NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY | RALEIGH, NC | THENUBIANMESSAGE.COM | Wednesday, march 16, 2016
A light at the end of the tunnel
diversity education week revisited
wednesday, march 16, 2016 | 2
Letter from the Editor Hey guys, As the primary elections have come to a close, we have a lot to reflect on as a campus and a community. Somewhat unsurprisingly, Donald Trump won the Republican primary in our state. This is why now, more than ever, we need to both recognize and embrace the diversity on our campus. Trump has unabashedly promoted intolerance, violence and hatred and many of us have been surprised by the amount of people who support this rhetoric. As the country is rapidly becoming more tense and divided, we need to remember that we are one community, one pack, one family. Diversity Education Week could not come at a better time as we are in serious need of a reminder that this situation is not just black and white. We cannot afford to lose sight of how many different kinds of people exist in this country and this community. We have allies in our Asian, Latino and Native American peers and we all know that there is strength in numbers. With both Diversity Education Week Revisited and American Asian Pacific Islander Month, we all have ample opportunity to learn about and interact with cultures other than our own. I wholeheartedly encourage you to take advantage of these opportunities. We cannot understand each other without knowledge of each other and understanding one another is critical right now. We should not allow public figures such as Trump (or rather Drumpf as John Oliver has so aptly named him) to use our differences as a weapon against us. So get out and learn something new, it will be time well spent. All the best, Jillian
THISISSUE
3 LAMBDA PI CHI
Latinx sorority makes NC State history.
3 AAPI HISTORY MONTH
A preview of the upcoming events.
4 TUNNEL OF OPPRESSION An interactive learning experience.
5 DIVERSITY EDUCATION WEEK An interactive learning experience.
5 Q&A WITH NOLAN, STAFFORD How the new SBP will support diversity.
6 WHITE PEOPLE ON CAMPUS Documentary examines white privilege.
6 IMHOTEP ACADEMY Program fights inequality in STEM. The Sentinel of the African -American Community at N.C. State Since 1992. Editor-in-Chief Jillian Smith
Managing Editor Stephanie Tate
Only with the permission of our elders do we proudly produce each edition of the Nubian Message. Dr. Yosef ben-Yochannan: Dr. John Henrik Clark: Dr. Leonard Jeffries: The Black Panther Party: Mumia A. Jamal: Geronimo Pratt: Tony Williamson: Dr. Lawrence Clark: Dr. Augustus McIver Witherspoon: Dr. Wandra P. Hill: Mr. Kyran Anderson: Dr. Lathan Turner: Dr. M. Iyailu Moses: Dokta Toni Thorpe and all those who accompany us as we are STILL on the journey to true consciousness.
7 CHANGING CONVERSATIONS Diversity in rhetoric and in practice.
7 WHAT DIVERSITY MEANS HERE Minority status on a white campus. cover photo: brandon Lang | photo correspondent
features
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lambda pi chi first trans-inclusive sorority at NCsu nyna nickelson correspondent When you think of a sorority what picture does your mind create? Perhaps an organization that values community outreach and philanthropy; maybe a group that consist of members who not only look like you but come from similar backgrounds. Regardless the picture, the first word that pops up in the minds of most is sisterhood. The hermanas (sisters) of the Rho Chapter of Lambda Pi Chi or Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad have taken sisterhood to new heights on our campus by creating a space that promotes inclusivity and diversity. In partnership with the Assistant Director of the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender (GLBT) Center at NC State, Natalie Nguyen, Lambda Pi Chi is the first NC State organization to be Trans-Inclusive and Chapter Safe. “For me Chapter Safe was a very
good and workshop that uses welcoming scenarios to help experience... build awareness and openness. it was some“The whole reathing that I knew about son why I created but I did it [Chapter Safe] was I noticed there know the was a huge divide specifics. I between the people feel like it was very eye The hermanas of Lambda Pi Chi poses with Natalie who were GLBT after completing chapter safe. identified versus opening and Nguyen photo courtesy of facebook educational, those who were in fraternity and sorority life. And especially now as our organization is what does it mean if there is someone welcoming anyone who identifies as a already in fraternity and sorority life woman,” said Beatrice Paneto, secrewho identifies as GLBT or vice versa tary of Lambda Pi Chi. if there is someone who is GLBT who Chapter Safe is the brainchild of wants to be involved in fraternity and Natalie Nguyen; it entails a certificasorority life,” said Nguyen. tion process that is meant to break This is a huge step toward a more didown barriers between populations and to help organizations to create safe verse atmosphere within Greek life on campus and one that is more inclusive spaces for all. Chapter Safe is a 2 hour
of the NCSU transgender population. Lambda Pi Chi has opened its sisterhood to include all who identify as female. Lambda Pi Chi is not Latina exclusive, meaning that the organization is open to everyone and now has made the conscious choice to become Trans-inclusive and Chapter Safe. Gabrielle Diaz, President of Lambda Pi Chi, said, “We decided that [this] was a great notion to make with today’s given society and how things have been changing just to become more inclusive...after this we decided to become Chapter Safe and Natalie was a great way to make that possible.” “I’m hoping that us being the first sorority to become Trans-inclusive this will encourage other fraternities and sororities to follow the same path, but it is kind of hard because I know that with Interfraternity Council (IFC) with them having cont. on pg. 8
AAPI history Month Preview: Education, Inspiration awaits Anazsha jones correspondent
On March 14, NC State began celebrating its first Asian American and Pacific Islander History Month. Asian Students In Alliance (ASIA) is hosting a series of events throughout the next four weeks in collaboration with other student groups focused on diversity and leadership. These events serve to educate the NC State community on the history and culture of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders by sparking conversation and awareness through festivities and panels designed to challenge stereotypes and more. “My goal is to give people a better sense of who the Asian American, Pacific Islander community is on campus. Know that we’re here, know that were not what stereotypes in the media often portray us as,” said Nina Ondona, a
junior studying mechanical engineering, president of ASIA, and an officer in Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority. National AAPI history month is actually celebrated in May, but because the spring semester will be over, ASIA decided to move it up on the calendar. It began last year as AAPI week in March, but due to the high volume of events and other student organizations wanting to participate, ASIA expanded it into the end of March and beginning of April. This year, AAPI history month will contain events like Holi Festival and Viet Night on March 19, as well as panels like “More than Just a Stereotype” on March 22 and Asian Men and Masculinity on March 29. One of the events that has already passed was “Model Minority Myth
Busters.” A “model minority” is a minority group who is most often perceived as having a higher degree of success, whether that be socially, academically, or economically, than the average population. The panel focused on debunking this stereotype. “It affects a lot more than just Asian Americans. It negatively affects other minority groups because it kind of says ‘oh Asian Americans are doing x, y, and z, why can’t African Americans do it, why can’t Hispanics do the same thing?’ It also negatively affects Asian Americans because it’s not true for everyone in our population,” said Ondona. Just as there is a striking disparity between what is typically represented and what actually happened in the history of minorities such as African
Americans and Hispanics, the same can be said for Asian Americans. “We have to look at diversity as a holistic picture, and not just as segments. A lot of it is kind of intertwined,” said Natalie Nguyen, assistant director of the GLBT center. AAPI History Month has the potential to be the start of a more inclusive, holistic view of diversity and what it means to be American, whether you be of African, Latino or Asian descent. This month is giving students a rare opportunity to be a part of something bigger than ourselves and our individual cultures. “These student groups have done a lot with cultural nights and dance nights, a lot of food, fun and festival, and we’re now going to try to dig a little deeper,” said Nguyen.
wednesday, march 16, 2016 | 4
news
tunnel of oppression sheds light on issues of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation benyame assefa staff writer educating and reflecting, members hope to use these performances to combat oppression. Upon entering the doors of Coastal Ballroom in Talley, onlookers students and faculty write examples of stereotypes that they have are welcomed heard. This was an interactive exercise to expose typical beliefs. brandon Lang | photo correspondent by a staff member. NC State hosted its sixth annuThe initial was a setup of four tables al “Tunnel of Oppression” displaying examples of everyday privi(TOO) on March 15 lege that some people benefit from. For and 16. every statement that you could agree The Tunnel of with, you were asked to grab a paper Oppression clip as a representation of your privibegan at lege and link however many you had Western together. Illinois By the end of this opening activity, Univermany among the crowd were quite sity in shocked at how quickly their paper clip 1994. chain of privilege grew. The The first oppression station fell upon purtwo actors depicting a scene between pose a professor and a transgender student, of the Kevin, formerly known as Kayla. event The identity preference for this stuis to dent, coming to confide in this progive fessor during his ongoing battle with viewdepression, left Kevin exiting the set ers a with the final words from his professor live ex“I hope you get the help that you need.” perience “It was frustrating to watch because of what of the professors reactions,” said it means non-degree student student Sheila and how it Rouse, who previously graduated from feels to be opNC State with a psychology degree. pressed. Through Sheila, along with many other students
than the man’s. For somebody of your and faculty, were taken back by the same identity and not understand and harshness and unreceptiveness from a victim blaming shook me more,” said professor towards his or her student. Darryl Johnson a junior studying meThe second stage that was set was a chanical engineering. scene depicting two students, Javier The fourth and fifth situations and Brian, moving into their dorms. pertained to topics that have taken the This interaction allowed for audiences to get a look at the difficulties of immi- attention of many people, especially since the beginning of this presidential gration and citizenship as Brian tells campaign: Islamophobia and the Black Javier, the immigrant student, that he Lives Matter movement. does not belong in this country. Many of these stereotypes are sys“I think one of the big things that temic, cultural, and institutional. This struck me with that scene, was that forms a wedge between those under he [Brian] doesn’t even know who these conditions and those who are the person is,” said Graecie Vrchota a not; the privileged. senior in social work with a minor in But, at the end of every tunnel, there women and gender studies. is always a ray of light. The third setting presented the auThis symbolic light referenced is the dience with the oppression connected to rape culture. A female student was being reprimanded by her friend for reporting a fellow student of theirs for sexual assault. The young Students look at juxtaposed examples of discrimination and activism. brandon Lang | photo correspondent woman is Empowerment Room, where studnets told that her friends and other peers were put into groups and forced to face are also upset with her for doing this. The said individual was simply a their privilege and perhaps even more tasking, come face to face with other friend of the assailant, but chose to people’s oppression. favor her oppressor . Through all of the darkness and “There are a lot of issues that contribute to rape culture. In this case it oppression, the event shows how was a lot of hypermasculinity in his simply speaking to, understanding and tone and action. But, I think the wom- interacting with one another can have amazing, even life-changing events. an’s reaction could be more harmful
wednesday, march 16, 2016 | 5
news
Diversity education week: Revisited for greater impact jillian smith editor-in-chief
Q&A with nolan, stafford Keilah davis
What does diversity mean to you? What does it mean to have an inclucorrespondent sive community? Why is it important to consider these things? Q: One of the main sections Diversity education week is back for round two, but this time, the of your platform was “Diverprograms are for students, by students according to the Union Activisity and Cultural Competence.” ties Board Diversity Chair Kamrie Risku. Explain what those words mean to “This is a student initiative to be proactive in how we educate on you. diversity,” said Risku. Paul Nolan: The difference between Revisiting the idea of diversity is important as it provides diversity and inclusion is very significant. students time to reflect on their education and understanding Diversity is having people of different of the subject. Important messages concerning tolerance and backgrounds all at the table, whereas inunderstanding are often lost over time. clusion is making sure everyone is welcome “We needed to revisit diversity education week because of student body president Paul nolan (left) poses with at that table. You can slice and dice diverthe insensitivity that occurred after the first diversity educarunning mate brayndon stafford (right). sity in a million different ways but it really tion week. For example, the BET vs. CMT party,” said Maya Molly Donovan | Agromeck Editor-in-chief boils down to this: are we making sure that Davis, a freshman studying philosophy of law. everyone here at NC State embraces [diversity] and is culturally competent enough to respect those The events taking place between Monday, March 14 and individual differences? So part of our platform is making sure that the whole community is respectful Friday, March 18 were designed to offer students an array of and educating people on what is the best approach in dealing with people who are not like ourselves. interesting, interactive programs that will teach them what inclusivity and diversity really mean. Q: Why was it important for you to include diversity and cultural competence as one of your key “We want to make sure we are able to convey the same campaign components? message in a multitude of ways to reach as many people as Brayndon Stafford: My biggest thing is that NC State [markets] this whole idea of diversity when possible,” said Risku. they’re trying to get students to come in and trying to get donors. I didn’t really see those efforts Many of the events have been sponsored solely by student come from the top down. NC State is minutely diverse compared to the way they express it to outorganizations while others are collaborative events with mulside people. Now students want to make sure that the diversity NC States [markets] and the people tiple campus organizations contributing. The programs range that are of diverse cultures are being appreciated and heard. Then in the future they won’t just say from learning about discrimination, oppression and privilege that NC State is diverse but they’ll actually make efforts to make NC State diverse. That’s why I to understanding Islam and Native American culture. thought it was a big component of our platform. “It is essential to recognize the importance of having an inclusive campus for all students and moving beyond simple Q: Do you think it will be easy to implement your plans? Why or why not? tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions Nolan: We made sure our platform was very well researched and thorough. We looked at 35 of diversity contained within each individual,” according to the peer institutions to see what their student governments were doing well and how we can repUnion Activities Board. licate that at NC State. I think it will slightly easier because we are well prepped for this. We There are a variety of structures to the programs as well. Some just need to make sure that we have great directors in the executive department because are lectures, some are panel conversations and some are a bit more those are the people who are actually putting the initiatives into action. such as the Tunnel of Oppression. “[The response] we expect to get is a new understanding. We are not Q: What were your thoughts on the Racial Climate Town Hall? Do you plan to expecting complete 180s, but for the seed to be planted,” said Risku. have forums like this next year to include student voices in your initiatives? Whether you want to learn more about a different culture or get the opStafford: I definitely appreciated everyone who put in the work behind the portunity to reflect on your own, Diversity Education Week has something scenes to make the event happen. Students were able to express themselves to offer you. not only to other students, but to faculty and staff as well. When we finally “Hopefully after this diversity education week, there will be at least a bit of had a chance to express their feelings to administration, it was refreshchange,” said Davis. ing because they could see that students aren’t just making things up. While our campus has exprerienced some very real racial tensions and issues, It’s a great opportunity to start making change. I think it’s somethe important thing to keep in mind is that the only way we can move forward thing we definitely need to have whether it is another town is through education, inclusion and understanding. That is the goal of Diversity hall or it takes a different form. Education Week Revisited and we should all try to gain something from it. Student Body President Paul Nolan is a junior studying material science and engineering.
wednesday, march 16, 2016 | 6
opinion
when “white people” came to campus Threa almontaser staff writer
On Feb. 29, Campus Diversity Dialogue had a showing of the MTV documentary White People at Witherspoon Student Center. This film follows journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Jose Antonio Vargas. He meets and talks to a group of white students and asks them what they think it means to be young and white living in America. Vargas asked questions like “Are you being made to feel guilty because you’re white?” and “Are you having a problem with race on social media?” “I’ve never addressed the issue on so-
cial media. I try to stay away from that. I don’t think I’m being made to feel guilty. There are bigger issues than this out there,” said Kayla Novello, a senior studying English. Dena Schulze, a senior also studying English said “I don’t feel guilty either, but I think people mainly should try to be politically correct for all issues on social media.” At first, it almost seemed like Vargas’ quest was attempting to make white people look like the victims of an ever-growing and diverse America, but later in the documentary Vargas approaches a white female named Katie Scottsdale from Arizona who feels she isn’t finding any scholarships because she’s not qualified for affirmative action
or financial aid. Scottsdale mentions how those scholarships are mainly for people of color or minorities. I almost thought “reverse racism” was about to come into play. Vargas exposes her belief along with many other common and bold responses white people usually have when told that they’re privileged. He found a statistic that shows white people in actuality receive scholarships at a much higher and disproportionate rate compared to people of color. When he confronted Scottsdale with this information, she felt like she was being attacked and victimized. Really, the film points out how people like Scottsdale are actually in the exact opposite situation.
Karina Gomez, a senior studying English, appears to be white on the outside through her skin color, however, she is of Mexican descent. Before she converted to Islam and donned the Islamic headscarf, everyone presumed her to be white. Karina said she never noticed the privileges she easily received until after she started to wear hijab, when it all suddenly vanished. Now to people’s eyes she wasn’t “white” anymore--she looked like an Arab or a terrorist. The film “White People” highlighted minority struggles and addressed the notion that white people should have an understanding of this inequality and how they inadvertently benefit from it every single day.
Imhotep Academy encourages Diversity in STEM elon price correspondent
If I were to show you two pictures, one of a middle-aged caucasian man with glasses and the other of a much younger African American woman with big, natural curly hair, who would you automatically assume to be the biochemist? Perhaps, unsurprisingly, most people would answer that the white male is, as this is the image we are conditioned to associate with a professional scientist or engineer. Although their stories often go untold or are considered less important, African American scientists and engineers have contributed greatly to the fields of science, technology engineering and math (STEM).
Along with improper recognition, there is an overall lack of minorities in the STEM workforce. According to the US Census Bureau, in 2011 African Americans made up 6 percent of the STEM workforce and this number is slowly declining. Why is this so? Many people believe the answer lies within the African American youth and the education provided to them. African American students are still receiving unequal education. Whether it’s due to lack of resources or outright discrimination, something is not quite right. This is something I wasn’t aware of until I began to really think about my future career path. I began to notice that many of the people in my desired field looked nothing like me, and it made me feel rather alone.
My mother did her best to ensure I didn’t feel this way by finding any information she could about black scientists and engineers, but still, it wasn’t quite enough. Finally, she found a program that filled this void. With great enthusiasm, my mother enrolled me in Imhotep Academy. Admittedly, in the beginning I wasn’t too thrilled with the idea of waking up at the butt crack of dawn every Saturday to endure more schooling. However, it soon became something I looked forward to every week. Imhotep Academy is a program whose mission is to expose young minority students (African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and girls) to different aspects of STEM, but most importantly, it allows them to see that they can do so much more and
that there are a multitude of avenues they can take to make a real difference in the world. “A lot of times in middle school or younger, students...see different careers...but they’re not really certain as to ‘what it is it like?’ and [that’s] something that evolves, and so it gives students a chance to explore,” says Director of Imhotep and Kyran Academy, Dr. Pamela Gilchrist. The program allows students to see how different careers can be related to each other and how an issue can be resolved through different means. It also aims to prepare students for matriculation into college. “I want them to see that there is this cross link or connection between careers and they can be more thoughtful about what they want to do.” said Dr. Gilchrist. cont. on pg. 8
opinion
wednesday, march 16, 2016 | 7
More than a buzzword? What diversity looks
like at our university
quianne’ holmes staff writer Growing up as a millennial there is a constant need for an ever changing language. New trends like, “on fleek, dab, and #blackgirlmagic,” have taken everyday conversation by storm. But what about the word diversity? This has become the buzzword of North Carolina State University. There are so many entities at NC State that focus on promoting spaces and conversations for diversity; however what does that really mean? “I believe the term diversity has become a buzzword because people do not know what the word truly means. It is included in various statements, clubs, and events in regards to NC State but the lack of overall understanding reflects a contradiction to the school’s principles,” said Alexis Greene, a senior studying psychology. Do students actually understand the meaning of diversity and why there is so much emphasis placed on it? This is still to be determined. Despite the uncertainty, there are students, faculty, and staff who create several avenues for audiences to become educated about diversity. “Diversity has been an important topic of conversation on campus lately. It has played an important role in student government elections in the various improvements that candidates hoped to make the campus more inclusive and culturally competent. However, I do not think the university as a whole is completely aware of the issues involving diversity on campus,” said Kathleen Miller, a sophomore studying political science. These efforts influence the rhetoric,
but not the necessary action from all parties and this is where the problem lies. How can we not only have those who are in the “choir,” who know what diversity is, and have others who may not know join these conversations? When exploring how much of a buzzword diversity has become, students provided their personal opinions on the word itself and its influence in various avenues. “Diversity does not simply mean having individuals of different ethnicities and races on campus but being able to be inclusive to educating ourselves and others,” said Miller. This shows the importance of understanding how to go beyond using the terminology to sound culturally competent but actually making the necessary decisions to educate yourself and be willing to respectfully and accurately educate others. From this, we must make sure we understand that having diversity as part of daily conversation is a huge step from where we have come but we have a long way to go in which all identities of diversity acknowledge and respectfully accept each other as one big Wolfpack! “Where the concept of diversity should be bringing us together, in some ways it is splitting us apart because of the lack of knowledge for its purpose,” said Greene. It is important for students, faculty, staff, or anyone part of the Wolfpack to understand that we need to apply our “Think and Do” principle beyond sports and academics and create character within ourselves and our student body that reflects the utmost respect and acceptance for diversity in all aspects.
tiera george correspondent On any given day at North Carolina State University, you are bound to see hundreds of students hustling and bustling through the campus. However, what you will not see on the NC State campus is a multitude of students of color. Sprinkled in for a dash of flavor like the cayenne pepper that you can’t use too much of, you’ll find the Black, Asian, Native American and Latino students. Since coming into college, I have heard the word diversity 352,483,000 times. Diversity was pushed at every event, orientation, and sometimes discussed as a trigger word. Although I heard all this talk, I walked onto this campus seeing very few people who looked anything like me. I was in a sea of white students trying to find little pieces of home in every black body that I encountered. “I believe NC State takes initiative to bring in a diverse set of students, but they don’t take that same initiative to make those students feel welcome or comfortable,” said Caleb Parker, a freshman studying architecture. This statement serves perfectly as an underlying theme throughout the black majority here at NC State. In our American society, whites are seen as “the norm” and the more that a minority student differs from this “norm,” the more secluded they often feel. According to Spelman University Professor, Beverly Daniel Tatum, “Minorities, particularly blacks need to go through a process of establishing
and affirming their racial identity by securing a community free of negative stereotype.” This alliance offers a necessary support group, but on a campus made up of over 34,000 students with only 6.6 percent of them being African-American leaves room for misunderstanding, microagressions, discrimination, marginalization, and misrepresentation all in the name of education. In response to Beverly Tatum’s quote, I agree that it is so refreshing to fellowship with other black souls on this campus who not only understand you, but can give you the support you need to carry on. I understand that I do not look like the majority nor do I want to, I am perfectly fine with embracing my blackness. However, the privilege of being understood more times than not is definitely one of the more underrated privileges that white students are able to bring to the table. “I personally think that we are a diverse campus, but because we are so diverse we tend to self-segregate,” said Vaani Kaur, a junior studying both Plant Biology and Horticulture. This statement follows suit of the earlier quote by Parker in saying that although we we have somewhat of a diverse campus, we do not foster the needs of minority students by making the campus inclusive for all to get familiar with students of other cultures, nationalities, and religions. “We should have more opportunities for people to just mingle without a purpose and educate people on diverse issues,” said Kaur. Again, this ties into the frustration that minority students are facing with majority students by not being knowledgeable culture or relations.
wednesday, march 16, 2016 | 8 continued from pg. 3 houses campus I don’t think that would be anytime soon,” said Diaz. Lambda Pi Chi has made a notable stride in acknowledging NCSU’s transgender population and fostering a sisterhood that is accepting and welcoming. Though it would be difficult for many sororities and fraternities with on campus housing to implement Trans-inclusive policies, that does not mean that they cannot push to become Trans inclusive. Now when you picture a sorority, imagine sisterhood that could exist by implementing a diverse and inclusive safe space for all. continued from pg. 6 Going to Imhotep gave me the ‘Aha!’ moment I was looking for. It showed me that not only can I do what I wanted to do but provided me with the tools to accomplish my career goals. It was this determination that got me exactly where I am today, an African American female studying physics at NC State University. Imhotep Academy is held in The Science House, located on NC State’s Centennial campus. The program takes places 3 times during the year: fall, spring and summer. The fall and spring sessions meet on Saturdays and run from 7:45 a.m. to 1 p.m, with summer sessions running as two week long camp sessions. For more information about Imhotep or Kyran Academy, search them on Facebook or visit the website: thesciencehouse. org/k12students/imhotep academy.php.