The Black Student Union (BSU) teamed up with the Latinx Student Union (LSU) to host a bake sale on Thursday, April 13. The sale was held at the Jamrich Hall ticketing booth from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

The bake sale was held to raise funds for BSU and LSU. The proceeds will go toward items like merchandise for any pop-up events, as well as any future events the organizations plan. 

BSU President Marlanaysia Rosser suggested the idea for LSU to have a bake sale, as LSU had never previously hosted one, LSU President Rosalva Brito said. 

“She gave us this brilliant idea because BSU had done [a bake sale] before,” Brito said. “We thought, if we’re going to do it for the first time, why not do it with BSU.” 

In order to host the bake sale, the organizations had to reserve a spot on the Hub, reserve the ticketing booth and come up with a concept for the fundraiser and overall cause. Then, the organizations had to figure out staffing, advertisement materials such as posters and other content in order to spread the word throughout campus. 

Advertisement content is not all that is needed. In order to help spread the word and run the fundraiser, both BSU and LSU members got involved. Members showed up to the event, worked the booth, supported the fundraiser and otherwise helped spread the word. 

Organization members are a large help in putting on these events, Brito said. 

“It’s also getting the involvement of your members, making sure that you have committed members that are willing to show up,” Brito said. “Members really help you and contribute.” 

Many student organizations do not have the funding or resources to host fundraisers off campus. Large events like this require a lot of helping hands that not all student organizations constantly have access to. 

Fundraisers like bake sales are more attainable for students to host due to many factors, Rosser said. 

“We just don’t have the manpower to [host large events], especially with all of our work and classwork,” Rosser said. “It’s something that we can do, and we enjoy baking, so why not rope that into something that our members enjoy doing.” 

Funding is not the only thing the organizations received from the fundraiser. Through each fundraiser and event hosted, the organizations meet a variety of people and are able to network. Being located in Jamrich Hall, the ticketing booth offered the organizations access to students as they headed to class. 

The people organizers met were a large part of the fundraiser as well, Rosser said. 

“It’s about seeing the support of the community on campus and being here to feel like a community,” Rosser said. “It’s important to see that we’re doing fundraisers, it shows that we have to put in twice the work to get money because we don’t get it in order to put on these great events.” 

BSU will be hosting a fireside chat with Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panthers, on Thursday, April 20, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Jamrich Hall 1100. The chat will also feature a 30-minute question-and-answer segment from the audience. 

Both BSU and LSU will be speaking at multicultural graduation on Wednesday, May 3 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Forest Roberts Theatre. The ceremony will recognize the achievements of graduating multicultural students, as well as international students. 

Both organizations have been led beautifully this year, Brito said. 

“We’ve done so many things, but if there’s anything I really want to add, it’s that next year we’re going to come in 10 times harder,” Brito said.