Meet PLU’s BSU: Co-Presidents of Black Student Union share about building community

Third-year students Taezha Watson and JaMae Clemons are excited to strengthen PLU’s Black Student Union. They have been a part of BSU and the Center for Diversity, Justice, and Sustainability (DJS) since their first semester in college. Now, they hold co-president positions in BSU and “are definitely doing all the foundational work to make sure BSU is there [next year].”

Clemons shared, “The purpose of Black Student Union is to have a community for Black people, especially with Washington being predominantly white. We are also supposed to collaborate with other affinity groups on campus to build an overall community for POCs on campus. Being Black on campus is not a monolith, we are all different.”

One of Clemons and Watson’s goals for their leadership is to encourage Black joy. “A lot of things can feel heavy when we talk about Blackness, sometimes it’s only associated with grief, or pain, or trauma,” shared Watson. “Trauma has its space in one’s Blackness but it’s not adjacent,” added Clemons.

The co-presidents have a lot of confidence in creating a welcoming, progress-generating space. They emphasize that they don’t seek to put performance pressure on anyone. “Really you only have to do one thing for February… and attend our meetings,” explained Clemons.

On the question about how being part of BSU shaped her experience at PLU, Watson responded: “Being a part of BSU brought me that community that I enjoy being a leader of. Being a member and participating made me feel seen. I always felt a sense of relief walking in the room for BSU. It helped me schedule fun into my life.”

Clemons shared her favorite part about being in BSU: “For me it’s about being a part of the community but it’s also just seeing all the Black people and getting to interact in a way that only Black people can. It’s great to hear all the different stories.”