Miramonte’s Black Student Union (BSU) plans to hold several events this February to celebrate Black Excellence Month. Among them are the district-wide dance, school-wide door-decorating competition, and a visit to the 21st Annual Black College Expo in Oakland.
The BSU and Leadership are sponsoring the district-wide Mardi Gras-themed dance, A Night in New Orleans, on Feb. 23. A tradition that began last year at Acalanes, the dance is at Miramonte this year. The dance will take place in the Miramonte gym from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and feature a 360 video booth, an airbrush tattoo artist, dinner, dessert, mask-decorating, a DJ, and a dance floor. BSU also received support from administration and Leadership in the planning and logistics of the dance. “Admin helps a lot with getting in touch with the other three schools when it comes to district-wide events like the Mardi Gras dance,” sophomore Christophe Davis, the BSU president, said. Students can purchase tickets for $10 on the Miramonte website.
Another returning activity is the school-wide door decorating competition, which had over 40 participating classrooms last year. Each class has the opportunity to win donuts or bagels by creating the BSU’s favorite door decoration that connects to the class’s curriculum or this year’s Black Excellence Month theme, African Americans in the Arts. BSU invites fourth period classes to participate, but if a teacher doesn’t have a fourth period, they can have volunteers decorate their door. The contest ends Feb. 23, when a panel of BSU members will choose the winning design. “I’m excited for the door decorating contest because I think it’s a great artistic way to bring people together and see what Black excellence leaders and inventions they found most interesting,” junior London Hill, a BSU member, said.
This year’s final returning activity is the BSU field trip to the 21st Annual Black College Expo at the Oakland Marriott on Feb. 17. The expo is open to all students and gives students opportunities to attend seminars, apply with application fees waived, get scholarships that cover as much as the full cost of tuition, and get accepted on the spot, given adequate transcripts and SAT or ACT scores. Over 50 colleges are represented at the expo including all the UCs and many notable historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), such as Howard University and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (Florida A&M). “The HBCU College Expo is a great trip to bond with the students who attend. I hope more students of all races and ethnicities come this year because it provides so much to students who attend, and it’s a really fun event,” Spanish teacher Megan Flores, BSU club advisor, said.
This Black Excellence Month, Miramonte students can participate in the door-decorating competition, and attend the HBCU College Expo and Mardi Gras dance. “I hope the BSU’s events and activities during February can not only build community but can also help our students of color feel seen and excited to be on this campus,” Davis said.
