During Black History Month WJ students were exposed to new additions implemented by the Black Student Union (BSU). These included a fact related to Black History Month during the announcements each morning, a quote read out by a student each day before lunch and on one Friday prominent African-American music was played throughout the halls in between class periods.

To wrap up the celebration of Black History Month, the BSU organized and performed the annual Black History Month assembly. The performance consisted of many different types of cultural art styles that encompass African-American history. There were traditional African dances, hip-hop routines, spoken-word poetry, a fashion show and a performance from the jazz band.

Unfortunately, not everyone viewed the assembly this year, unlike previous years. In the past, the schedule for this assembly was a double third schedule, where one grade was able to watch the assembly in the auditorium while the rest of the school watched it broadcast on the Promethean boards. Through this system, everyone was able to see and enjoy the hard work that the students put into the performance and learn new things about African-American history. Although this wasn’t always successful as the Promethean boards never had the best sound and picture quality, it still gave students the opportunity to see it.

This year the schedule changed to a “Lunch Assembly” schedule where the assembly was performed during a longer lunch period.

The decision was made poorly. All students would benefit listening to and enjoying such an important assembly that dozens of kids put so much effort into each year. With a longer lunch some students did not feel the need to go and view the performances and instead took advantage of the longer period, driving to the mall or spending time at Georgetown Square. The schedule had allowed ample time for lunch, 46 minutes, but students were tempted to prolong it to an hour and a half.

This unfair schedule did not do the BSU justice and it begs the question: will it be the same for the other cultural assemblies further down the year? The Latin/Hispanic Assembly as well as the Asian Assembly are both performed in March. Will their performance be limited to just a lunch assembly as well? Making these assemblies optional erases the diverse culture that WJ tries to spread among students.