Students inform Gateway School Board of Black Student Union initiatives

For members of the Black Student Union at Gateway High School, each February represents a prime opportunity to promote the club’s objective of focusing on the richness of the school’s ethnic diversity.

Several of the members attended the Feb. 21 Gateway School Board meeting to speak about their activities in recognition of Black History Month.

Junior Elaiyah Daniels, for example, told the board about a contest that prompted a good deal of participation while providing pertinent information.

“We’re looking to honor African American heroes by asking our fellow Gateway students and staff to decorate their homeroom doors in honor of a Black historical figure of their choice,” she said.

Other initiatives were organized with an eye toward sparking creativity along with promoting awareness, such as designing posters and developing displays for bulletin boards.

“We’re doing an art gallery in one of the upstairs hallways to showcase any students who have made art that focuses on a Black figure, a Black fictional character or anything to admire Black history and Black culture, to hopefully shed some light on some talented artists around the school,” senior Julian Livingston said.

Those types of efforts aren’t stopping with the end of the monthlong national observance.

“We’re planning on creating a fashion show showcasing Black identity. The title of this event will be called ‘Black Is Beautiful.’ The details are still in progress,” club secretary Daniella Garner said. “We plan on making this a schoolwide occasion open to all students at Gateway, in order to educate them on our culture.”

Lois Otti-Boateng, president of the club, suggested periodic educational sessions addressing the history of Africa. She said her father teaches African studies at the University of Pittsburgh.

Adviser Mark Spinola, a social studies teacher, said the Black Student Union was organized five years ago. according to the Gateway High School Clubs and Activities Handbook, it “advocates for the needs of all of our students and in particular is geared to recognizing, empowering and teaching about the African American experience.”

Jack Bova, school board president, offered an invitation for club members:

“I speak for the board when I say, you need to let us know how we can help accomplish any or all of the things you’re trying to do.”

Also at the board meeting:

• Officials discussed the possibility of instituting a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program at the high school.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve looked into an ROTC program,” board member Mary Beth Cirucci said. “We just haven’t had the interest. But it’s always worth checking interest, because people’s interests change.”

To gauge the current level and act accordingly, Superintendent William Short made a suggestion:

“Administratively, we can have the high school do a survey, bring the information back to the board and then, at that time, we can make that decision.”

Board member Mandal Singh questioned whether such a program would be welcome.

“I remember being on the University of California at Berkeley campus, and it used to be a big issue, whether to bring ROTC on campus or not,” he said.

Bova described a different environment today compared with when he served in the military.

“We never wore our uniforms out in public, for fear that people would spit on us and things like that. But now, we see a kid in uniform, you buy him lunch and thank him for his service. So everything evolves,” Bova said.

“I’m completely comfortable with discussing the community’s comfort with an ROTC presence in our school, and I appreciate you reminding us that it’s not always a slam-dunk certainty that everyone’s going to be in favor,” he told Singh.

Another veteran on the board, Robin Mungo, said she received a parental inquiry about ROTC and has talked with recruiters about visits to the high school to provide students with more information about the military.

“You see the benefits of sports, and not all kids have the opportunity to be involved in sports, for whatever reason,” she said. “And this might be an opportunity for them to be in a team-type setting where they learn to work together, learn respect, self-esteem, all those things that we want every kid to have.”

• The board voted 8-1, with John Ritter dissenting, to nominate Singh as a candidate for a three-year term on the Allegheny Intermediate Unit board of directors, consisting of 13 elected members representing the agency’s member school districts.

“I would like to see any school board member that serves on the AIU have more experience,” Ritter told Singh, who served his first full year on the Gateway board in 2022. “I would be happy to vote for you in the future for this, but not right now.”

Mungo expressed her support for Singh.

“I’ll be voting yes,” she said, “because I appreciate the fact that you’re willing to take your time, and we all have to start somewhere.”