CAMPUS - 4
SEPTEMBER 16. 1992
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Where Do You Think We Stand?
By Fred Hall
Departmenl of Sociology
Out of curiosity, I recently asked
about 80 students on the first day of
my class in Black-White relations
to rate race relations in present-day
American society on a scale of 1 to
10, with 1 being “very bad” and 10
being “very good.”
I a.sked them to raise their hands
as 1 called out each number
backward from 10. Somewhat to
my .surprise, virtually no hands were
raised before I got to 5.The model
response was 3, with 4 running a
close sccond, so I guess you could
say that the consensus ran at about
a 3.5. My teaching assistant,
Ellington Graves, even went so far
as to give things a 1, but he was
virtually the only one who did so.
Later that day, as I reflected on
how I would answer my own
question (I did not do so in front of
my students at the time), sadly, the
more I thought about it, the more I
found it was hard to disagree with
Mr. Graves. Why? With the
caveat(caution) that I am cognizant
of the tremendous improvement that
has taken place on an interpersonal
level with race relations in American
society in general and in the South
in particular [see the September
1992 Social Science Newsletter of
UNC’s Institute for Research in
Social Science], being more of a
macro-sociologist than a micro
sociologist, I offer here, off the top
of my head, a partial list for starters:
1. In the late 1980’s, there was a
documented decline in black life
expectancy while there was a
corresponding increase in white life
expectancy;
2. Black higher educational
attainment lags dismally behind that
of whites, particularly in obtaining
graduate and professional degrees;
3. Black unemployment rates
1991 Homccominq Queen Polici|
Editor's note: This policy was
submitted by the Carolina Athletic
Association.
LStatement of Intent
Due to the controversy arising
during the selection of the 1991
Homecoming Queen, the
Carolina Athletic Association
(CAA) has decided to reevaluate
the selection procedure. After
discussions with various campus
groups who traditionally sponsor
an applicant, we have authored
the following policy, which will
guide the 1992 contest. Once
ratified by the CAA Cabinet, this
policy is not open to change. The
CAA, all applicants, and
sponsoring organizations will
abide by the letter of this
document
Il.Procedure
This year’s selection will
consist of three parts, each of
which will be a weighted fraction
ofa final score that will determine
the winner. The three pans and
their weighted importance are as
follows:
Application Review (one-
sixth of total score)
Interview (one-sixth of total
score)
General Student Body Vote
(two-third of total score)
The scores will be calculated
and verified by the CAA and will
be held in strictest confidence.
The following sections discuss
each of the steps in more detail:
III.Application Review
All applications received by
the CAA prior to the deadIine(to
be set later and stricdy adhered to
wi II be passed on to a review board
consisting of representatives from
campus organizations not
sponsoring a candidate. The board
will be sequestered during the
review, and names and sponsoring
organizations will be removed
from the applications. Each
panelist will scoreeach application
on a scale of one to 10. These
scores will be averaged and the
applicant ranked in order of finish.
Where the CAA deems the judges’
scores to refiect a significant drop
in the quality of the applications, a
cut-off will be made. Those
applicants above the cut will move
on the the interview stage.
IV.Interview
The CAA will select a panel of
not less than three and not more
than six judges from the University
community to interview each
applicant advancing to this stage.
All interviews will take place on
the same day, and will be scored,
like the applications, on a scale of
one to 10. As before, the CAA will
decide where an appropriate cut
off point is, and the top applicants
will be placed on the ballot for the
general campus vote. The scores
from the application reviews will
be irrelevant in this phase, so that
all candidates enter the interview
stage on an equal footing.
V.General Campus Vote
The vote will be monitored by
the elections board. When votes
have been counted, each candidate’s
actual number of votes will be
convened to a percentage of total
votes, which in turn will be
convened to the 10 point scale. For
instance, if a candidate receives
27% of the total vote, she will
receive a 2.7 on the scale. This
figure will be multiplied by four
and added to her application and
interview scores for a total. The
candidate with the highest score is
the 1992 Homecoming Queen.
Sample: 2.7 (general vote two-
thirds of total) X 4=10.8
8.2 on Review one-sixth of total
7.3 on Interview
one-sixth of total
10.8 + 8.2 7.3 = 26.3 total
score
*To avoid a lie, decimal places
will be carried out as far as
necessary.
Vl.Service Project
This year the Homecoming
Queen will be required to perform
a service project of her own
choosing. The applicant’s essay
question will ask her to describe
this project. If the CAA finds a
proposed project ei ther not feasible
or inappropriate, the applicant will
be given one opportunity to rewrite
the essay. In this event, the deadline
will be extended for the applicant
remain at least twice those of whites;
4. Black household income remains
about two thirds of while household
income;
5. Black poverty rates remain about
three limes those of whites, with
black children being particularly
hard-hil;
6. Black infant mortality remains
appreciably higher than white infant
mortality;
7. The Rodney King verdict and the
L.A. aftermath;
8. This list could go on and on...
As a noted black leader said in
another context, “ADD IT UP!”
My own impression is that
instead of moving forward in the
last decade or so, we appear in many
areas to be moving backward. I
usually think of myself as an
optimist, but at times it seems that
the glass is far less than “half-
empty;” it certainly does not appear
to be more than “half-full.”
What would be your rating of
race relations in America? On this
campus? Which way do you think
things are going? Does your
arithmetic come out any differently
than mine?
I invite your measured response.
Drop me a note or a line at the
Department of Sociology.
The Brothers of Ihe Theta Omicron Chapter
of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. would like
to invite all Interested ladies to an interest
meeting concernins the Kappa Kourt Service
and Social Crganiz.atlon.
Thursday, Sept. 17, 1992
at 6:30 p.m. in 208 Manning Hail
The Mu Zeta Chapter of Alpha Phi
Alpha Fraternity Inc.
F>resents the 3rd Annual Morrison
Sleepout for the Horr>eless
Tri. Sept. 18 at 10 p.m. (after the
rally) to 6 a.m.
See a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha for
sponshorsNp information
SUPPORT ThE HOMELESS