Students at Chippewa Valley High School started a new club known as “Black Student Union”. I got the opportunity to speak to some of the E-board members and give them the chance to tell us all about the new club.

I first spoke to DayShawn Goodwyn, a senior, founder, and the President of the club.

When asked why he wanted to start BSU, he explained how he wanted it to help change the narrative on black students because “a lot of teachers at CVHS don’t typically interact with black people outside of school.” He wants to show that black students are more than meets the eye.

He hopes for BSU to be as big, if not bigger, than STUGO. Also for the club to thrive because there is no limit to growth. “When I leave my position as president and someone take over, I’ll let them know that I set no limits for the growth of the club and they should do the same.”

The final question was: If you were to have guest speakers, who would you want to come?

DayShawn named three and explained why.

1. Michelle Obama- “She is the perfect role model for young black women and for everyone”
2. AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez)- “She is the perfect example of what we represent… she looks out for her people when she can whether it is political or not.”
3. Phylicia Rashad- “She was a singer and stage director and now a professor at Howard University. Being a black actress when she was is not easy; especially in such a popular black TV show”

I then spoke with the beautiful Emmanuela Johnson, she is also a senior and Vice President of the club.

When I asked her about the purpose of BSU she expressed how it was to bring unity. “I wanted to create a close-knit community at Chippewa that would celebrate and understand its black population.” She joined because she wanted to be part of something that would have an everlasting effect past her graduating in hopes that it will leave CVHS better than when she first arrived.

Something very important she said is that “BSU is open to everyone that wants to join, but the name is what it is for a reason. The main purpose of the Black Student Union is to support our black student body.”

In terms of her hopes for BSU, she hopes that it will continue to grow and “have leaders who are prepared to continue making a change and educating; leading without fear.” She wants it to instill more confidence in the black students and for them to always remember what the purpose of BSU is. She wants them to support each other and resemble that of a family.

Final question: If you were to have guest speakers, who would you want to come?

1. Serena Williams
2. Stevie Wonder

Because they are very influential people.

Emmanuela is looking forward to seeing how well BSU does after she graduates and plans on coming back to see its growth.

Lastly, the amazing Trinity Traylor spoke with me. She is a Junior and the treasurer of BSU.

She wants BSU to be a safe space for black students in a school where they are the minority. Also, she hopes that BSU will help educated the masses about black culture and make it to where it is a normal subject to be spoken on. “Making more opportunities for black students because they don’t have as many as their white counter parts.” She also understands that things like STUGO are very intimidating so she hopes this will allow more black students get involved.

Playing devil’s advocate, I asked, Why she wants to separate black students?

Trinity explains how black students “don’t want to separate themselves from white people but we want to give black people a plat form to speak without being spoken over or spoken for.”

What are Trinity’s hopes for the club?

She wants people to respect the club more within the next year and also have more freshman get involved in the club. A black history month spirit week is also somethings she hopes the club can host.

Final question: If you were to have guest speakers, who would you want to come?

Angela Davis, because “it’s hard being a woman and fighting for those rights while also advocating for black people, and she does both so well”.

Black Student Union has a very bright future ahead of it and the CVS community is looking forward to watching it flourish into something great. Good luck to all the members of BSU, I hope you accomplish all the things you dream of for this club.