- DIVERSITY
Why have a separate homeroom option for the Black Student Union (BSU)?
Catalina Martinez, Director of Diversity and Inclusion
At De Smet Jesuit, we have the model of student clubs and organizations that have their own homeroom (i.e., Campus Ministry, President’s Ambassadors, and Student Council) as a way to promote brotherhood within the group and to be able to have more meeting time.
After gauging student interest, we decided to create a BSU homeroom so that our black students could have the choice of beginning their day in a comfortable space surrounded by people who looked like them and faced similar issues as a minority in a predominantly white school.
Students tell us why they signed up for the BSU Homeroom:
- “I wanted to be around more black students.”
- “So that I could be around people like me more often.”
- “I wanted to be more involved in the BSU.”
- “To be in an environment where I feel more comfortable.”