The Black Student Union kept busy this February due to events celebrating Black History Month for the student body.

Other organizations collaborated with the club for some of these events. The Student Entertainment Board and BSU combined their efforts to organize the Hip-Hop Arts Festival on Friday.

“Collabs are a really great opportunity to show members of BSU, people on campus and the community everything that we are out here doing,” Vice President Jaade Archer said. “We’re very focused on community, and we do it for the students, for the people and for each other.”

While BSU enjoys teaming up, it often organizes its own events. It is the main organization responsible for hosting Visionaries Inspiring Black Empowered Students, also known as VIBES.

Club member A’Jenae Hardwell said VIBES is a program open to high school juniors and seniors. It’s primarily created for students of color, particularly African-American students.

“We do different workshops,” Hardwell said, “and basically, we encourage them to seek higher education.”

Hardwell said she previously volunteered at VIBES as a team leader, which means she guided a group of students through the weekend and was there to answer their questions.

BSU also puts on the Black Lives Summit, which occurs at the beginning of the year to reach out to freshmen and transfer students to help them feel prepared for their upcoming years at WSU.

The club gathers twice a month, working around busy schedules to openly discuss issues.

Archer said BSU strives to advocate for and represent the black community. She said having an open mind is important so attendees feel included and comfortable sharing their thoughts in the group.

“[BSU] provides a safe space for difficult and more intellectual conversations to be had,” Archer said. “It also provides a space for those who aren’t as aware or don’t know as much to come and learn, to come and listen and to show your support or to come and have your view be challenged.”

Archer said the club has steadily had at least 80 attendees per meeting this year.

“It’s exciting that so many people want to be a part of it because it’s worth being a part of,” Archer said.

She said each year the organization’s cabinet collaborates to determine a theme on which they will focus and center meetings.

“Our theme this year is ‘Power in Numbers: The Heart of Solution is Inclusion,’ ” Archer said. “We just want everyone to know that BSU is a safe space for everyone, where you can come and feel welcomed.”

Hardwell said each meeting is given a different topic as well. She said the topic for their previous meeting was #itbeyourownself and the discussion revolved around how they want to solve issues with actions.

BSU is a registered student organization that meets from 6 – 7:30 p.m. the first and third Tuesdays of the month in Todd Hall, Room 276.