I
Volume 12, Number 5
BLACK INK
The essence of freedom is understanding
BIjVCK STL'DFNT MOVKMF.NT of FI IAL newspaper University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,
Octobers, 1979
Roller SkJting had come to Cbapel HilL At ■ roller skating diaco held recently In the
parting lot of Hinton James dorm almost 70 studento, both beginning and experienced
^ter participated. Above, Ricky Cooper, a student from Kinston, displays an added
tooch to his routine, while Cory (last name not given), a visitor from Fort Bragg shows
off his routine as another student looks on.
Afro-American Culture Series
Schedule of activities for the fall
JENNIFER McCABE
Staff Writer
The Afro-American Culture Series will begin in October and continue
through next semester. Allen Johnson, a graduate student will be coor
dinator for the series. He will be assisted by Dr. Lee Greene, Assistant
Chairman of the Afro-American Studies curriculum.
There will be an Open House on October 10. The BSM Gospel Choir and the
Opeyo Dancers have been asked to participate.
A drama workshop is planned for November 8 and will be conducted by
Margaret Brewington and Ruby Fuller, two graduate students in drama.
Their concentration in the workshop will be preparation on dramatic per
formances. Brewington is employed by the state and does workshops all
over North Carolina.
Johnson stated that the dramatic performances will be done in conjunc
tion with the Ebony Readers, the BSM forensic group.
In November, there will be a panel discussion entitled “25 Years After
Brown versus the Board of Education, Progression or Regression?” Guest
speakers will Dean Hayden Renwick, Charles Daye of the Law School and
Harold Wallace, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs.
There will be several aspects of Black life discussed such as religion, col
lege admissions, socological effects, and legal defects.
There will be an art exhibit during the first week of November featuring
black photographers and black artists. They will depict authentic scenes
from the black community. “We want it to be bigger and better than
before, ” says coordinator Allen Johnson.
Other projects will be focused on the black athlete, black preachers and
maybe black women, but the major functions will be held in the spring.
(Contiinied on page 8)
Low percentage of Black males causes concern
ALLEN H. JOHNSON
Staff Writer
(Note: This is the first of a two-part
series on ntale-female ratios at UNC and
at area colleges.)
The Black male population at UNC may
t>e comparable soon to “hen’s teeth” or
“bird’s lips’’ or some other witty remark
that means there aren’t many.
Last year’s Black freshman class of 297
contained only 95 males, roughly 32 per
cent. An unofficial tally of this year’s
freshman class reveals a total of 408 black
freshmen with 143 or 35 percent male.
Statistically, that's a slight gain but not
an encouraging one.
“I think it’s a plot,’’ junior Tyrone Avent
said. "I went to a party at Prek)rientation
that was 95 percent female. They’re trying
to keep the women unhappy.’’
Avent’s remarks are made half in jest,
but a random Black Ink survey supports
his view that women are unhappy.
"It would defmitely help the social life
around here if there were more men,’’
Cher>" I^iavelle, a freshman from Pilot
Mountam said.
It’s very bad socially, mentally, in every
aspect of life for the Black woman, a
female graduate student said, who asked
not to t>e identified. "Socially, there are
not that many guys to select from. At par
ties. for instance, the few men have the ad
vantage. The female is more likely to be
taken advantage of,’’ she said.
She went on to say that she might be
married now, had she gone to a school with
more black men. “When I accumulate
what I want, I want to have someone to
share it with,” she said.
Why is the supply of black men decreas
ing?
“Men have more alternatives than
women,” Debra Purvis, a sophomore from
Robertsonville said.
- Purvis said her high school was 60 per
cent Black and had 184 graduating seniors.
Only three Black males went to college.
“They all went in the army,” she said.
“They wanted to start making money right
then. A lot of them were really smart but
didn’t want to wait four years,” she said.
Black women, Katrina Smith, a
freshman from Shelby said, are different.
They see college as an outlet. "Black
women come to get an education because
they don’t want to become dependent on
men,” Smith said.
Assistant Director of Admissions Collin
Rustin agreed. “It’s not that easy for guys
to opt for four years in the books not know
ing what it’s going to get them,” he said.
“There’s more family pressure to work.
Many guys are going to graduate from
high school and work.”
Rustin added that a lack of positive
Black role images, in the media and
elsewhere, also affects enrollment. “1
think the Black male ego has taken a bat
tering from all points.” he said.
BSM Chairperson William Bynum, the
only black male in his high school class to
attend UNC, added: “Black males feel
they can get more awards and recognition
from sports achievement rather than
academics.”
Freshman Perry Green, from Jackson
ville, said when he discovered the lop
sided ratio of women to men in his class he
felt the admissions office might be to
blame. “I felt that they were not trying to
recruit black males,” he said.
Admissions offidal Rustin said there in
deed, is not a specific effort to recruit
Black males, just Blacks in general. “Our
decision in our office is based on high
school performances. When we set up
meetings to talk to high school kids, more
girls show up because they do better in
high school. We have the same problem
with the National Achievement and Pro
ject Uplift (recruitment weekends).”
Rustin said more males may, however,
be aspiring to come to UNC in the next
Black freshman class.
In the meantime, for the males already
here, UNC is beginning to resemble the
University of North Carolina at Paradise.
“The more (women) the merrier,” said
Fayetteville freshman James Ingram.
Perry Green agreed: “I am pleased.
There’s no competition.”
The women are not so thrilled. They note
that the lack of men can cause awkward
social situations. Women and men agree
that parties, formals and semi-formal
socials would be attended by more women
— IF they could find dates.
Tutorial sessions scheduled
Tutorial sessions sponsored by the Minority Advisors Program are currently being
offered four nights per week. The schedule for the sessions are as follows;
Mondays—Eringhaus Dormitory (4th floor study lounge) 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays—Hinton-James Dormitory (Seminar Room) 7:30-9 p.m.
Wedne^ays—Craige Dormitory (Executive Council Room) 7-8:30 p.m.
The Minority Advisors Program, directed by Deans Hayden B. Renwick and Joyce
Clayton, offers these tutorial sessions to all students. Students interested in tutoring
others in one or more subject areas (i.e. Humanities, Social & Natural Sciences,
Foreign Languages etc.) are encouraged to drop by any of the four sessions or to call
Dean Renwick’s office at 966-2143. Students interested in receiving tutorial assistance
should feel free to attend as many of the sessions as they consider necessary.