A: The Black Student Union (BSU) was formed in 2011. The first administration took office in 2012 with the purpose to serve as a key space for all the Black identified organizations on campus. They have since grown over the years to not only serve the purpose but to also have the Black experience for every Black identified student on campus.

BSU has been able to accomplish many things over this past summer. We were able to secure our first internal and external budget for the summer and academic school year of 2021-22. We hosted our first annual Welcome Week which included events like Painting with a Twist, Greek Life 101, and "What is BSU?," a program designed to inform Black students how Black people function here at UNT. We can also say over the summer we have over 60 new members who have joined BSU through committees and 19 organizations including all active NPHC organizations who have joined our umbrella. We also for the first time created a Diversity and Inclusion Committee that will focus on making sure that every Black student feels welcomed here on campus. The new Diversity and Inclusion Committee will focus on disability issues, LGBTQIA+ issues, and inclusion within our Black community.

This year, BSU's main motto is to create a BSU for me, you, us. We believe that it is imperative that we are enhancing the Black experience for every student no matter their age, social economic status, classification, sexual orientation, or hometown. Some of the key ways that we would do this is by having a rolling admission for all committees year-round. We also plan to create a system that allows students to know about upcoming internships, scholarships, and leadership opportunities on campus. We would also like to strengthen the unity between all of our Black identified organizations, but also allyship organizations. These allyship organizations will work hand-in-hand with us to make sure we are reaching every Black student and enhancing their experience for those that might not be in Black identified organizations. Lastly, BSU would like to focus on sustainability and building a future for the next administrations to come through our Black Student Union.

We have several upcoming events! On September 8th, we’ll have our first Hump Day. Hump Days are a time to get connected with our Black community and organizations. Organizations under our umbrella will be able to table, while we put on several different activities to connect everyone together. We have the BSU Community Day on September 19th and our BSU Turner/Vallien Administration inauguration. If anyone is interested in keeping up with our events, they can follow us on Twitter or Instagram.

We believe that one of the biggest things Black students want is to feel welcomed and that UNT is a place of home for them. BSU has been given feedback from several current students about their experience and how important it is to have a good experience to be a good alum. We also are still in a very critical place during a global pandemic where Black people have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Many students' families have been impacted so financial support from the government in the university has been very helpful for many Black students, but we can still do much better. Students would also like to see more support as we create inclusive programming across campus that amplifies the voices of Black students in other areas outside of athletics or entertainment. We also would like to see our university do a better job in preparing Black students for internships and a post-graduate career. That starts with connecting them to internship opportunities early on and bringing on valuable companies that can give job opportunities.