BSU (Black Student Union) is a club here at NJCU that encourages black excellence here on campus and uplifts the community. This is a club here that wants to see everyone succeed and shine. We’ve seen the BSU doing multiple tabling events, open house events, and campus student activities to help engage with the community and expand the empire. Today we got to speak with the three project managers of this club, which is for the first time, is led by all women, Fattan Ahmed, Jacilia (Jax) Rucker-Glasper, and Sydney Salters. These three ladies are all Juniors.
Ky’shon: Good evening, ladies! Thank you so much for taking the time out of your schedule to do this interview with me. How are you ladies doing today?
Fattan: I am good, how about you?
Jax: Hello! Thank you for having us
Sydney: Hey Ky’Shon!
Ky’Shon: So, I really want the readers to know more about you three ladies, where do you guys come from and what are you all majoring in?
Sydney: Computer science and I was born and raised here in Jersey City, however, all three of us are New Jersey girlies.
Fattan: My major is criminal justice, and I am from North Brunswick. I am usually always on TikTok or hanging out with my friends.
Jax: Hi, I am Jax, my real name is Jacilia, but you all can call me Jax. I come from Long Branch, NJ. My major is media arts, and I am a junior here at NJCU. I am a gamer; that is one of my main hobbies alongside researching and sleeping.
Ky’shon: It is a pleasure to be here with you guys. First, I would like to congratulate you guys on being an all-women-led board this semester. Not only that but an all-BLACK women’s board. Congratulations to you all! What does this mean to you!? And what was the inspiration behind taking it?
Fattan: For me, it was Ka-Mes (Black student union alumni). I see how hard she was working during my freshman year; you would think it was just her running the club. She held it down during her tenure. It is because of her that BSU won club of the year before. Everything she did was just so natural and in her way. I was inspired by her and felt like I could fill her shoes while she wasn’t here. Also being a project manager with these two ladies, it is a fair share. We all do our part and work well with each other. For example, we plan and do things where ALL three of us can be present, and I enjoy that it is extremely helpful.
Jax: As a black woman, I want my people to be seen. I want to give back to the community and give every black student on campus a voice and a way to seek support. Not only that, but many places, not just here but all over the world, try to incorporate the black picture but not the black people. So, I also want to prove that there is no black image without black people.
Ky’shon: How do you all plan on pushing BSU to be bigger and wider than it already is?
Sydney: I will say providing more diverse events and overall being more consistent with events.
Jax: Just wait for next semester, it is going to be BIG. This semester was short, but the spring semester is much longer, especially because we have black history month. Next month we are showing that it is all hands on deck. I want the audience to be wowed and amused saying “Wow I didn’t know you guys can come up with this!” The black student union continues to grow more and more. We even have five open positions right now for any upcoming juniors/seniors for next fall semester. However, BSU strives for black excellence, you must meet the criteria to fulfill these roles. We exceed in academics and make sure as college students that is our main priority.
Ky’shon: Can you each describe your role as a project manager within NJCU’s Black Student Union and the types of projects you oversee?
Fattan: We plan events, for example, we did an event this week titled Spot a BSU member. We provided riddles and they answered it, and we rewarded them with candy. We just like engaging with the NJCU community, beyond just our black audience but the entire community.
Ky’shon: What advice would you give to students interested in taking on leadership roles within the BSU or other cultural organizations?
Fattan: Go for it! I hope that the future E-Board just makes fun events, and encourages, and educates the black students and any other student (because it is not just strictly black of course) and I just hope that we continue to grow. When I leave, I want to leave that BSU legacy behind me and make my name remembered.
Jax: I will be a senior next year, so I am out of here. I say that to bring up the elections again, next year in September when it is crowned whereas April is when the elections start. I would hope that is still all female-led, but whoever wants to step up, step up! It is still a black population at the end of the day, and I want to see nothing but success and growth for BSU. Think of the word ‘community’ what stands out in that word to me is UNITY. We can always commune, but if we do not show unity on this campus or in ourselves, how can we be the black culture? They always say that the black culture is like a bucket of crabs and I am not trying to be that anymore, I want to be on the shore, an actual ocean. (A simile of expressing how growth and transformation are what she wants)
Ky’shon: I feel like Black people are often confined to stereotypes, with assumptions made about our personalities before we are even known. How do you think Black individuals show diversity in personality and character?
Jax: Black personalities are remarkably diverse. Let us start it off. You have your quiet ones, your social butterflies, the ‘loud’ ‘ghetto’ girls, even though those are the main ones sticking up for a lot of people. And here and there some mean people, but that is every race. I feel like black people are always getting told we’re mean and b*tchy due to our facial expressions, but that is just our face, and who knows we may have a lot of stuff going on in our personal lives. I have multiple characteristics. On certain days I am quiet, but I am still a good listener. Sometimes people are caught on bad days. You never know, maybe someone just got their car broken down, of course, they are not going to be in the best mood. Or let’s say you just failed your mid-term, again you are not going to be in the best mood. I say that to tell everyone you cannot base anyone’s personality off a facial expression, you must get to know them. That is why I like the sense of community we are building here at NJCU. Myself and my fellow E-Board partners, I have a variety of personalities. It just goes to show the diversity of black people and that you can’t put us in a box.
Ky’shon: I had an amazing time interviewing you three! The Black student union is in great hands with you three in charge. I can’t wait to see how far you all go with your position.
