February will start Black History Month which encourages students to remember what African Americans have done for the United States and how they had to fight to earn their rights. It’s also related to the junior students’ US history program and will help them gain very useful knowledge. 

At Shadow Ridge High School, there are many clubs and teams to allow students to find a place where they can hangout with people who have the same interests as them. Five years ago, Shadow welcomed a new club: the Black Student Union. With the Poly Club and the Latinx Club, Shadow Ridge wants to embrace the very present diversity within the school.

“The goals of the Black Student Union is to educate yourself on different cultures, having a place where you are seen and heard, where you can be yourself and hangout with people who have a similar education, you can see friends that you don’t get to see during the day since Shadow is a pretty big school and it also helps you to learn about college opportunities,” explains senior and president of the club, Brandon Cofer. 

The Black Student Union meets on Wednesdays after school in room 225 but the student presidents meet on Tuesdays. The meetings are all very different from each other. Some are more relaxed than other meetings, while during other meetings, they talk about serious topics or plan what they will do for specific upcoming events. 

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Photo Courtesy of: Mrs.Mason

Cofer says, “During the meetings, we do all types of activities. Sometimes we play games, or, for example, carve pumpkins for Halloween. We also had a field trip where we met with all the Black Student Unions of the district and discussed topics and more specifically scholarships. We watch educational videos related to how African American people  have helped our community to feel more listened to and respected. Overall, it’s a safe place for Black students to meet, hang out and feel respected.” 

During the school year, the club has done many things around school to include students and educate them on many topics. 

“Since August, we have done quite a few things around school. We hang signs, organize activities during lunch for the entire school, we had some dress up days…but the biggest thing we’ve done is with breast cancer awareness, it’s something that is very important for us and we want to make sure that students know what it is and how to deal with it,” explains  Cofer. 

At the beginning of next month, the Black Student Union will organize a spirit week to celebrate Black History Month.