Black Student Union is here to stay

By Sophia Oppedisano

Editor-in-Chief

Courtesy of Laila Jenkins

Senior Laila Jenkins knows exactly who she is. While she describes herself as shy and softspoken, she said those traits only apply to herself. When it comes to others, Jenkins wants to advocate for them and ensure everyone is included to the best of her ability as a campus leader - no matter what. Jenkins, a psychology major and president of Framingham State’s Black Student Union (BSU), arrived at Framingham State during her sophomore year after transferring from another state institution. “I just felt like this place was way more comfortable than any other school I've been to,” she said. “I took a tour here on my own, and I just saw the campus, and it honestly just felt like home, and it was cheaper. … It just really worked.” Jenkins was born in New York, but she was raised and attended school in Springfield. She said most of her K-12 experience was at predominantly white institutions (PWIs), and her first university experience was much the same. “I never learned anything new about Black history or Black culture in school other than what my family taught me,” she said. Her experience at Framingham has been a stark, refreshing contrast. “The diversity on this campus, and actually seeing people that looked like me, was a real shock factor. Going from a PWI to [Framingham] was really very interesting. I didn't know there were schools like this in Massachusetts,” she said. She said her experience at her previous university was “unsettling” and riddled with experiences of microaggressions and classmates and faculty turning a blind eye to racism on campus. Jenkins participated in BSU there as well, but both of her advisors, who were active in the Black community on campus, were let go. “I don't know why. It was kind of just like, ‘You guys don't have advisors anymore.’ They were really important to the culture and the Black community on campus, and for them to just be let go and not really talked about didn't sit right with me,” she said. After the loss of both advisors, Jenkins traveled to Hawaii for a semester. “There, it was just so much diversity,” she said. It was a lot of Hawaiian culture, but it was also a lot of just openness to other cultures, which I really love.” Between her positive experiences in Hawaii and considering the lack of diversity and acceptance back at home, Jenkins decided it was time for a change, and Framingham State offered her new opportunities. Before she even arrived on campus, Jenkins said she was looking at the Framingham BSU’s Instagram page and planning to join. “I just really loved all the events they were doing,” she said. She started as an event coordinator - her passion for planning events, sorting out details, and making her ideas come to life lent itself to the needs of BSU at the time. More than that, though, Jenkins said, “It's just really important to me to be part of Black culture wherever I am. Whether it's on campus, in the real world, or just on social media, it's always important to me to advocate for people of color and create a community where everyone can decompress after school and finals and stuff.” Affinity groups like Black Student Union are incredibly important resources for students to achieve a sense of belonging. Jenkins said it’s easy to feel like engaging in anti-racism or supporting Black businesses is isolating if the people around you are not also participating in making those changes. “I feel like affinity groups show people that you're not doing it alone, and you're not alone in supporting others,” she added. During her time as event coordinator, Jenkins worked for The Center for Student Experience & Career Development (EXP) and found that BSU was struggling to stay in good standing as a club on campus in accordance with EXP guidelines. “I had a lot of knowledge about the background of the many things that go into clubs,” she said. Duties typically completed by BSU club officers were falling through the cracks, and Jenkins decided to step up to the role of president. “I was open to it. I wasn't like, ‘I will be president,’ but it was more like … even if it wasn't me, I just wanted to guide whoever was president to make sure things were getting done. It would be horrible for a club like Black Student Union to end because of something silly, like not going to a meeting or not filling out forms,” Jenkins said. When she became president in the fall, Jenkins stepped into the spotlight and away from being a self-described shy, “off-to-the-side” kind of person. She was always focused on making an impact “from behind the scenes,” but now, her presidency has made her into “someone who people look to instead of someone who people have to find out about.” As she found her footing in leadership, Jenkins said a Black leader who inspired her was Harriet Tubman. She said, “She was a great leader, and she had a lot of guts to do things that I don't think anyone would really just be open and willing to do. She definitely inspires me.” Jenkins admires Tubman’s faith, her selflessness, and her heroism. “She could have just escaped and been free, but she went back and kept going back. I feel like that is really important to me, because that's really who I am as a person. I'm not going to cross the finish line if everyone else isn't.” Jenkins said she is most proud of the direction she is guiding the club in. “We've tried to do more community-based things, like collabing with other clubs and being more open to other people. I feel like before, the club was very closed off. Nobody wanted to collab with us. Businesses didn't want to work with us,” she added. Overall, her vision for BSU is for the club to act as a resource for students. She said there are other clubs on campus that students can participate in that boost their resumes. “I would like BSU to be a club that does that for people of color, and just minorities in general. That's my end vision.” As she reflected on Black History Month, Jenkins said this month means “progression. We’re going in the right direction. “In a world where it can feel like everything is declining and everything is going wrong - which it is, there are a lot of things that can be worked on - I feel like Black History Month in itself is a time for everyone to pause on everything else that's going on and look at how far we've made it. And just to create a mentality of what we can do if we all work together and we push back against oppression and discrimination,” she continued. Above all, Jenkins said Black History Month signifies a time of appreciation. “Even though I feel like Black people should be appreciated all the time, I feel like this month specifically, we can actually see that happening,” she said. As for our campus community, Jenkins wants everyone to remember: “Don't contain your love to just a month. “Use this month as a blueprint, and live your life in love and celebration. Be curious in a respectful way about other cultures, be inclusive, and care about everyone,” she said.