Rasool Berry brings experience, leadership to BSL

The new BSL president plans to foster a sense of community among black undergraduate groups. Though Rasool Berry dreams of a semester abroad in Cameroon -- where he will perform a cross-cultural study between West Africa and Philadelphia -- his immediate goals were just refocused on campus, with his election as the new president of the Black Student League. The College sophomore has been a member of the BSL since his freshman year, spending the last two semesters as both of its two corresponding secretaries. Berry took on those positions while also co-chairing the group's community outreach and advertising programs. "With my position on community outreach, I had really gotten to know a lot of people, and put myself in a position to carry the torch," Berry said. His major community outreach effort saw Berry organizing a program called "Reach One, Teach One," which matches students from Penn with students from West Philadelphia high schools. Now Berry says he has "big, big plans" for the BSL's future, as he is trying to reorganize the assorted black undergraduate groups to gain more of a sense of community among them. "The groups are very powerful groups, and if we were to organize together, it would be very efficient," he said. Berry mentioned his commitment to the black presence on campus, emphasizing his desire to "enhance dialogue between all kinds of students and to establish the BSL as a strong and vibrant organization." He mentioned his dedication to the black community because "one of the first things that's noticeable at Penn is that there are not enough black people here." "If we had more blacks here, that would be the first step to improving diversity," he added. College senior Obinna Adibe, the outgoing president, called Berry a valuable asset to the BSL and a capable leader. "I have all the faith in him in the world -- he knows what to do and how to do it," Adibe said. Berry praised the past BSL leadership, saying he wouldn't change anything -- since previous years saw the group make several changes to its constitution and organization -- but will only progress onward. "The BSL has laid the foundations for me to continue, but everyone is different, so we're all going to run things differently," he said. "They did a lot of hard work -- I just have to follow through with it," he added. Berry is attempting to individualize a major, combining the fields of sociology, psychology, cultural anthropology and education. Participating as a "non-singing member," he is loosely affiliated with the Penn gospel choir, and is active within his church community. And as a resident of the W.E.B. DuBois College House for the past two years, Berry served on the DuBois house council and was involved in a one-act festival for the African American Artists Alliance. Asked where he sees himself in 20 years, Berry quickly responded, confidently noting his desire to "have developed a style or theory of teaching that would be sensitive to students' needs, and to be aware of differences in how that plays out in terms of living and learning." And as if that weren't enough, "maybe I'll even come out with a ground-breaking book that changes the way people think," he added.

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