, unfortunately, it usually is a safety thing. But we tend to notice the same things. And like Skii was saying, you might experience something and feel like because black people tend to experience a lot of racial gaslighting, you might think, ‘Okay, maybe I'm crazy. Maybe this isn't a race thing. Maybe it isn't what I think it is.’ 

Then, you go into this space and you hear 5, 10, 15, 20 other black people have also experienced it on your campus. And it's extremely validating. You can say, ‘Okay, not only is this a problem, it's happening to many other people.’ And now we have a space where we can come together and find a way to solve it. So yeah, it's huge. It's very important.”

Question: What has the BSU taught you?

Skii: “I just want to say off the bat, the BSU at UOP has taught me that not only black students are interested in black students’ success.”

Moly: “There’s actually solidarity between different BIPOC groups.”

Skii: “Yes. And I say this because there were more non-black students that signed up interested in joining BSU than black students during tabling for Club Fair. In general, when I was in high school, there were no non-black students in my Black Student Union. So I think just students showing interest in the first place, they think students have a perception that it's not open, that it's exclusive to black people. Like it's good that non-black people are willing to invite themselves in. It's not like we're talking to everyone and projecting to everyone. I mean, we are, but we're not reaching out to every individual person, like someone who's coming up to our booth and signing up and showing interest, that's way different than just a general handing out a flyer.”

Molly: “It shows real support.”

Skii: “Yeah, and genuine interest.”

Molly: “Yes, exactly. I think the Black Student Union has taught me a lot about the student experience on this campus, and also just running an RSO. There's a lot of challenges, especially if you're a culturally specific RSO. Like Skii was saying, there's certain demographics that are interested that you might not have expected to be interested in. And then sometimes your own people aren't interested and that's also a shock. And you have to take that and find a way to roll with it and continue to try to reach certain groups on campus that might not be as interested in participating. It’s taught me a lot, and I'm learning every day. And that's another great part of it is when you have many minds in one space you learn.”

Stephanie: “My roots, I was brought up in Nigeria, in Africa. And when I came here, I learned all about culture and everything. And when I came to BSU, not only have I started learning a lot more about the black culture, I started learning more about our history and everything like that. So I would say learning history and how important it is for us now. And why having a Black Student Union is as important now, because of our history. BSU has taught me the importance of having people that have, as you said, the same minds around you. Yeah, that's super important. And because I cannot imagine having to go through college and going into college without having people like me around me and supporting me and saying, ‘Oh, it's okay. I've been there. Let me tell you all about it.’ And then relieving myself, ‘Okay, that wasn’t the first time that has happened, it’s happened to someone else.’ So I think BSU in all that has had so many different branches and how important it is to me and what it has taught me.”

Question: How can the larger student body support the Black Student Union?

Molly: “Definitely coming out and supporting events, especially once we start rolling out some of these community service events. It's important that you not only support the black community on campus, but also the black community in Stockton. 

We really want to help uplift a lot of these grassroots organizations that are doing really great work in the Stockton area and deserve recognition. But they might not have a social media presence so that a lot of people don't know about them. Also, posting on social media. If you see us post about an event, even if you're not a black student, yourself, repost it, tell your friends about it. If you have black friends, tell them about it. We have a GroupMe and an Instagram, @blackatpacific. So if you see things on there, just post your story. Don't feel like it's weird to do that. Like you're just putting our name out there and our events out there. And that's always appreciated.”

Skii: “I want to emphasize telling your black friends. Especially if your black friend is the only black friend in your friend group.”

Molly: “I will say last year, Royce and I were really good friends. And we started out as freshmen, friends really early on, same as Skii and I. And we kind of felt alone in a way, and my mom came and visited and asked us early on this year, our sophomore year, and was like, ‘Okay, what did you like better?’ So it was only like a month in, and she asked, ‘What do you like better, freshman year and sophomore year?’ And we're like, ‘Absolutely sophomore year by a landslide.’ And I think for me at least honestly it was 99% reliant on the fact that the BSU started this year, and actually being able to start to build that community that was so lacking when I first got here. It really crushed my spirit and my heart last year to not have that community and it's just filled me all the way up this year to have that.”

Question: Any other comments?

Molly: “Instagram, repost, repost, repost. Follow and share. Like I was saying, talk to your black friends and let them know that we are here and we're here to support them.”

Skii: “And don't be afraid to show up to our E-Board meetings either.”

Molly: “Our E-Board meetings will probably be weekly in the BSS center Wednesday, four to five, weekly or bi weekly, and they're open to the public. So if you have something that you want to pitch to the board meeting the executive board, or just are interested in listening in, you're absolutely welcome. They're open meetings.”

Question: What would you like the future of the BSU to look like? Where do you see it going, and where do you hope it goes?

Stephanie: “I just see it growing. Hopefully, as the new first years come in next year, hopefully there’s more black students, and there will definitely be tabling in the fair next year. So hopefully, when they're all signed up, I definitely hope to see more collabs. We are having a lot of collabs this semester, so I hope that continues. And I hope we can get a collab with every club.”

Molly: “Yeah, we're definitely this semester, establishing a lot of events that we want to have recurring every year. So the future will definitely be having these events that 5, 10 years down the line are a staple on UOP’s campus, right, like a huge annual event that people really look forward to. The socials that we've already held this semester and last semester were big hits. There’s obviously a need for this from all groups on campus, people are really showing that they love this and that they support it, and they need it, for themselves and for things that they want to see change on this campus. So we'd love to have kind of an established calendar, of course, we're always open to new suggestions, but things that people can look forward to and know will be happening regularly.”

Stephanie: “Just come to the events that are coming up this month, February. It's Black History Month, so try and come to these, black or not.”

Molly” And we're collaborating, like Stephanie was saying, with a lot of cultural RSOs. So if you are in a cultural RSO please come to our E-Board meetings, or DM us, or email us. And we're open to see what we can do. Solidarity between BIPOC groups is important to make sure we're all being served on this campus. BSU is here, and we're here to stay, and I'm really excited about it.”

Skii: “We have executive positions open.”

Molly: “So we have our president from last semester that stepped down. And so that role is now filled. But that left our VP position open because the VP stepped into the President position. So we're looking for a VP, and we would like our executive board to be black. The Social Media Manager position is also open. And we really urgently need somebody for that, to manage our Instagram. And we also have a TikTok. So we really, really need somebody who's good with graphic design, and would be interested in managing our social media. That is one position that I am okay with a non-black person running because it's just social media management. You don't have to be really, really good, but if you can make something cute on Canva, that works for me.”

If you would like to contact any of these BSU executives, they have provided their emails below. 

Stephanie Akhigbe Egberuare, President, s_ akhigbeegberuare@u.pacific.edu

Molly Mobley, Co-Event Coordinator: m_mobley@u.pacific.edu

Royce Etheridge, Co-Event Coordinator: r_etheridge@u.pacific.edu

Skii Allen, Treasurer: s_allen12@u.pacific.edu