Mr. President

Two springs ago, I decided to run for president of the Wisconsin Black Student Union (WBSU).  At first I was hesitant of to run because I did not know how firmly I stood on the issues that concerned the black community.  I had been involved in BSU for the whole year and saw that things needed to change but I wasn’t sure if I was the one to bring it.  But as the saying goes you must be the change you want to see.  After some prodding from those around me, on the last day possible, I entered the fray.

            On Election Day, I was nervous and unprepared.  It wasn’t until the end of the debate that I started to pick up momentum. It took an eternity for the results to come in.  The results came back positive.  I was the incoming president of the Wisconsin Black Student Union.  Once the elation of victory subsided, I realized there was work to be done.  My board and I met several times throughout the summer to make sure BSU wouldn’t turn out to just be BS. 

            At our first meeting of the year there had to be over 100 people.  Our next meeting served as an event also because it was an open mic.  Here we promoted a national protest of the Jena Six trial.  We had yet to mount a local effort here on campus.  After UW-Parkside held a march and protest we decided to follow suit.  It took less than a week to get everything in order.  The Multicultural Student Coalition (MCSC) and the International Socialist Organization (ISO) were brought in to extend our reach.

            On Wednesday, October, 26^th, 2007, over 200 people turned out for the Jena Six Walkout.  The day began at noon on Library Mall with a rally.  From there we marched on State Street to the Capitol. We marched through the Capitol and a police officer confiscated our megaphone because we didn’t  appear to have clearance.  We were told we could have it back if we promised not to come back through the Capitol.  We gave our scout’s honor. Following the retrieval of the megaphone, we headed for the courthouse.  We ended up at the old courthouse which is now City Hall but close enough.  After rallying there, we headed back through the Capitol with the megaphone in the center of the crowd so the police couldn’t get to it.

            At the end of the march we rallied in front of the Walgreen’s on State Street.  After that we dispersed.  Later that night we had a discussion on the Jena Six, racism, and diversity here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  

            On Friday, September, 28^th, 2007, the university administration held their 8^th Annual Plan 2008 Diversity forum.        On Wednesday, October, 10^th, 2007, WBSU along with ISO and MCSC held the 1^st ever TRUE Diversity Forum.  The goal of the event was to come out with concrete goals and objectives to bring to the Chancellor.  What the event became was a forum on David Horowitz and an ISO soapbox.  These are some of the ills of coalition building.  Maybe Bush was right…..Nah.