VICTOR SCHMITT-BUSH
Assistant News Editor
Creating and managing a club is no easy task. It takes a lot of effort just to get it started. The Student Association must approve the idea for the club, and that takes paperwork, presentations and all sorts of other preparations that are necessary to get the club rolling and ready to go.
Even if the club is approved, nothing is ever set in stone, and things can quickly go downhill.
But that has been far from the case for junior computer and information sciences major, Sheneca Sharpe, who is the president of Fredonia’s first curly and kinky hair club, “Under this Bonnet.”
Sharpe managed to kick Under this Bonnet off with a triumphant start.
“Obviously from activities night, it showed that people really want something like this here,” she said. “We’re almost on our fourth general body meeting, and we’ve got an attendance from 30 to 35 people every week.”
According to Sharpe, it isn’t just a club. Under this Bonnet is a community dedicated to helping students with curly and kinky hair to learn more about their natural hair. It is dedicated to spreading that knowledge to other people on this campus and even other campuses in the SUNY system.
According to junior public relations and media management major, Kurefe Ejekpokpo, who is the publicity chair for Under this Bonnet, “Society constantly tells us that we do not fit its idea of beautiful, so we’re ignoring that and owning our hair. Black hairstyles are some of the only things African Americans have been able to pass down despite slavery.”
Even so, Sharpe feels that it is important that people of all different backgrounds and hair types become aware of the importance of this club.
“I want people to know that Under this Bonnet is for everybody who is curious and wants to learn more about it,” said Sharpe. “We’re always accepting people who want to come to GBs.”
She also feels that this club could help reform the way that communities around SUNY campuses handle the presence of curly and kinky hair.
Sharpe explained, “There is an issue when it comes to natural hair and being a part of this community because there is a lack of resources for you here. I don’t know of any barbers or hairdressers around Fredonia who can cut nappy hair.”
She also noted that the closest natural hairdresser to Fredonia is in Buffalo, and that’s at least 45 minutes away, making it especially difficult for people who need their hair treated who don’t have their own vehicles.
“That’s what inspired me to start this club,” Sharpe said. “It was my interest in the needs of the students themselves, not for myself. It was for people who have nappy hair who wanted to learn more about it but didn’t know who to go to.”
It was her goal to help as many people as possible. Sharpe and her E-board set this in motion in their most recent general body meeting.
“Last week, we had a meeting on natural hair product ingredients and what’s in your hair products,” she said. “We discussed what was a good product to use versus a bad one. We had a game going where we determined whether certain hair products were bad or not. It was fun.”
It wasn’t always fun and games for Sharpe and her club, though. Prior to the club’s approval by SA, Sharpe met some adversity along the way.
“There was slack from building the club up and trying to bring it to SA for approval,” said Sharpe. “I heard comments through the grape vine where people said things like, ‘Well, let’s start straight hair club.’”
Even so, she managed to push those comments off to the side and persevere. According to Sharpe, people who said things like that just didn’t understand the purpose of the club. They didn’t understand how important it was to have a club like this on campus.
It didn’t matter to her what people said because she was on a mission to get this club started. Under this Bonnet’s E-board did everything in their power to make it a success.
Sharpe explained, “When we went for rules committee, where you get approved to be a club, we basically had this whole powerpoint set up for them. We had all our GB ideas set up for them.
“We had everything step-by-step,” she said. “There was no way they would have denied this club because we were that prepared.”
According to Sharpe, there was absolutely no contest. They loved it, and it was an easy approval for SA.
The same goes for Sharpe, too. She feels that Under this Bonnet has been a huge success, and she only sees it expanding to even greater heights in the near and distant future.
“Now our next goal is just having a big event,” she said. “Yes, I think I’m happy with the goals I’ve accomplished now, but I’m also setting goals for the future to come.”
“Come to UTB,” said Ejekpokpo. “We’ll give great tips and provide a comforting community to help you go through your [natural hair] transition.”