Butler Traditional High School’s Black Student Union is home to several students, where the club is more than just a club—it is a family.

BSU’s current president and recently crowned 2022 Homecoming Queen, Senior Demauria Gathings, agrees that the club is a family, which is a part of the reason why she joined the club in the first place.

Gathings became interested in the school’s BSU when she first arrived at Butler. She said that she loved how it was a place for Black students, such as herself, to feel comfortable to be able to discuss how they are feeling and what they are going through.

As a member for the past few years, Gathings learned that there are many other students here at Butler who are going through similar things as her, which made her feel at home in the club.

Last year, Gathings admitted that the BSU club did not go as she had initially hoped, but, as president, she plans on trying to reach a younger audience with the club. She would like to start something similar to the big brother/little brother and big sister/little sister programs that are present in the broader community.

Although Gathings is a senior here at Butler, she has future plans to continue her BSU involvement at the college level. She even said that she would start a BSU at the school she ends up attending if one is not already established because she wants to let other Black students know that they have a safe place as well as a place to feel comfortable. They are not alone in anything they are going through.

Gathings wants all Butler students and beyond to know that they have a family within the BSU community.