Newspapers / Black Ink (Black Student … / Oct. 22, 1990, edition 1 / Page 7
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Cover Story Black Ink 4/ White/North Campus Residency Cycle yourself." But residents, both black and white, found other likeable aspects of South Campus, not least of which are the dorms' superior facilities which give them a unique degree of autocracy not available to many North Campus halls. "It's a long way to walk, but.." "The farther you go the better it gets" completes this slogan seen on T- shirts worn by the Resident Assistant staff in Hinton James. Because South Campus is geographically distant from mainstream campus life, often overlooked are the possible advantages of staying there, including the laundromats, computer rooms, convenience stores and social activities, residents said. Jesse McClure, a freshman James resident said of his hall, "It's big and there's always something to do." Other South Campusdwellersconcurred,and even North Campus residents recognize the area as a place to congregate with friends. Jenise Little, an R.A. in Manly who lived in Morrison her first semester freshman year said she still maintains close contact with many South Campus friends. "When I have time to socialize, I can get up and go to South Campus." Crissie Nopanen, a white Hinton James senior R.A., resided in Cobb for two years before skipping to Morrison her junior year because of the lack of racial diversity on North Campus. The Northern UNC environment was distinctly lacking in cultural mixture, she said. April Smith, a sophomore living in Aycock, said North Campus seemed composed of "mostly white, sorority girls." Becausethereare so few African- Americaixs on North Campus, those who live there generally find it harder to socially adjust she said. "For the black freshman that do get on North Campus, it takes them longer to learn to relate to other people." Aggravating the situation is the "isolation" of North Campus blacks who are not always kept abreast of social and cultural activities concerning African-Americans, Smith continued. No notices or reminders, such as the one announcing the upcoming appearance of Minister Louis Farrakhan at North Carolina A&T, are posted in North Campus dormitories, she said. What's the problem? The uneven distribution of blacks between the two campuses has been an area of concern, but few perceive it as a problem, although most think North Campus should be more integrated. South Campus is actually very diverse; Morrison, for instance, rivals Carmichael, the UNITAS dorm, in terms of cross-cultural interaction. Wallace said that the number of blacks on South Campus often causes people to overlook the white majority there. There is no racial problem on SouthCampus when taken into account the high diversity, he said. "It is only a problem for those who don't tmderstand that a lot of students down there are white," he said. "It's (South Campus is) integrated rather than segregated." Administrators, as well as some residents, still desire a push for further North Campus integration, bi\t how to achieve this and not violate blacks' right to choose remains largely a mystery. Everyone interviewed strongly objected to mandatory assignment of African-Americans to certain residence halls. Kuncl and others in the housing department have been discussing the possibility of reserving seven or eight- space blocks in North Campus dorms forminoritystudents. Thisideaisbased on the reasoning that a person will be more likely to try a different environment if he or she can bring several friends. The proposal v«ll be formally presented to students at a panel discussion about the North/ South situation slated for November, and administrative action will hinge on student response, Kuncl said. Wallace stated that giving students an option is the most important aspect of the above proposal, because incoming African-Americans should also be told of North Campus. It is the administration's duty to provide options and let people know they have the right to live anywhere, he added. Students made sinular statements, and most, especially blacks living on North Campus, said the good qualities of their area should be orally passed on from student to student, which clearly happens in respect to South Campus dormitories. The proximity to the campus and ti\e accessibility of the libraries and Franklin Street are all reasons to choose North Campus, residents said. Smith thinks that pre-orientation and see "North and South," p. 10 Distribution of African-Americans living in dorniitoriesatUNCbypercentageandbynumbcr Dormitory Percentage Of Total African- Americans In Dormitory. And Number Of African-Americans In Dormitory 1) Alderman 0.51 6 2) Alexander 0.51 6 3) Avery 3.06 36 4) Aycock 0.60 7 5) Carmichael 9.27 109 6) Cobb 3.91 46 7) Cormor 1.19 14 8) Craige 11.39 134 9) Ehringhaus 1259 148 10) Everett 0.34 4 11) Graham 0.34 4 12) Grimes 0.26 3 13) James 1939 228 14) Jojmer 1.96 23 15) Kenan 0.43 5 16) Lev^s 0.09 1 17) Mangum 0.51 6 18) Manly 0.17 2 19) Mclver 0.26 3 20) Morrison 23.98 282 21) Old East 0.26 3 22) Old West 0.09 1 23) Parker 3.23 38 24) Ruffin 0.26 3 25)Spencer 0.68 8 26) Stacy 0.26 3 27) Teague 2.64 31 28) Whitehead 1.02 12 29) Winston 0.85 10 TOTAL: 100 1176 Number of African-Americans in UNC residence halls: 1176 Number of African-Americans living on South Campus: (Ehringhaus, Craige, Morrison, James)— 792 (6735%) Number of African-Americans living below the Student Union: (South Campus and Avery, Parker, Teague, Carmichael)-1006 (8555%) Number of African-Americans living on North Campus: (the remaining 21 dorms)—170 (14.45%) Source: UNC Housii^ Dept.
Black Ink (Black Student Movement, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
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Oct. 22, 1990, edition 1
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