Movement?
Jan: While I appreciate his efforts, Chancellor Hooker
contradicted himself regarding the DTH at the BSM
meeting. He said he didn’t read the DTH, then he said
he reads the headlines. You don’t overlook headlines
like “ROYALTY or RACE.” He’s extremely con
cerned with our intellectual climate, so this is definite
ly something he should be interested in since it affects
the learning environment at this institution.
Q: What advice would you give to future, qualified
Black Student Movement nominees who intend to
run for Homecoming Queen/King?
Jan: Keep your
head up. No mat
ter what the DTH
does or the
University does (or
doesn’t do) to
reward you for
your qualifica
tions, just believe
in yourself.
Ash: Through all
this, keep your
head and don’t let
outside influences
deter your goals.
Q: What can stu
dents do now to
better race rela-
tions at this
University?
Jan: With any change, it always starts with yourself; so,
evaluate your own actions. What are you doing? Are
you continuing to explore distinct cultures, or are you
looking down on other cultures simply because they
are different? Challenge each person to meet a new
person, or attend an event that you normally wouldn’t
attend. I must admit that my viewpoint is on a utopian
level, though. By utopian I mean, if I go to Sangam, or
a Jewish person goes to a step show, those are just
primitive steps. If everybody does those things. I’m
While I appreciate his efforts,
Chancellor Hooker contradicted
himself regarding the DTH at the
BSM meeting. He said he didn’t
read the DTH, then he said he
reads the headlines. You don’t
overlook headlines like “ROYAL
TY or RACE.”
assuming that everything will work out because we are
a tolerant generation, but it’s going to take more than
that because a lot of the problems we have stem from
our upbringing. It’s hard to withstand a long tradition
of racism. I want us to be open to learn about each
other. A lot of what is going on is deep-rooted in a long
tradition of racism, so it’s going to take a lot more to
eradicate that. But, the first step is to admit that it
exists. It’s not necessarily for us, as African
Americans, because I think all of us know racism infil
trates society continually, but, it’s for others to exam
ine the issue of race, and move on from there.
Ash: Communication is the best thing for it. We don’t
need to talk among
ourselves, we need
to speak up. We’re
doing good to open
up dialogue, but we
need the DTH, our
primary informant,
to return the favor.
The DTH does have
a profound effect on
our climate so they
need to think about
what they’re doing.
Q: Any closing
comments for the
student body?
Jan: Thank you to
anyone who has
supported me in
this endeavor and whatever you do, don’t lose hope. If
you would like to help out on my service project, look
for announcements in the early part of next semester.
Ash: I would like to thank everyone for his or her sup
port through this whole ordeal. It was a trying time, but
we made it through; hopefully, something positive will
come out of it. ^
Black Ink
11