
Shinju Kang
SJSU Black Alliance of Scientists and Engineers member’s table during the BLOC Party on Thursday afternoon.
On Thursday, Oct. 9, the San José State’s Black Leadership and Opportunity Center (B.L.O.C.) threw its sixth annual BLOC Party on Tower Lawn, featuring a multitude of on and off-campus resources.
MyShaundriss Watkins, the program coordinator for the B.L.O.C., led the event which hosted over ten organizations.
“Today we have our sixth annual BLOC Party, which is our official welcome event to all of our students, specifically Black students to welcome them to campus,” Watkins said.
“So that they know about the B.L.O.C., all the resources that are here to support them, not only here on campus but also San José at large.”
The B.L.O.C. is a social and learning hub for Black students at SJSU that provides cultural programming, professional development, academic initiatives and a space to build community and support student success, according to the center’s webpage.
Sophia Kenoly, third year animation and illustration student and the B.L.O.C’s graphic designer, said the organization serves as a safe space and resource center for Black students.
“We’re a space designed to be like a home-away-from-home for our Black students and we have a bunch of different resources we offer. We have free printing, free scantrons, free water,” Kenoly said.
The B.L.O.C also offers tutoring, scholarships, food and housing resources, Black student resources and help from members of SJSU’s Study Abroad and Away and Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS), according to SJSU’s webpage.
The organizations that tabled were SJSU’s Black Alliance of Scientists and Engineers, the local Region Six Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers, according to a webpage by Wix.
Yabets Merid, a seventh-year mathematics major, is the vice president of the local alliance’s chapter.
“Black engineers–we’re kind of non-existent numbers-wise. I want us to have a tight-knit community where if anybody needs help with something, we can just rely on each other,” Merid said.
In 2024, Black students made up only 3.3% of SJSU’s population, according to SJSU’s webpage.
It was recorded that only 3% of SJSU students in the College of Engineering identified as Black in a 2021 report from SJSU ScholarWorks.
“We make sure that you have all the resources you need. We have a diverse group of engineers, we have aerospace engineers, chemical engineers, civil engineers … We have a study jam every week so you can find us at different locations, sometimes in the library, sometimes in the B.L.O.C and we just kick it and we study.”
While organizations tabled, Christensen Sanders, known as DJ Swang, mixed afrobeats, hip-hop and reggaeton to curate an upbeat vibe.
Alongside music and cultural organizations, small businesses joined to shed light on off-campus outlets.
Chris Patterson-Simmons, owner of Neu2u Thrift Boutique, dry cleans all the store’s clothes and sells handcrafted jewelry.
“What makes my store unique is that all my clothes that are there are washed or dry cleaned first. I don’t do consignment, I don’t do buying and trading – just good old-fashioned thrifting. The jewelry I sell there is made by me,” Patterson-Simmons said.
The store is located on 436 E. Santa Clara St., only about 0.3 miles northeast from campus.
Along with her jewelry business, Simmons runs her own free mentorship program called “Don’t Talk About It, Be About It”,” that aims to help aspiring entrepreneurs succeed in their own business.
“I tried to be intentional with getting new businesses here every single year,” Watkins said. “The idea is to have Black-owned businesses be a part of this event, specifically so that Black students know where they can be supported, not only here, but in the Santa Clara community and county.”
Organizations like SJSU’s Nigerian Student Association offered cultural resources and community for Nigerian and Black students on campus.
Chizitere Agbakwuru, a third-year criminal justice student, is serving as president of the student association.
“Every year we have this big cultural show that we have during second semester,” Agbakwuru said. “Besides that we try to collaborate with other organizations, even other schools, just to overall spread Nigerian culture.”
The Nigerian Student Association’s culture show is a celebration of Nigerian culture, featuring traditional and inspired Nigerian performances, clothing and cuisine.
The association aims to achieve excellence in school and life by bringing Nigerians, African-Americans and all other ethnicities together to support one another academically, socially and psychologically, according to its Facebook page.
Agbakwuru expressed his positive experience at the B.L.O.C. Party.
“It’s a great event to network at, all of HSA (Habesha Student Association) and ASO (African Student Organization) are here. It was overall very fun,” Agbakwuru said.