Dear Readers,
For those of you whom I have not had the opportunity
to welcome back let me now say welcome.
As promised. The Black Ink is back under
the leadership of Beth Glenn and the talented
staff she has put together. I’d like to encour
age you to continue to read the Ink because it
will be a great way to stay aware of issues
concerning black students and it will contain
infonnation regtirding BSM programming, so
that you’ll always know what we’re doing on
campus.
I’d like to lake this opportunity to talk a
little bit about my visions for the BSM this
yeiu-. As I’ve said many times before,we have a lot of
work ahead of us. I view my main goal as putting together
the internal components of the BSM. Over the years the
quality of our programming and the amount of program
ming we have offered has dimini.shed. This year I want to
have more activities for all .students to enjoy and I’m open
to any suggestions you might have. Lastly, as a black
student body our voice on campus has become weaker and
weaker. I want to change that this year. If there is ever an
occassion where you think minority representation is
needed and our voice hasn’t been heard, let us know so that
we can respond.
We can never go forward however, without your
support so I’d like to encourage you to take an active role
in the BSM by becoming a member and attending pro
grams. We'll do our best to make them to your liking and if
they are not, let me know so we can make them better.
Our office is in Suite A of the Carolina Union on the
second floor. You can call us at 962-5658, so leave us a
message and let us know what’s up. Peace.
Ladell Rohhins
Editor’s Note:
Welcome to the Black Ink. Many said it couldn’t be done,
but with some blood and sweat from you and ray phat staff,
I want to provide you with an informative, entertaining,
thought-provoking publication at least every month.
Our mission is to put Blackness into words and pictures.
That means we want to provide a voice that describes,
analyzes, criticizes and highlights the experiences of being
Black at UNC, in America and the in the world. We welcome
all voices that seek to meet that goal and well strive to have
what Dr. Cornel West called a “ self-critical courageous
stance,” meaning we'll look at our community and its place
in the larger society without rose-colored glasses, WiU we
call people out? Yes. Will we give people props? Yes. WiU
we raise question Yes. Will we tel! you what we think about
issues? Yes, Will we provide objective reporting? Definitely.
WiU we call you to action. Of course. We plan to be a com-
munity-building paper.
Let me say again how central you, The
Reader, are to the Ink’s success. It’s my hope
Uiat the Ink can be a spot where the Black
community talks to each other, just written
down. The more people we actively involve,
the more we can make diis truly a community
newspaper.You can always e-nmll me at tglenn
You can caU aU the editors, (we’re in the
directory) or stop them on the yard to teU them
what you want to see in our p^r, and it’s
never too late to write for us. I hope the Ink can
have a wide range of people to call on for help
in aU its phases of production. I hope it’ll get you thinking,
then taUdng, then acting.
Beth Glenn
Keeping Score
Holly Stepp
Ink News Editor
Although national
standardized test scorcs for
minorities lag behind the
national average, UNC's
minority students' scores
continue to surpass the
national average, according
to University officials.
“Our students are usually
well above the national
average, and our minority
.students lu-e no exception.”
.said Tony Strickland, associ
ate director of UNC Office
of Admissions.
According to University
admissions records, the
Scholastic Achievement Test
average score for this year’s
entering freshmen was about
1140. Minority freshmen
scores are about 100 points
lower, with most minority
students .scoring a little
above 1000, Strickland said.
Recently released data
from the American College
Testing program and the
Educational Testing Service,
which administers the SAT
and American College Test
(ACT), shows increases in
scores for minorities as a
whole with some individual
ethnic groups showing
increases in certain sections
but an overall lower score of
about 100 to 150 points for
minorities.
Nationally, Native
American students’ scores
have increa.sed in the verbal
section of both tests and
African American students
scores have increased in both
the math and verbal sections
of the SAT and ACT.
The national average on
the SAT is 910. North
Carolina average score is
865.
Strickland said standard
ized test scores are only a
small portion the criteria the
University uses in determin
ing whether a student will
perform well at UNC.
“We look at scores, of
course, but we also look at
high school records in
determining a students
ability to succeed at the
University,” he said.
Strickland also said that
the graduation rates of the
University also reflect the
overall quality of aU UNC
students.
Traditionally lower
scores for minorities have
prompted some educators to
say their is a racial bias in
the college admissions test.
But officials at the testing
services say the difference in
scores comes in preparation
for the tests and other factors
in society.
An ACT spokesman said
the questions must meet a
certain criteria before being
used in the test, and racial
bias is among the things
looked for in the questions.
A recent UNC study
conducted by the UNC
School of Education has
suggested that academic
grouping also hampers
learning opportunities for
minority students. ■
Editor-in Chief: Beth Glenn • Editors: Chante LaGon, Jennifer
Fuller, Holly Stepp, Kim Gray, Charis Bennett • Photography Editor:
lohn White • Layout Editors; KimShala Wilson • Assistant Layout
Editor: Biri Oguah ‘Business Manager: Derek Davis
Contributing Writers
Theresa Avery • Ivy Farguheson • Alisa Gumbs • Shari Blanton
Maria Ellis • Adeea Rogers • Sharif Durhams *Lacfell Robbins