On April 25, Aragon’s Black Student Union (BSU) took a field trip to the California Academy of Sciences for their annual spring event. Eight students and three chaperones spent the day in San Francisco visiting the museum and having lunch at Hard Knox Cafe, a soul food restaurant.
Normally, BSU attends the United Black Student Union’s Leadership Conference, but this year, due to conflicting schedules of the advisers, the club was unable to attend and opted for a field trip instead.
BSU adviser Don Bush enjoyed the CA Academy of Sciences. He says, “They had a whale exhibit that was pretty incredible. It was about scientifically what kind of animals are they and how they evolved. It was also about I think it was either a New Zealand or Australian community who basically lives off of the whales and how they made jewelry and how they hunted them for the food and how that culture used the whole whale.”
Freshman Soleia Sano also enjoyed the exhibits, saying, “My favorite part was the whale exhibit from New Zealand and how all of my friends got to see it with me.”
Though the exhibits at the CA Academy of Sciences are not related to BSU, the advisors felt that the club would prefer going there instead of the Museum of African Diaspora (MoAD). Bush says, “Conveniently, Dr. Chancellor had an event [at the MoAD] a couple weeks ago. His report back was that there really wasn’t even a half a day’s worth of stuff to do there. It was maybe 30-45 minutes worth of exhibits to look at and that basically was it. The club chose to do something that was educational but also a little fun, so we only went to CA Academy of Sciences.”
The group also went to Hard Knox Cafe, which serves soul food. Soul food is a southern cuisine that originated from African-American culture.
Junior Elyse Dixon says, “There were ribs and chicken and waffles and lots of fried chicken, and it was really good. We just talked about how our day went.”
Sano adds, “It was just a great bonding experience and everyone in the club feels so much closer. It was so much fun talking and sharing food [at Hard Knox.]”
Because BSU mostly fundraises to support causes like combatting malaria in Africa, this was the first leisure activity done for club member’s personal enjoyment. Sano says, “It was just different because we got to have an ‘us’ club day without any worries.”
BSU adviser Frederick Chancellor says, “The purpose of the field trip was to build additional camaraderie. But at the same time, they needed to reward themselves with all the work they’ve been doing for others. This organization has never ever done anything for itself. They’ve never spent anything on themselves. So, we decided that they deserved to do something together to build more camaraderie. The president is graduating, the group is small, and we need them to be as close-knit as possible so they stick with it and generate enthusiasm among others to join with them next year.”
Bush reflects, “This was the first time I was able to just see them relaxing, having a good time, bonding with each other, having fun, so that was really good. For me, that was the best part. They deserve it. They worked hard. They deserved a day where they can just be together and just enjoy.”
