Student Organization Spotlight: Black Student Union with Elena Boyle
Black Student Union (BSU) has long been a staple organization on Chatham’s campus, and in 2020, their primary initiative is calling for needful and necessary action at Chatham. In August 2020, BSU released an Open Letter to Chatham Administration which listed a series of demands and considerations to make Chatham a safer, healthier, and more productive environment for BIPOC-identifying students, faculty, and staff on our campuses. As a result, BSU now meets regularly with campus administration to discuss the points raised in their letter and how to take meaningful action towards enacting them. Additionally, BSU also co-planned Chatham’s Week of Action for Racial Justice, a week of discussion and healing action geared towards making Chatham a more informed and engaged community in the light of racism and police brutality. We caught up with BSU President, Elena Boyle, Social Work ‘21 to learn more about BSU’s goals for 2020—
BSU President, Elena Boyle
Can you tell us a little bit about Black Student Union and your goals on campus?
Elena Boyle: The primary goal of BSU is to help improve the campus climate for Black students. We’ve made strides toward this with our open letter and our constant flow of commentary on our Instagram lives. We want to leave this campus as a better and more inhabitable place for BIPOC students than it was when we came in.
What are your responsibilities as president of the Black Student Union?
EB: As president, I wear a lot of hats. Overall, I take responsibility for anything that needs to be done for the club, I have my hand in everything. I delegate tasks to my peers on the executive board. I make sure our faculty advisor—Dr. Erin Williams-Hatala—is updated on what is going on. I interface with other clubs about collaboration. I do recruitment. I interface with Black organizations across Pittsburgh, and I do a large chunk of the organization and planning for any event that we have, though the other members of the executive board definitely assist me.
What skills have you honed while participating in BSU?
EB: I have definitely honed my ability to delegate. I have a real tendency to try to do everything myself, but especially with the Open Letter this year, I would not have been able to do that alone.
Elena Boyle and Dejah Clark tabling for Black Student Union
What types of initiatives does BSU typically create and oversee on campus?
EB: Right now, BSU is in the process of unfurling and creating solutions to all the points made in our Open Letter. This is an operation that is taking up the majority of our capacity, but we’re still working on our Sexual Health Fair and Thanksgiving Panel, which are annual events.
What are the benefits of joining Black Student Union?
EB: The major benefit of joining BSU is being a part of a community of Black individuals on a campus where they are few and far between. It’s important to have a safe place for us to go.
What aspects or initiatives of BSU are you most looking forward to in the 2020-2021 school year?
EB: I am most looking forward to seeing the progress made on our Open Letter.
If a student is on the fence about joining Black Student Union, how would you recommend they learn more about it?
EB: Email me, Dejah [Clark], or Leah [Johnson], or tune in to one of our Instagram lives on Thursdays @ 6:00 pm.
For more information on how to get involved with Black Student Union, email elena.boyle@chatham.edu , dejah.clark@chatham.edu, or leah.johnson@chatham.edu. You can also follow @blackchatu on Instagram and join their weekly live sessions every Thursday @ 6:00 pm.
