Month: November 2008

The hate speech incident that occurred in the Free Expression Tunnel just two weeks ago continues to plague the campus community, from the students all the way to the administration. Everyday that goes by, students remain wondering whether or not they will be safe walking to their evening courses and nervous about being confronted or being referred to by use of racial epithets. Students have decided to move forward with the movement to stop the continuance of hate speech used in the Free Expression Tunnel. However, others debate by doing so, you will be surrendering your First Amendment rights.

Students and student leaders came together in the African American Cultural Center to find solutions to address the Free Expression Tunnel incident at an open African American Student Advisory Council meeting Friday.

Members of the council as well as student senators, Dr. Jose Picart, vice provost for Diversity and Inclusion, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Dr. Thomas Stafford, John Dailey, deputy director for Campus Police, Campus Police Director and Chief Tom Younce, and Senior Associate General Counsel David Drooz, are just a few of the staff and administration that attended to answer questions from the concerned student body. Chancellor Oblinger was unable to attend the meeting.

The scene was one too familiar to students as AASAC held a similar meeting one year ago in response to a noose placed in the Motor Pool room in Sullivan Shops. The idea was the same as well; to find out what really happened, what is currently being done about it and what can be done now or in the future to keep the practice of using of racist and threatening speech and acts from occurring again.

On November 5, 2008 the members of Phi Beta Sigma held a meeting discussing the Board vs. Brown trial. For those of you may not exactly know what the Brown vs. Board trial is here is some brief history.

The national economic crisis has now begun to affect our students more directly now, due to several budget cuts requested by Governor Mike Easley. Interim Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Jeffery Braden said, “Bad economic times for the nation and state exempt no one.” In light of the current issues with federal and state debt to the government and other key lending institutions, some outside the United States, all universities operable by any state funding were asked to decrease their budgets by up to 5 percent less of the total appropriated funding for the entire academic year. According to Braden, CHASS was asked to submit a reversion budget rather than merely cutting the funds indefinitely which gives them the opportunity to re-earn the allotted amount for further use at a later date. As a result of the newly suggested budget, administration has frozen new hire positions, current recruitment for position openings, the number of CHASS staff, and all faculty travel expenses. “We really have nothing else to cut,” says Dean Braden, when talking about potential other avenues to conserve funds.

When President-elect Barack Obama began his presidential bid there was fear his race could get in his way, not only because voters would assume his race meant he was incapable of performing the duties of Commander in Chief, but that they would see him as the black candidate rather than the American candidate for President. When it comes to African-American leaders and African-American groups, many people automatically assume they exist only to serve the interests of African-Americans and serve no purpose for the rest of American society.