CAMPUS 8
OCTOBER 5, 1992 I
Chuck Stone Answers His Critics
By Corey Brown
/n/c Co-Editor
A bow tic, school-boy glasses
and soft brown eyes give Chuck
Stone, Walter Spearman professor
of journalism, a grandfather-like
appearance.
Why then is there controversy
surrounding this once-lovcd man?
Stone on hLs role in the move
ment:
Recently, some criticized Stone
in regard to his stance on the move
ment to obtain a free-standing
black cultural center.
“I said I was not an advocate. It
was apoor choice of words,” Stone
said. “What 1 meant was I am not
a leader in it.
“I didn’tcommunicate with pre
cision. Sometimes I screw up and
will not use the precise word that I
want.”
Stone said that since he is not in
a leadership-role in the movement,
some have questioned his motives.
“Ididn’twantto
be in the fore
front. I felt it
was student-
initiated, stu
dent-generated
and should be
student-lead;
but by saying
I’m not an ad
vocate it com
municated that
I was not sup
porting it.”
Stone cited
an article in the
April 13, 1992,
issue of the
Daily Tar Heel
concerning a
Board of Trust
ees meeting to
support his
stance on the
center. He also listed his defense of
a BCC at a faculty council meeting.
Stone on the BCC:
Stone said
he would like
to see in con
junction with
a BCC, the es
tablishment of
an African-
American/Af-
r i c a n
Diaspora De
partment. This
would encom
pass African
culture all
over the world
and not just
limit the scqje
to the United
States and Af
rica.
“You
know how to
prove that it
would not be a
barrier? All you got to do is bring in
people that are popular and promi
nent in the black community white
kids are going to come in,” Stone
said.
Stone on Chancellor Hardin:
Stone has also been questioned
on his “support” of Chancellor
Hardin. While he agrees that
Hardin could do more to help the
struggle, he does not think that the
chancellor has acted in bad faith.
“I think he has good inten
tions, I think he wants to do the
right thing. He used some unfor
tunate language, and I don’t see
cutting somebody off until they
prove to me that they ’re not worth
it He has not proven that to me.
It’s still an ongoing process and to
prove they’re negotiating,” said
Stone. “The question is after
you’re on common ground, how
do you come up with a plan ac
ceptable to the Board of Trust
ees? Suppose Hardin says he’ll
take this to the BOT. The one
prerogative that the BOT has is
control of buildings being built.”
Stone on criticism:
For those students have
openly criticized Stone for his
lack of hands-on involvement
with the movement. Stone re
sponded, “I know what they’re
saying, and I don’t blame them;
they should straighten me out if
they think I’m not with them.”
“What we got to be careful
about in this whole struggle is
that we as a people, even when
we disagree, that we don’t de
stroy each other.”
Stone said that wie of the most
important elements of the move
ment must be negotiation. He
made reference to the African
National Congress which has ne
gotiated with F.W. De Klerk in
South Africa directly after 28
people were killed at a rally in
Ciskei.
“I find an exquisite irony in
the brothers and sisters leading
the crusade for a free-standing
BCC’s... proclaiming that their
demands are ‘non-negotiable.’”
“What we got to be careful about in
this whole struggle is that we as a
people, even when we disagree, that
we don’t destroy each other.”
BCC essential in promoting multicultural learning
By Gerri Baer
Coniribuior
It is a terrible shame that it has
taken the University 14 years to
realize the urgent need for a free
standing black cultural center on
our campus. As a sophomore at
Carolina, I see the BCC as essential
in promoting a multicultural learn
ing experience, and as a Jewish
student, I understand the necessity
of the center in continuing to build
an already strong black community
at UNC.
Some people will try to compare
the black and Jewish experiences of
discrimination. They seem to think
that we have everything in com
mon—we have been stereotyped,
snubbed by the country-club, high-
society types and terrorized by neo-
Nazi skinheads.
True, but that is where the simi
larities end. Jews sometimes do not
realize that when they walk down
the street, even though they are dif
ferent, passers-by see them prima
rily as white people. Blacks do not
have this opuon. While 1 could spend
the days of my col lege career blend
ing in with every other short, blonde
haired women at Carolina, black
students are black every day.
It just so happens that I choose
not to blend in. I celebrate my
Jewishness by my activities with
Hillel and the Jewish Tar Heel, and
I want blacks on this campus to be
able to do the same.
Black and Jewish students are
similar because we are two groups
that have very strong heritages. I
study and practice the traditions of
my Jewish ancestors from Eastern
Europe, while black students cel
ebrate their African heritage.
It just so happens that my Jewish
predecessors at Carolina built a
Hillel Foundation house on
Cameron Avenue so I could have a
place to study and gather with my
fellow Jewish students. It is about
time, after 14 years of promises, the
administrauon at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill allow
black students to build a BCC.
Minorities on Carolina’s pre
dominantly white Protestant cam
pus need groups to identify with.
That is why the Asian students have
the Asian Students Association, the
Native Americans have the Caro
lina Indian Circle, the Indian stu
dents have Sangam and the list goes
on. But the black students at Caro
lina are such a significant minority,
I hesitate to call them a “minority”
(The word minority has small-scale
implications and blacks are not a
small-scale group).
So why not a multicultural cen
ter, some groups on campus might
ask? We already have a multicultural
center, I would answer. It is called
the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, and if we want it to be
a true multicultural representation
of our community, we will build a
free-standing black cultural center.
YOUTH UNITED
Now TakiiTg Applicationst
Involves Pairing UNC Students v?ith yotmg-
sters ages (11^14) to help meet various needs
and help develop a strong sense of self
Come Out and make a difference in a young
person's Me
Applications are available in the
BCC and Campus Y
Any Questions Call 962-2333