The Tosa West Black Student Union held their first meeting for the 2024-2025 school year in math teacher Nate Griff’s room on Tuesday, October 1st. The next meeting will be held on Thursday, October 24th.
Over 15 students, both new and past members, attended the October 1st meeting. Seniors Nazaria Castillo, Kennedy Hardrick, and Tehana Titus led the meeting. Students discussed their plans for the Black History Month Assembly in February and contributing ideas to a mentoring program.
Club Advisor Nate Griff said his role is to support and advance what students want him to do, even if that means taking risks or challenging the status quo. “I like to lean toward the right way, but I am also willing to lean toward the Malcom X way, by any means necessary,” said Griff.
Both Mr. Griff and the leadership team emphasized the importance of supporting each other to be successful academically and socially at Tosa West. “Like, I am a math teacher. You need help with math, my door is always open,” stated Griff. “But, we also wanted to make sure we can look out for each other in other subjects. It’s such a good plan to have a mentorship group. It might be that some people here that are strong in a certain subject [and can] help each other out.”
Castillo has the goal of creating a formal mentorship program to support students in and out of the club. Members of the leadership team are involved in other programs in the school and can be resources for younger students. “I do a lot of things at Tosa West. I’m definitely a resource for you if you are interested in learning more about getting involved at Tosa West,” said Castillo.
Students join Black Student Union for a variety of reasons; however all members enjoy being a part of a group that is making change at Tosa West. “It seemed fun, and I wanted to be part of the community. I also hope to gain more inclusion in the school, and to be stronger with people,” said another BSU member.
The Black Student Union has many exciting things planned for the year. New and old members have lots of things they are looking forward to this school year. “I’m most excited to spread the word about BSU, sell merch, and put together trips,” said senior Kennedy Hardrick.
One concern of club leadership is making sure the club continues after all three seniors graduate. “This year, my hope for the club is to kind of pass it down, because I’m not going to be here next year. Last year, I really focused on leadership and wanted to lead. But this year, I want to leave it to everyone else to run it after I’m not here,” said Castillo.
