There are two common misconceptions about Gunn’s Black Student Union (BSU). One: the club’s main focus is assembly performances. Two: only African-Americans can join.

Student may be surprised to hear that the club predominantly contains whites, Asians and Latinos. “This club is open to all Gunn members, not just for blacks,” sophomore club president Teklehaymanot Yilma—better known as T.K —said. “There is a law for no discrimination, and my instincts don’t allow that either.”

According to Yilma, the club’s main purpose is to raise money for the Albert Hopkins Memorial Scholarship Fund, used to aid outstanding seniors who need financial assistance for college. But the assemblies are fun too. “It’s scary because I have stage fright,” Yilma said, “but it also feels good to know you’re leading something, somehow.”

When Yilma took over the Black Student Union this year, he had to start nearly from scratch. “There was a BSU last year but the adviser was Albert [Hopkins], and he passed away last summer,” he said. “I came to Gunn and noticed there was no BSU, and I felt like I had to re-open it.” Since then, the club—which now has 10 regular members—has not been idle by any means. The Black Student Union fundraises energetically: it organizes everything from bake sales to Baja Fresh fundraisers, and reaches possible donors through announcements in the Spotlight, a monthly Gunn newsletter for parents.

Aside from its financial goals, the club strives to promote black culture in a campus where African-Americans are a definite minority. “In the mid-1990s, I decided to advise because it was the right thing to do,” adviser Deborah Sanderson said. “I was the only black full-time teacher at Gunn.” Over the years, the Black Student Union has invited gospel choirs, singers from McClymond High School in Oakland and Stanford staff to speak at events such as the Black History Month assembly.

But along the way, there have been roadblocks; one of the most prominent is students’ confusion over the differences between the Black Student Union and the COLORS club. “COLORS is more career-oriented,” Sanderson said. “It was funded initially by a grant written by [PE teacher] Ms. [Selena] Hendrix-Smith, and it’s there to encourage students of all colors to explore opportunities.”

Most of the interviewed students had a positive outlook on the Black Student Union. “I just like how we have these types of organizations,” junior Kanika Khanna said. “It’s not like they’re militantly racist. They’re just clubs for people to mingle and bond over something they have in common.”

An anonymous black student who has opted not to join the BSU, expressed feeling out of place when it came to the club. “As a common student, [assemblies with BSU] can get over the top,” the student said. “As a black person, it gets the point across, but I become very self-conscious around the other kids in the audience. I feel like there‘s a communication gap between me and other black people at school.”

Opinions aside, the Black Student Union plans to continue pursuing its goals—it already has big plans for 2009. “For next year, we’re trying for more educational programs, more speakers, larger membership, more coordinated efforts with COLORS and the Diversity Commission and a bigger presence in February Black History Month,” Sanderson said.

Want to be a part of Black Student Union? Your ethnicity doesn’t matter; take time to stop by room P-9 Thursday at lunch.