The Black Student Union (BSU) is back at Principia after a three year hiatus. The Union was in operation since the academic year of 1969 prior to the recent pause.
With this new group of nine members, BSU comes back to Principia history as a game changer for those who need it, said Deija Carter, president of BSU: "Anybody that has something to say about what Principia isn't doing for them, we want to give them a voice to say it."
This was the case for the freshmen Ariana Williams and Taylor Brown back in February, when Principia failed to represent and celebrate Black History Month. Williams felt that she had to do something: "I cannot be here and just keep seeing that they are not representing the African Americans on campus," she said.
The mark by BSU was proven to be a big part of Principia's history when in February during the Catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement panel discussion, alumni and former member John Butler asked about the group's current presence on campus.
The question from Butler was vital for the group's resurgence, said Carter. Butler's question and Williams' comment on the absence of Principia's BSU were the final push for Carter to bring it back. "The fact that I heard about this and it makes me want to be in a group like this is very touching to me," said Carter.
The history of this group is part of Principia's history. BSU was originally created a year after the second African American student was accepted into Principia College in the fall of 1968. The group was a safe place for the new African American students that were accepted the following years.
During that time dormitories, such as Rackham East and Brooks South had respectively Native American logos and mascots and Confederate flags as symbols of house pride.
Now, Carter's inspiration for the new BSU are the lives that went down fighting for equality, as victims of police brutality or gang violence. "Any African American loss, I take it personally because that's still a life that mattered," she added.
With the recent return of BSU, both Williams and Brown commented on the sense of unity. Williams said this Union provides what she has not been able to find in other aspects of her college life. Through group bonding outside sports and classes this can be the support they could not find from Principia's non diverse faculty for problems that they face daily.
Williams and Brown said they shared the feeling of hope in seeing BSU as a "powerhouse" for the future of Principia.