Black Student Union celebrates 10 years at FIU

Black Student Union Vice President Tranae Robinson handing out slices of cake at the BSU Birthday Celebration on Monday, March 25.

Cristina Gonzalez/Staff Writer

The Black Student Union, which seeks to unify students of the African Diaspora, marked a 10 year milestone at the University. With three days packed with festivities, BSU brought the celebration to both the Modesto Maidique Campus and the Biscayne Bay Campus.

“We are truly celebrating the milestone of the decade,” said Tranae Robinson, vice president of BSU.

The events, which kicked off Saturday, March 23, were held not only to celebrate the organization’s birthday, but to also honor and recognize the work of past E-Board members and founders who made BSU an official FIU council back in 2009.

“We’re recognizing that we’ve been around since 1976; it took years and years to get the club to the councilship that it is today,” said Robinson. “We’re also recognizing that it wasn’t just this current E-Board; this E-Board is celebrating it, but there have been numbers of people that have kinda paved the way to get us to where we are. We’re really just passing on the torch and continuing that.”

For the past 10 years, BSU has worked to educate, advocate and celebrate students at FIU. During this time, the council has had several accomplishments, including the initiation of the 24/5 library initiative. This initiative extended the hours at the Green Library, allowing students to have all day access.

The BSU anniversary cake passed out at the organization’s Birthday Celebration event. Photo by Cristina Gonzalez.

“The most proud I have been is definitely about the 24/5 initiative at the library,” said Robinson. “That’s something that whether students recognize it or not, BSU was a part of.  It’s something that every student regardless of race, gender, sexuality or classification can appreciate; they can have that space for 24 hours, five days out of the week, throughout the semester.”

The council’s celebratory events embodied BSU’s social energy and their passion for student engagement. The events ranged from a pool party hosted at the Panther Hall pool on Saturday, March 23, to a formal dinner dedicated to honor those who have contributed to the council’s success, on Monday, March 25.

Through the ‘BSU After Dark’ event held on Sunday, March 24, students had the opportunity to join in the celebration. The event featured a photo booth, obstacle courses, an oxygen bar and a timeline of BSU’s history in the last 10 years.

“It [had] this midnight madness kind of feel,” said Robinson. “This event again [had] that social aspect; it’s [had] love and pictures from the last 10 years, actually going back a bit further to almost 2004.”

Both the ‘Sunkissed’ pool party and the ‘BSU After Dark’ event drew large crowds, with over 100 students in attendance, according to Robinson.

“It shows how we’ve been able to evolve as a union,” said Jennifer Attilus, communication coordinator for BSU. “We’ve done the glow party before but never at that level.”

BSU’s official birthday was on Monday, March 25. The council held a birthday celebration on the Graham Center’s lawns.

DJ RadioJamez played music at the event as BSU officers welcomed students over to their tables. Officers, including the BSU president, gave out information about their organization and invited students to sign up.

Students who swiped their FIU OneCard received a slice of the BSU 10 year anniversary cake as well as refreshments. Giveaways were also available at the event, which included BSU t-shirts and anniversary themed hats.

To get more information on upcoming BSU events, visit their Instagram page and Twitter, @bsufiu.

Featured image by Cristina Gonzalez.

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