2008 Woodie Awards
Campus, society not living by Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision
Heather Cosson
Issue date: 4/14/08 Section: Voices & Times
Forty years ago, on April 4, a great man was assassinated. He stood for equality and freedom. He wanted us to live and work together, regardless of race.
Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream, and we've killed it. Four decades after he was shot, we still haven't come very far. It's sad. It's pathetic.
We're supposed to be integrated - blacks, whites, males, females, straight people and gay people - but we're not.
For the most part, we stay in our little groups. You can see it all over campus.
The Greek organizations have separate governing bodies. There's the National Panhellenic Council, the Inter Fraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council. When fraternities and sororities have interest meetings, they even keep those separate.
You can learn all about the white sororities and fraternities in one meeting, and you have to go to a separate one for the black sororities and fraternities.
When I first came to FMU, I considered joining a sorority, but when I found out they were separate, it upset me.
They aren't separate because they have to be. People have chosen to make them that way.
White people tend to hang out with white people, and black people seem to choose to hang out with black people.
I'm not saying that the two never mix, but they need to mix more often. United we stand. Divided we fall.
During my freshman year, I attended a showcase hosted by the Office of Multicultural Affairs. I thought it would be interesting to learn more about the different groups on campus.
I was there for a multicultural event. I wanted to learn more about people of different backgrounds. But only black people were in attendance.
There wasn't another white person in the auditorium. Obviously, the two groups decided to segregate themselves.
Race-specific events are sponsored way too often on campus. Diversity and acceptance of different races should be promoted more often.
I can't figure out why people insist on separating themselves. We need to get past this. In order for racism to go away, institutional segregation cannot continue.
When people segregate themselves and create special groups, they will continue to be separated from the rest of mainstream society.
We are supposed to be equal, but we never will be if we continue to have separate events and separate groups for whites and blacks.
Only when we come together can we overcome racism. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream for us to come together as one. We have destroyed his dream.
Now, we must fix it.
Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream, and we've killed it. Four decades after he was shot, we still haven't come very far. It's sad. It's pathetic.
We're supposed to be integrated - blacks, whites, males, females, straight people and gay people - but we're not.
For the most part, we stay in our little groups. You can see it all over campus.
The Greek organizations have separate governing bodies. There's the National Panhellenic Council, the Inter Fraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council. When fraternities and sororities have interest meetings, they even keep those separate.
You can learn all about the white sororities and fraternities in one meeting, and you have to go to a separate one for the black sororities and fraternities.
When I first came to FMU, I considered joining a sorority, but when I found out they were separate, it upset me.
They aren't separate because they have to be. People have chosen to make them that way.
White people tend to hang out with white people, and black people seem to choose to hang out with black people.
I'm not saying that the two never mix, but they need to mix more often. United we stand. Divided we fall.
During my freshman year, I attended a showcase hosted by the Office of Multicultural Affairs. I thought it would be interesting to learn more about the different groups on campus.
I was there for a multicultural event. I wanted to learn more about people of different backgrounds. But only black people were in attendance.
There wasn't another white person in the auditorium. Obviously, the two groups decided to segregate themselves.
Race-specific events are sponsored way too often on campus. Diversity and acceptance of different races should be promoted more often.
I can't figure out why people insist on separating themselves. We need to get past this. In order for racism to go away, institutional segregation cannot continue.
When people segregate themselves and create special groups, they will continue to be separated from the rest of mainstream society.
We are supposed to be equal, but we never will be if we continue to have separate events and separate groups for whites and blacks.
Only when we come together can we overcome racism. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream for us to come together as one. We have destroyed his dream.
Now, we must fix it.
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