State of Black Union opens forum for race discussion
Black students at Syracuse University want change, and the first steps begin Saturday. The initial State of the Black Union will be held this Saturday in Gifford Auditorium.
The State of the Black Union is a seminar organized as a collaborative effort of black student organizations at SU that want to unite the black student body of SU, said senior magazine major Bernette Pearson, who is working for the event.
The event will confront issues challenging people of color today and ‘develop strategies to improve the black experience at SU.’
While the event is open to all students, Pearson notes that the dialogue in the seminar will stick to issues pertaining to black students.
‘We will be voicing very honest opinions, but if other races would like to come see what’s going on, they are welcome,’ Pearson said.
Black students on campus are separated, Pearson said. If you examine the plight of blacks historically, improvements and advancements have been made collectively. Pearson continued to say that ‘this is why we need to come together to see how we can make the whole better.’
State of the Black Union will consist of various forums and workshops highlighting three main issues prevalent to people of color: financial aid, the 2008 elections and HIV/AIDS prevention.
The event will begin as a whole group in Gifford then break up into these three workshops and then reconvene to create a course of action and follow-up plan.
‘I hope we can lay the foundation to improve the collective experience of black students on campus,’ said senior policy studies, political science and magazine journalism major and coordinator of the event Kim Harris.
‘I want them to say this is my school and I have just as much right to be here,’ she said.
Harris believes some black students at Syracuse feel very isolated and don’t feel like they belong to the university as a whole. She hopes through the seminar students learn not to feel awkward among their peers.
‘We need to strengthen ourselves as black students before we can branch out,’ Harris said. ‘We can’t understand races if we don’t understand ourselves.’
Harris is impressed with Chancellor Nancy Cantor’s push towards more diversity, but believes there is still more that needs to be done to actually create true diversity on campus.
‘Diversity is more than just numbers,’ Harris said. ‘If we don’t talk to one another, we don’t learn anything.’
The State of the Black Union at SU is based on the annual State of the Black Union held in February where politicians, celebrities and influential people gather to discuss black issues in America.
In the past, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Rev. Al Sharpton have attended the annual State of the Black Union.
‘I’m not a fan of complacency,’ Harris said. ‘College is too awesome, and everyone should be able to enjoy it.’
Published on September 11, 2008 at 12:00 pm
