As the current junior co-chair of the Black Student Union (BSU), I found that last edition’s article “Affinity Groups Valuable on Campus But Often Seem Exclusive” by Tracy Jarrett undermined the importance of the Black Student Union on campus. At the end of her article, the author concludes that the BSU is exclusive but that it serves a greater purpose on campus for its members. I do not disagree with this statement. The BSU is exclusive in its intent to adhere to the needs of the black student population. However I do have a problem with the rest of the article, which is littered with negativity concerning affinity groups, of which BSU is the main target.

Jarrett stated that the BSU serves a purpose for black students, but she failed to mention the various ways that the BSU serves the greater student body. The BSU puts on a number of culturally informative events throughout the year including Harlem Renaissance, one of the most highly attended student-run events on campus. Is the author claiming that such events serve no purpose for the non-black students on campus? Other affinity groups such as the Asian Student Association and La Causa also throw well-attended events such as Asian Night Market and Voices for the Voiceless which entertain and inform the community. Are these events also pointless for students who are not members of that particular ethnicity? I doubt that the executive board of any affinity group on campus would dedicate the months of preparation that go in to creating these events in order to educate themselves about their own culture.

In her article Jarrett also asks the question “Why do the black members of BSU seem to associate solely with one another?” I found this question jarring as it represents a stereotype of black students on campus. As junior co-chair of the BSU, I can say that 75 percent of my friends have absolutely nothing to do with the BSU. One of my best friends, who is black, has never been to a meeting. I feel that the question is not actually directed at the “members of BSU” as the author states, but rather at the black population in general, for I doubt the author has an accurate idea of our actual membership. This being said, the author is presenting her own version of the infamous question, “Why are all the black students sitting together at lunch?” In fact, all the black students do not associate solely with one another, and to look at a single section in Valentine and make this conclusion is simply unreasonable. Five black students “associating” with one another at various points in their days in no way accounts for the couple hundred black students on this campus, and most certainly does not compare with the more numerous groups of white students associating around campus. Also, if the author is going to pinpoint black students as exclusive of others, why not pinpoint athletes, who are equally identifiable in their so-called associations? The author seems to have identified all black students who have other black friends as belonging to an “exclusive members of the BSU” group, a notion which is both untrue and unfair.

Lastly, I wish to comment on the author’s discussion of the lack of white students in the BSU. As I said at the start of my article, the BSU is a resource for black students. We talk about black issues and address the needs and concerns of black students on campus. However, as Jarrett quoted from our mission statement, we do seek to engage all students who are dedicated to that mission. The lack of white students in the BSU is in no way the BSU’s fault. All of our meetings are open and we readily invite any student, of any race, who wishes to attend to do so. The reasons that white students are not a part of the BSU are the same reasons that some black students are not a part of the BSU. They simply do not feel it is necessary for them. White students who choose not to attend BSU meetings and events simply have no affinity for the goals of the BSU or choose to act out their appreciation for these goals in other ways—as do the black students who choose not to attend BSU meetings. In viewing the distribution of ethnic groups in the BSU or any other affinity group on campus, it may be more productive to contextualize the attendance of certain groups within the framework of choice. That is, those particular individuals or ethnic groups who do not attend the BSU may choose not to be present because the BSU does not represent any of their interests. Membership in any student organization, including the BSU, is a personal choice made by the student.

As mentioned before, the BSU’s mission statement states that we seek to engage all students dedicated to the organization’s goals. It does not say that we aim to make all students of every ethnic group, interested or not, come to our meetings. Multi-culturalism is not the responsibility of any one affinity group on campus, but rather is one of the main goals of our much needed and recently developed Multicultural Resource Center. As our school makes these steps to advance multi-culturalism on campus, it is important in my opinion that students keep an open mind to not only the school’s steps forward but also to the clear and visible efforts affinity groups like the BSU have made toward this goal of multi-culturalism. In fact, I am proud to say that the BSU is a multi-cultural organization. Our events bring together a variety of students around campus, something that not all student organizations are able or even attempt to accomplish. I value the BSU not only for what it has done for me as a black student on campus, but also for what it continues to do for the entire Amherst College community