By JESS PEREGOY

jep024@latech.edu

 

It is a black and white issue. Students noticeably have drawn a line in the Student Center creating a racial divide that speaks volumes, but what does it say about the rest of the university?

The Tech Talk conducted a poll of 30 students. Students were asked how they felt about diversity on campus. Students were very vocal, expressing many feelings about being racially excluded.

Reggie Owens, a journalism professor and former Tech student, said not much has changed since he was a student here in 1967.

“The Student Center looked exactly the same when I was a student here,” Owens said.

Owens was a student during a racially tumultuous time. The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, but Owens said that even though legislation enacted equal rights, it did not change how people felt.

“We do have a civil rights law; that’s the beginning,” Owens said. “But, where are people’s hearts on the issue? You can’t change a person’s heart with a law. The law is the first step in making a change, but that change won’t happen overnight.”

However, Owens said it is not a one-sided change of heart that needs to happen. People need to take responsibility for their feelings and deal with them no matter which side of the fence they stand on.

“What happened 400 years ago we aren’t responsible for, but we are responsible for how we act today. Whether we like it or not, we’re all here together,” Owens said. “It’s our challenge as a nation, as a society to figure out what the problem is and to talk about it. There’s not an environment that encourages open conversation. We need to confront the issues more directly than we do because it’s not going to go away, and the blame goes to both sides and to adults advising students. It’s just like breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend. It’s hard to talk about, but we need to bite the bullet and do it.”

Owens said it is the university’s responsibility to facilitate communication on the issue to put perceptions to rest.

“I think we’re talking about the impossible, no, the improbable,” Owens said. “We haven’t dealt with this as a problem; we’ve spent so much time making ourselves think correctly. There are still emotions from that time and the bottom line is, we need to recognize that we need to address the issue of race and culture.”

Owens also said the real issue is perceptions students may have.

“Perceptions may not be true in fact, but in the mind of the person they may seem to be true,” Owens said. “Factually, I’ve seen perceptions can be wrong because people don’t talk to each other.”

Of the students polled, many students perceived a racial divide created by campus organizations racially excluding them from membership and activities.

One student cited that “organizations in control of certain events should stop being so close-minded and actually bring bands, performers and events that appeal to more than a certain race.”

Another student accused Union board of throwing away minority applications and suggested that the Board should include more minority input in their decision-making process.

Paul King, Union Board president and a senior electrical engineering major, said the board tries to appeal to as many people as possible every week. Union Board has transitioned from spending the majority of its budget on Spring Concert to creating more weekly, free activities for all students.

Obi Obilo, a student who participated in the survey and a senior electrical engineering major, said there is room for more diversity as far as concerts go, but many of the activities UB hosts are not a matter of race.

“Many of the activities (magicians, talent shows) appeal to every ‘un-anti-social’ person,” Obilo said. “However, whether we accept it or not, there is a general difference in taste in music between the races. The musical concerts over the years have tended to fall towards one taste more than the other. Diversification could be applied.”

King said students should understand the selection process of events before jumping to conclusions.

Each year the Union Board has a specific amount of money to be spent on activities. The amount allotted for the Spring Concert is quoted to an agent, who shops the date and price range the Board has selected.

The agent then provides the organization with a list of entertainers who meet Union Board’s qualifications. The Board then discusses the selections, votes and sends an offer to their top choice selection.

“We’ve had a wide variety of people on our lists, but either they don’t get voted on by the Board or they don’t accept our offer,” King said.

“Everyone assumes there’s an unlimited list, but there isn’t.

“We’re not bringing Jay-Z, but we’re not bringing The Killers or John Mayer either, even though we’d love to.”

King said Union Board also must consider what acts the organization can handle and be assured the University Police can handle the crowd and the Board “knows what works.”

King said Union Board tries to make enough opportunities on campus for students to get their $10 student fee’s worth, whether or not students like the entertainer chosen for the Spring Concert.

Paul said with weekly events scheduled, if a student were to attend two they would have gotten their money’s worth; however, it is “your responsibility as the student to find something you enjoy.”

Jim King, vice president of student affairs, said Union Board works very hard and he does not see racial lines in entertainment.

Jim King said if students see a problem in a campus organization it is in their best interest to get involved.

“We have 130 campus organizations, and the bottom line is we want student participation and involvement through all levels of campus life,” Jim King said.

Union Board agrees. Union Board members are selected on overall attitude, personality, the ability to mix well in the group and how active the student is on campus already.

Paul King said the Board receives an average of 10 percent minority applications, and minority members make up 15- 20 percent of the Board, a figure Jim King said is close to an equal representation of the minority population at Tech.

Jim King also said the separation in the Student Center could be attributed to the “psychology of design.”

“Do you notice the same division in Tolliver that you see in the Student Center?

“We kept that in mind when designing Tolliver, the separation isn’t there,” Jim King said.

And while design could play a role in students’ behavior in the Student Center, Jim King and Owens agree it could also be attributed to students seeking people they are comfortable with.

Jim King said, “We have students from all 50 states here, experiences are different and there is a diverse student body.”

Owens said, “If you have diverse groups of people there are no mechanisms to define and deal with racial issues, and we’re still trying to figure it out.

“It’s getting better, but it’s still there and is a matter of us communicating, and we should put more effort into it.”

Obilo said although he can see a lack of diversity he sees a “great effort” made by organizations to diversify, but that it is the students’ responsibility to take it from there.

Obilo said, “It is now up to us as the general student population to leave our preconceived notions of one another, and all make an effort towards the great accomplishment of harmony.

“Then, and only then, are we truly great.”