1 Black Ink
Endsights / Letters to the Editors
Page 15
August 24
Endsights;
"Set realistic goals and plans in mo
tion to achieve them...Push yourself
to reach the apex of your abilities."
Making A Positive Impact Upon Our World
By Laura Anderson
Contributor
The 90’s will truly represent a decade of turmoil as a transition
into a new century. Think about it. Look at our world in the past
decade— the erosion of civil rights laws and the inaease in the
numbers of homeless people characterize this. But at the same
time we should not be fraught with pessimism. Germany has
unified now that the Berlin Wall no longer exists and the leader of
the African National Congress, Nelson Mandela, has been released
after 27 years of political imprisonment.
With about three-fourths of the year under our belts, we have a
number of accomplishments worthy of praise. Enough of the “big”
picture right now though, let’s look at our lives in a snapshot. We
are students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and
whether we are in professional school or a member of the Class of
1994, each of us has a responsibility to our community and
ourselves. Together, we can have a positive impact upon what
happens in our comer of the world. “How?” you ask. An initial
step would be to engage in a search of your strengths and develop
them to their fullest— and then go a step farther. Because each
person has been blessed with unique strong points, it is vital that
these special characteristics be shared. Like anything else, it will
take time to find your niche, but in the long run, nothing will pro
vide a more rewarding feeling than sharing (or passing on) your
talents with another individual. Remember, as you rise, help
someone behind you do the same.
“Where?” perhaps is your next question. A myriad of opportuni
ties await and the ranges are wide— from forensics and Spanish to
dance and sign language. But while in pursuit, please remember
two things. First, never limit yourself; an individual does not have
to fall victim to “traditional” patterns. Secondly, when you work,
work hard; when you play, play hard; but, when you work don’t
play at all! By doing this, one can effectively nurture their own
talents and at the same time significantly contribute to the community we
all live in.
As a secondary measure to have an impact upon the world around
you, always keep your priorities strictly aligned. As students, our primary
purpose at the university is to prepare for our futures by earning an
undergraduate degree in the academic major of our choice. The
extracurriculars mentioned above are important, but those activities are
not the sole purpose of your attendance. To extend my point, under
stand that although the level of grades eamed is important; what on
should first strive for is a high level of effort. For example, if a student
has performed to the best of his or her ability and received a “C”, I would
respect that individual a great deal more than an “A” student who does
not have to study at all. As a rising senior, I have sadly witnessed far too
many students kid themselves about their grades— I am no exception.
More positively, 1 would like to offer a shimmer of hope. Regardless of
where you are in your course of studies— a first-year or a fifth-year
student— or where you started from GPA-wise your first semester. Do
not cease your efforts to continuously increase your cummulative GPA.
Set realistic goals and plans in motion to achieve them. To provide some
incentive, take my words as a personal challenge; push yourself to reach
the apex of your abilities. Even if these challenges are met by only half of
those reading this article, one can say that our comer of the world has
“moved in” a step closer to being a part of the “big” picture.
THE IDEAL: For every individual to meet the challenges above.,
THE REALITY; Change happens slowly— one corner of the world at a
time. *
Laura Anderson is a senior Industrial Relations majorfrom
Silver Springs, MD &
Express yourself about the issues that concern Black
Ink readers. Articles should be three pages long, typed
double spaced (include year, major, and hometown).
Drop your article by Suite 108-D Student Union, or
mail to Black Ink, CB#5210, Student Union, University
of North Carolina, Chapel HUl, NC 27514.
1990-1991
%C4ROLINK
Activities Board
Make A
Difference.
Information now available at
the Union Desk
onstructive Criticism, Not
Racism (In Most Cases)
A*; a rTR'inlKT of Ik' Blav’k Sudcrft Movement, aixl as the
CO pr( siilcnt cJ' oni* f if the four -vulvgroups tHliCk Ir^
Bditor), J write this not to discredit fee B$M, but to try atid
make people realise scwictbing that f feel is v«y true* pertt-
nm. ;ind t’>si-ninl ioUk' >ULVfssfu! cfjnlinuint.’eor ihc idojs
of tltc BSM.
IiUu,k Ink, llh.* offiLial ntw^^paper of the BSM, has hail iis
Fair share of problentjs just as every student orgasnization on ;
this campus has its fair share of probbms to deal w)th as an
academic year pfogresses. These problems can eventually be
yjlvfd, or slowlv improved upMi wilh ihc helpof ct«5lruc-
tive crilickm from all siudi-nts. faiulty ajid staff on this
campus Thcortiolly this is absoiulely sviund, but in reality,
intlie C3.se of the Student Movement, it (constiuaivc
{•ntic ism) IS a vm dinsit-rotj com. c jM for iTiany.
Ihtr BSM is an or>?^ini/ali(.'n riddled wtlli probkms OKA
unlike othcT orjjant/'-itii'n^ on cnmpus'i tiwl touid bi*
vjl'.td with a miniM- sugnolH'as frcmi llie campu-s
community at large Many do nnt cfitiriretlK BSM for fear 'f
Ix-'ing lal>-lled ract-t. or of lx.ins> nude an t)ulcasl. In mxsl
ca-sw the call nf I he c.i mpus coi nmunity is not naci^sm or an
nulrighl iUi.'ick, but in.'=K ad is a .stnccro effort to try and >>ivc
'ome healthy, muih nc^-k'd adviu-
I wcwkl risk Iving l.ib‘iled a rru isl if I were Qiuca?ian, 1
iimply ri.sk iiftnfi hkllcd a ‘si-ll out” tvause I am African-
American
In order for th«‘ to tfllciontly sinvt* ft)r and attain
u3inc of rtj prc'>i rihcd S(«ls, inccssant prohlcms such as
inacif-sMlnliiv f/ all prominent IISM officer.s, poor financial
iranjp.cmcnt, poor and outdated (.onsrjtutional law? and
pfXTadliereme to ihe publu';4ii.)n of theoffic i:d ncwspa{x*r
muM all k’limit with
All nf th s(- tr.ms!;rcs>.i('ns m-i.lc hy ihc BSM arc ah^o-
lutt ly incxcusjblc am 1 mu>t be remedied, but no one dares
tp say this oranyliiing else lhal migKypset the nosvxf
tlods de^it ^ the $aote that the doe$;
ancrther group’s “slackness* does not give us liccnse to be the
same way— we sta our cwn ideals and strive fonhetji
BSM sub^oups likcthe Gospel Choir,the Ebony
Readers, and Ihc Ope>-o danccfs arc excdlcnl of
^udem organizalioos that are well very ^8 nin; ThKC sub
groups have a staff that is commiucd, books that are not
perpetually plagued v^-ith pfoblem> and people that are
highly acocssibie and dcdtated— perhaps the mam branch
of iIk* BSM can take example
|ua because the members of an organization are predomt-^
nanily African-.-\mi.Th.-an diy;s ikjI excuse them from
conctnu live criticism (nd intu.m, improvement) The BSM
dois a many, many >;real things for all .sludents im this
campus, but also is not perfect and should not be invtilner*
lllli|lllllllllllllllllllii^
Yes, racism and attacks ane indeed a defini;e problem that;
we as African-Americans must deal with in all aspects of our s
daily IKes, but this d('cs not mcmi th.it all who critiu/.e u«-
mean us harm
Without improvemettt thrfnigh constructive criticism, die i
Black Student Movement will move nowbere.—AMtwoIc ;
N'C;ai \fris\iU Black Ink Editor O
The opinions expressed here are not necessarily the
opinions of the entire Black Ink staff. All letters are
welcome and should be typed double spaced (in
clude year, major, hometown and telephone num
ber). Drop your article by Suite 108-D Student Union,
or mail to Black Ink, CB#5210, Student Union, Uni-
versity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27514.