stum the 5Bp Candidates
The 2001-2002 candidates for student body candidates were asled to respond to the following
questionaire. Candidates were given a two-page limit to answer 15 very thought-provoking
questions. When necessary, their responses were edited for length.
Dustyn Baker
Junior, Communications
What is the most important
issue you feel minorities face
on this campus and why?
Admission, retention, and
recognition. Without addition
al minority students, our uni
versity risks the chance of not
being a true microcosm of
North Carohna or America as
a whole. As the Office of
Minority Affairs was reviewed
last year, BSM members
learned for the first time that
the Office was not a perma
nent and definite fixture on
campus. We must ensure that
we have a stable and fixed
presence on the campus.
Recognition is also important
to Black Students. I'm sure we
have all been in classes, on
committees, or even organiza
tions and have felt lost or
unappreciated by the
University administration and
student government. If we
were appreciated, the slave
graves behind Winston would
already be marked. If we were
truly appreciated, there would
be more African-American fac
ulty members.
Why are you running for
Student Body President -real-
ly?( no middle of the road or
general, I want to help the
students, answers please) I
am running because it's time
for a Student Body President
to be the real voice of students;
not just promote the agendas
they think are important to
students.
What sets you apart from any
other candidate attending our
BSM forum? As an active 3-
year member, I have not
stopped being a member of the
BSM; I have been a leader for
the BSM. Within the BSM I
have served as Subgroup
Coordinator on the BSM
Central Committee, EROT
President, and member of the
Political AcHon Committee.
Within student government
positions I continue to repre
sent BSM concerns. 1 always
make sure to express the views
of the BSM through all of my
student government positions.
1 have done so by representing
students as a member of the
Student Advisory Committee
to the Board of Trustees, as an
Executive Assistant for the
Student Body President, and as
a member of the newly formed
Academic Advising Board.
Finally, I am the leading
African-American candidate
who will work for all students
and always stand strong for
the Black Student Movement.
If you were locked in a room
with all 500 members of the
BSM for 30 seconds right
before they went to vote, and
you could say only 3 words.
what would they be?
Stand for something.
Are you familiar with the 22
demands of the BSM? How
do you feel about them?
Yes. The 22 demands in 1967
have greatly increased minori
ty enrollment, created the
Office of Minority Affairs, and
created the African and
African-American studies
department. Therefore, I am
definitely greatful of the origi
nal BSM members who set
forth such a forthright agenda.
Because certain issues from the
22 demands have not been
met, I have included parts of
the 22 demands into my plat
form. For instance, by the end
of my tenure in office, you can
be guaranteed that even if 1
must go to the graves and
straighten them up myself, the
grave sites of our ancestors
will be refurbished.
Why is it important to you to
have the BSM's support in
this election? The BSM is not
merely a name for me; the
BSM has been my family for
three years. The BSM is my
family, and I will fight for the
BSM members, as I will do for
all students. For the BSM to
achieve its absolute potential
on campus, we must support
a consistent member. I need
my family to help win the elec
tion for us; I need the BSM.
Ask the BSM a question. Can
we bring back the red Kool-
Aid from 1998?
Larry Harper
Junior, Political Science
What is the most important
issue you feel minorities face
on this campus and why? 1
feel that black students on
campus are still subject to
being stereotyped by whites.
We as different races uncon
sciously segregate ourselves
according to race because it re
enforces our comfort levels.
We refer to each other as
friends during the week and
converse in the Pit, but when
we are putting together the
group for a night out, how
many of us reach for the phone
and call up our peeps of other
races and see what they are
doing? I challenge everybody
who reads this to give a ring to
someone who they will call out
in the Pit, but don't call up on
the weekend because they'd be
the only white/black in the
group and buy them a drink in
the name of race relations. 1
want this election and subse
quent school year to be about a
coming together of races. 1
would find more joy in receiv
ing 300 votes from BSM mem
bers and lose the election,
knowing that people believed
in a cracker to reach out to all
races and help bring together
the campus rather than getting
a large vote from Frat Court
and winning the election,
knowing that this election was
just like every year before
where the students mindlessly
voted for the person that
looked the most like their
friends.
February 2001
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