Volume XIX, Number 6 March 31, 1989
Leroi Douglass—One Last Stand
By Victor E. Blue
[NOTE: This story is fictitious and
represents the opinion of the writer.]
When Leroi Douglass entered his of
fice Feb. 2 he had a lot on his mind. The
usually genteel president of the African-
American Society (AAS) slammed the
door behind him. It did not matter to
him if the groundhog had seen its
shadow or not; he was furious at the
university’s lack of action concerning
the Center for African-American
Culture (CAC). By January 31, 1989,
the university was to have found a per
manent site for the CAC. Two days
later, Leroi still had received no word
from Chancellor Pardon or Dean
Moultin. He wanted to call, he wanted
to get upset; instead he remained calm
and decided to wait for them to call. A
general body meeting of the AAS had
been planned for Feb. 8. He would
disclose his plans for action then.
Would it be worth it, he asked
himself, as he chewed nervously on his
pen. Black students on this campus had
proved to be very apathetic. Attendance
at AAS meetings and the general
awareness of black students was falhng.
After all, only 1/3 of black students
asked in an AAS survey even knew that
Margarita Lawford was the director of
the CAC.
Leroi’s two-year tenure as AAS presi
dent was about to end in March, and he
could easily drift into contentment at
his past success. During his stay in of
fice the AAS had progressed over
previous years. Interest in the AAS
Choir, the Yoruba Dancers and other
AAS sub-groups had increased tremen
dously. He had even lifted the CAC
from being an unnecessary triviality to a
productive learning center.
Leroi could not wait until Feb. 8; he
had to make one last stand for the
CAC. He picked up the phone and
buzzed the AAS secretary just outside
his office. “Call all central committee
members. Tell them we will have an
emergency meeting this evening to
discuss the CAC at 6 p.m. in Upendo,”
he said.
While Leroi and the AAS continued
to fight for a cultural center, opponents
were preparing to gun down the CAC.
Back in October, university trustee Don
Hope said publicly that he did not see
the need for a CAC, and black students
should go to a black school if they
wanted one.
Apathy among black students also
hurt the CAC. The black class of 1992
was touted to be the best ever to enter
the university. They had the best SAT
scores and the highest GPAs. After the
fall semester, 40 percent of the black
freshmen had below a 2.0 GPA.
At the meeting, Leroi adamantly
decided to protest the university’s pro
crastination. Leroi’s fiery tone
dominated the meeting. Most members
agreed with Leroi’s suggestion to stop
recruiting black students for the univer
sity since it does not honor the requests
of its current black population. He also
suggested that students stage a massive
protest on the steps of North Building
before a television audience.
Immediately, Leroi and the members
of the central committee began drafting
a letter of grievances to Chancellor
Pardon:
“We, members of the African-
American Society and representatives of
the university’s black student communi
ty, are appalled that the university has
not honored our request to find a per
manent site for the CAC. As a viable
part of the university community we
feel our importance has been overlook
ed. As a result, we have decided to
discontinue our participation in the
recruitment of black students. Why
should we encourage our younger
brothers and sisteers to consider a
university that consistently lies to
blacks?
The African-American Society”
Only time would reveal the answers
to the problems of the university’s black
students. Would the university respond
During the past few years, UNC has
implemented several programs to at
tract black students. These programs in
clude a minority recruitment commit
tee, Decision Days, the building of the
BCC, and Summer Bridge, which acts
not only as an aid to attract black
students, but which also attempts to
give them a head start.
However successful UNC’s attempt
to attract black students is, the attempt
is being undermined by the alarming
number of students who drop out of
school before graduation.
A major reason for this drop-out rate
is the students’ inability to make the
grade. In order to return after one
semester, a 1.0 G.P.A. is required, a 1.5
after three semesters, a 1.75 after four,
and a cumulative 2.0 is necessary to
graduate.
Whose fault and whose problem is it
that these students are not making the
grades, do not have sufficient funds to
complete their tenure at UNC, or just
do not have the desire to remain at
UNC once here?
One might wonder whether or not the
University has considered the fact that
until it solves its internal problem of
keeping black students here, it does no
good to attract new black students. The
percentage growth of black students
who apply and who are accepted to
UNC is not a jieasure of actual growth
favorably to the AAS’ actions? Would
a site be found for the CAC? One thing
was certain—Leroi would continue his
struggle until his last day in office.
if those students do not graduate.
One might also wonder whether more
black students would choose UNC if
they knew that the needs of black
students already here were being met, if
they knew that UNC’s current black
students felt as though Carolina was as
much theirs as anyone else’s.
Although UNC has provided minori
ty students with the Office of Student
Affairs and with various tutoring pro
grams, solving the problem of retaining
minority students appears to be no
more imminent.
Black Ink Reminisces
The Plight of Black Freshmen
By Timika Shafeek, Managing Editor
□
The Plight of Black Freshmen
S
Black Diaspora Love
Freshman Gripe
6
Black in Journalism
[~8~| Margo Crawford
A Bush Presidency
2
New Associate Dean
Scholarships
0
Tenth Anniversary Celebration [tJ
of the Black Experience
Photo File
Controlled Ramblings