Interview

Emmanuelle Paul

Maddie Kahl

ENC 2135-142

6 February 2018

Interview Transcript

E.P: Hello, my name is Emmanuelle Paul

MD: Nice to meet you, Emmanuelle Paul. My name is Maurice McDaniel.

EP: Hey, I will be interviewing you on the Black Student Union at Florida State University.

MD: Okay

EP: So I know that you are a part of the Black Student Union at Florida State and I know that you have a position. Would you mind telling me what position you uphold and what do you do?

MD: Currently, I serve as one of the chairs for the alumni affairs committee on the Black Student Union Executive Board.

EP: Okay and what do you do?

MD: My primary task as one of the alumni affairs chairs for the black student union is to facilitate and coordinate events so that students can connect and coordinate with alumni.

EP: Sorry to ask, but would you mind telling me what you identify as your race and does FSU do a great job with allowing you to embrace your culture with all the different organizations that they have at their universities?

MD: I identify as Black, and I feel like the Black students at FSU do a great job with creating spaces for themselves, and I think that FSU is making progress with creating spaces for Black students.

EP: Okay so, what is the primary purpose of the Black Student Union AT Florida State?

MD: The Black Student Union was created to be a home for black students at Florida state. It was founded in 1968, after the assignation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the students felt that they needed a place to come together and fellowship, Integration happened shortly before that. It was a very interesting time in Black history. It was formed basically to be a home and voice for black students, there wasn’t a lot of places that Black student could feel included at the time of 1968, and so that is originally why BSU was created, just to be that home.

EP: So, recently I read an article on the Black Student Union, not the Black student at FSU but at another university. It stated that how the BSU’s at universities aren’t maintaining their values and that students sees it as a joke, Before your position in BSU did you believe that statement?

MD: Absolutely not, when I first joined I was a freshman. I did the Black student union pageant as a freshman, and that was when I got my position on the executive board. So , me coming a low income, high crime area, it was my first time seeing black people doing professional stuff like I wasn’t used to black people being that smart. My first impression of BSU, I saw a community of black people chasing their dreams and beating the odds, not being statistics. I really looked up to it.

EP: At Florida State, they try their best to encourage students to embrace their culture and perform o the highest capabilities?

MD: Well, I see BSU as a little bit different. My perspective is that when they first started, it was a highly political time, it was right after integration. There weren’t a lot of spaces a Black person could go. But we are currently in 2018, there are many different organizations that people could join, I don’t feel like they aren’t fulfilling the purpose, I just feel like they just have a lot to do and they are already people who are doing things. A part of the Black community, there are so many avenues to do some of the things that only BSU’s did back in the day so I think it is very easy to say that they are not fulfilling their purpose on the outside but just from my perspective, I think there is a lot more people fulfilling that same purpose.

EP: How is BSU trying to gather students into their organization, how do BSU make it welcome for students to join?

MD: The first thing that you have to do is make sure that you have people who are outgoing and that is a part of the executive board. I think that is one the primary things that will get people involved. You have to have people who understand the importance of Black people sticking together on your board. And definitely you have to get their attention at Market Wednesday, involvement fairs, and things like that. You have to find people who knows nothing about you, and educate them about what their purpose is, why they are here, and you can offer them at their time here in college.

EP: I know that this month is a month a celebration for African Americans, so how are the events BSU is holding have an effect on students embracing their culture at this PWI?

MD:I think there events that embrace a lot of different parts of Black culture. Events that any student would be satisfied with, people have different interest. Some people are interested in spoken words, art, and other people like banquets that honor important figures, FSU and Black history in general. The events that Black Student Union puts on, have events that a lot of people can relate to.

EP: Okay we are almost done here. I know that there are other organizations on campus for minorities, is BSU welcoming to other minority groups.