Niles West Black Student Union (BSU) and non BSU members went to Washington D.C to tour several Historically Black Colleges and Universities, otherwise known as HBCU. The trip began on March 14 and ended on March 17, allowing students to visit a variety of colleges as well as explore their cultures and get a glimpse of their potential future. Dean Larry Waites and Dean Tanya Kennedy chaperoned this trip.

This trip allowed students to feel a sense of community by visiting colleges that represent a part of their identity.

“I think, particularly for our students of color, it is important for them to see a sense of community whereas here at the school we have what we could call a PWI, a predominantly white institution and there is not necessarily that sense of community,” Waites said.

In the Capital, students toured different colleges including Morgan State University, Howard University, Georgetown University and the University of the District of Columbia. There were a variety of reactions to each of the colleges toured.

“It was tiring because we had full days. It was informative because when I was a student, I didn’t even know what an HBCU was. To see what they had to offer and the community that was at Morgan State and Howard was great to see for me and made it seem like the kids got a lot out of it,” Waites said.

Students also visited different museums such as the Smithsonian African American History, Culture Museum and the National Portrait Gallery which highlighted Black history and culture.

“At those museums we got to see different paintings and interact with different people. In the African American museum, we started at the bottom which is supposed to be the deepest floor and went up where it got better and better,” senior Niyah Lewis said.

With some ups and downs including some bus issues, sophomore Lydie Bossoukou expressed her gratefulness for the ability to go on the trip and be in the United States Capital.

“I realized that there are really good colleges there, outside of state. I think that something is really important that I learned while on the trip is having bonds or connections because if you have either one of those two, life will go really smoothly. Our tour guide had many connections and that is why a lot of things were possible,” Bossoukou said.