Cultural enclaves offer support and union within any environment. Portola High’s population is only 1.2% Black, according to U.S. News, making the first Black Student Union club on campus a remarkable symbol of community. 

“It’s the first of its kind at Portola, and it’s hard being some of the only black students at our school,” club co-president and senior Seraphina Oketch said. “It’s a really great way to share your story and share your voice. And not only that, it brings people together of all backgrounds. I think it’s a really great way to not only represent black students, but represent so many other students that can come from other cultures.”

The Black Student Union club was created last school year as a resource for the Black community to be represented on campus after the incident of racial discrimination from a Laguna Hills High student on Jan. 21, according to club co-president and junior Gabriel Mutsvangwa.

“It is important to have a B.S.U., especially in an environment where the Black and African-American demographics make up less than 5% of the population,” Mutsvangwa said. “To have a readily-accessible space for Black youth to be represented while having an open discussion for all people to educate others in order to prevent further racism and allow others to understand the Black experience within America, California and Irvine.”

Currently, the Black Student Union club has around 50 members and holds meetings where members discuss topics relevant to the Black community and share commonly-held experiences with one another, according to Mutsvangwa.

“I saw a bunch of clubs, but there wasn’t any Black student union,” club secretary and senior Jesulayomi Bello said. “That was discouraging, and I was a bit sad about that. I think it’s a great way to provide a comfortable environment for people to talk about complex issues that could otherwise be scary.”

However, due to the small population of Black students on campus, the Black Student Union club experienced hardship in the beginning when it came to advancing the club, according to Oketch. 

“I wouldn’t say that there’s been anything standing in our way,” Oketch said. “But being Black students at Portola is a hard thing to be. There is such a small community, and it’s hard to try and start something when there isn’t much. We struggled to find an adviser who might understand our struggles as a Black educator or admin. We struggled to find more staff members, because there just aren’t that many Black students at school. I would say it’s been pretty hard to keep it moving. Not because anything is standing in our way, but because we’re doing it for us.”

Although new and the first of its kind, Portola High’s Black Student Union club hopes to leave behind a long lasting legacy that serves its community by uplifting students from all backgrounds and nurturing growth, according to Oketch. 

“I think our goal is just really to inform people and to be a way for people to learn because we’re such a small community of Black students at our school,” Oketch said. “It’s hard for everybody to learn, and whether it’s not in the curriculum or there’s not enough Black staff at school, there’s just not enough resources. And I think our goal is just to be the resource that we didn’t have.”