March 3, 2022 — Black Voices of Ohio State

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Letters from the editors The Lantern is proud to partner with Black x Bold to bring you the second annual edition of our collaborative project, Black Voices. The publication highlights the experiences and accomplishments of Black students, faculty and staff across Ohio State’s campus. In the following stories, you’ll read about Black student-athletes carving their way in predominantly white sports, the sole Black flight instructor at Ohio State’s airport and various initiatives to foster a more diverse, welcoming medical environment for patients and health care providers alike.

Bella Czajkowski, Editor in Chief, The Lantern Black x Bold is proud to collaborate with The Lantern for the second year in a row. It is my hope that the complete, heartfelt storytelling by the talented journalists from both publications uplifts and inspires you –– the reader. As our country continues to reckon with its racial history, Black Voices aims to tell those stories that would otherwise go untold and unheard. It is my honor and my privilege to be able to share those stories with you. Please accept my sincere and heartfelt “thank you” for reading.

Tom Hanks, Editor in Chief, Black x Bold Magazine

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Contents BLACK MEN IN MEDICINE ATHENA MARKOWSKI, PAGE 4

NATURAL HAIR ON CAMPUS

CHLOE MCGOWAN, ASIA ATUAH, PAGE 6

AFRICAN AMERICAN VOICES GOSPEL CHOIR ARIANNA SMITH, PAGE 8

NAJLA DORSEY

CHANTAL BROWN, PAGE 9

CAMPUS PROTESTS

JESSICA LANGER, PAGE 10

SIGMA GAMMA RHO

MARIAH MUHAMMAD, PAGE 12

DR QUINN CAPERS AMANI BAYO, PAGE 13

BOBBY VAN BUREN

MATT GOLDMAN, PAGE 14

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BLACK MEN IN MEDICINE

Student organization aims to support, celebrate Black men in medicine

ATHENA MARKOWSKI, SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR, THE LANTERN

The Black Men in Medicine group at Ohio State aims to support up-and-coming and current medical students.

COURTESY OF COREY GATEWOOD

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COURTESY OF COREY GATEWOOD

Coming out of high school, Corey Gatewood’s goal was to make it to the NFL. As the top receiver prospect in Massachusetts, Gatewood found a home at Stanford University, where he dreamed of studying biology and attending medical school when not on the football field.

He found, however, that he lacked support in reaching both goals as he faced discouragement from his advisers, who told him he would not get into medical school.

“There wasn’t that kind of, like, encouraging conversation. It was more like, ‘I don’t think you’re going to get into med school; you have a very low probability,’ ” he said. “From that standpoint, I was always kind of fighting an uphill battle because the powers that be kind of made it difficult for me to attend the chemistry classes and do well.”

Now a fourth-year medical student at Ohio State’s College of Medicine, Gatewood established the Black Men in Medicine organization, inspired by the BlackMenInMedicine hashtag that aims to inspire, mentor and motivate future and current African American physicians.

“This fact that less than 3 percent of African American males are in the field of medicine, and then it’s a debate about whether it’s competency, dedication to a craft, all of these things that become side

conversations about support explaining why that’s the case,” Gatewood said. “I want to end that noise because it’s not that. Part of it is access to resources and advocates, early exposure and mentorship.”

According to a study by UCLA, in 2018, Black men made up 2.6 percent — and Black people overall 5.4 — of physicians in the U.S. Citing systemic setbacks such as lack of resources and unequal access to education, the report shows a disparity in the medical field that is detrimental to young African Americans.

To help combat this, the Black Men in Medicine group meets regularly to discuss current medical concerns and provide support for one another through the stress of medical school, Gatewood said. The group also listens to panels made up of Ohio State and national African American physicians and provides tutelage for undergraduates looking to enter the field, he said.

“If you look at medical students, in particular Black males, three or four months, that’s enough to fail exams and be looking on the brink of getting removed from medical school,” Gatewood said.

“So, I saw that from some of my peers who didn’t complete medical school and said there’s something we can certainly do here.”

Dr. Leon McDougle, chief officer of diversity for the Wexner Medical Center

at Ohio State, said groups such as Black Men in Medicine are an integral part in not only creating a support system, but also making these men feel safe and welcomed in the medical field, since the profession is predominately white.

“These groups speak to a need to foster interesting opportunities for Black men in medicine,” he said. “We reach out to undergrads to help bring them with us in this mentoring opportunity, so you’ll find that there’s a confluence of efforts nationally concerning this.”

Gatewood said the group prides itself on not only being a support system for college students, but for children in the community and local schools. Group members have volunteered at schools including East High School in Columbus and Lebron James’ I Promise School in Akron, Ohio, all with the hope of planting seeds in the minds of future doctors and nurses.

“You’re more likely to see it through when you start something earlier, and that’s seen in athletics in my community –– people will continually try to get to the NFL, even if they only have one offer, just because they’ve been trying for so long,” Gatewood said. “So I was like, ‘Well, why can’t we do that with medicine?’ and so that was the reason behind why we wanted to start so young.”

McDougle said the pandemic shed

light on a lack of diversity in the medical community. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, African Americans are 2.5 times more at risk for COVID-19 hospitalization and 1.7 times more for death compared to white people.

“COVID-19 revealed the importance of having Black doctors so that both men and women from the Black community are represented in leadership and taking their place in regards to or being in positions to have opportunities to become trusted messengers in the community,” McDougle said.

Despite what past advisers said, Gatewood can almost cross off everything on his list of goals. He’s already reached the NFL after a stint with the Minnesota Vikings in 2012, and he will officially begin residency in May. Leaving a legacy behind him, he said his time at Ohio State has been special.

“I’m most proud of the fact that the medical students that are following me can realize just how significant this problem is –– I was able to put it on the horizon and then put in the energy and effort to make sure that this organization, this purpose, this mission takes off,” he said. “I’m proud that I was able to relate to the younger medical students and that they’re willing to devote the energy to make sure it lives on.”

‘OUR CROWN’

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The natural hair experience on campus CHLOE MCGOWAN, ASSISTANT ARTS & LIFE EDITOR ASIA ATUAH, KRAFT COPY CHIEF, THE LANTERN

MACKENZIE SHANKLIN | PHOTO EDITOR

Hateana Gross, a second-year in human development and family science, said she has found a community for natural hair on campus.

Deciding to wear one’s natural hair can be an expression of self and creativity, but for some, that journey isn’t an easy one.

Alanis De La Cruz, a graduate student in psychology who grew up in Puerto Rico, said she has been wearing her hair fully natural since high school. However, when she first came to Ohio State in the summer of 2020, the increase in gun violence against Black people in the U.S. caused her to second-guess how she presented herself to the world.

Curious about a career focused on equity?

Committed to strengthening Black educators, students, and communities "I sat in my first Sociology course bewildered at the gaps that existed in my own education. As a TFA teacher, I witnessed the injustices at the bedrock of inequity and systemic racism in education. I founded Teach Woke to reimagine and concretize liberatory and impactful DEI solutions for educators across the country."

De La Cruz said she stopped wearing things such as hair wraps and eccentric earrings, opting not to express herself as she normally would, in order to “acculturate” to the U.S., which she said made her feel like she was not living as herself.

“I guess I did it as a self-protection, like, to ease out the waters, kind of see where things are going,” De La Cruz said.

Hateana Gross, a second-year in human development and family science,

"My experiences as an RA and Orientation Leader at OSU prepared me to be a successful classroom leader. From TFA, I gained confidence and determination, how to find solutions to any challenge, and a deep belief in the importance of relationships. TFA gave me the passion I have for helping others attain their education."

Alicia Williams

Marion Meadows

Houston 2016 Alumna BA in Sociology, The Ohio State University Founder, Teach Woke

Eastern North Carolina 2002 Alumnus BA in Sociology & MA Higher Education, The Ohio State University Director, I Know I Can

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said although she personally hasn’t dealt with racebased hair discrimination on campus, she has seen it with other women who wear different colors and styles.

“It sometimes becomes a problem because it’s like, you’re looking at someone because of how they wear their hair and not of who they are or the quality of their work, which can really, like, not only hurt someone’s self esteem, cause like, ‘Wow, this is my hair,’ but it can also become a racial issue,” Gross said.

Jasmine Roberts-Crews, a lecturer in the School of Communication at Ohio State, was a panelist for the “Curl Talk” portion of “Natural Hair: The Experience,” hosted by the Ohio Union Activities Board and student organization Natural and Prosperous Society Feb. 20.

During the panel, she said the notion within the Black community that natural hair is not professional is a “survival tactic” passed down from generations prior, when Black people had to straighten their hair in order to assimilate to white culture to try to gain human rights and equality during the Reconstruction era.

“The whiter you looked, the more successful that you were deemed,” Roberts-Crews said. “This is something that has been passed down from generations. This isn’t Black people just saying things out of ignorance; this is something that we feel like we have to do in order to show up as, you know, or to be successful, to have the same type of success and privilege that white people have.”

Growing up, De La Cruz said her mother and aunt always had a say in managing her natural hair, often blowdrying her curls out to make her hair more “presentable.”

Even when she came to Ohio State, De La Cruz said her mom still voiced concerns over the choices she made with her natural hair, such as when she decided to chop off her hair upon starting grad school.

De La Cruz joined the Black Graduate and Professional Student Caucus in 2021, and she said seeing Black people who looked like her and proudly presented themselves and their natural hair encouraged her to do the same.

“I think it’s been a journey of me just owning my hair and not my parents or anybody or society or all that stuff,” De La Cruz said.

Aisha Echols, a marketing specialist in the Office of Student Life, said she grew up wearing relaxers — a product that chemically “relaxes” curls or coils to make them easier to straighten — but decided to grow out her relaxer and wear her hair natural in 2011, choosing only to flat iron her hair.

When Echols decided to cut her heat-damaged ends and wear her natural hair to work in 2019, she said everyone was fairly welcoming and supportive.

“Over at Student Life, like, at that time, most of the Black women had natural hair, so it was no big deal at work,” Echols said. “Actually, everybody liked it. They liked the change – most people liked the change.”

When she first came to campus, Gross said she looked for a stylist in the area who could do protective styles, such as sew-ins and braids, but she had difficulty finding resources.

MACKENZIE SHANKLIN | PHOTO EDITOR

Alanis De La Cruz, a graduate student in psychology, said it’s been empowering seeing other Black people wearing their natural hair on campus.

“Everybody doesn’t do those types of things, so I basically had to realize that I’m going to have to be doing my own natural hair a lot more than I normally would,” Gross said. “I had to come up with, like, easy styles that I can manage.”

When it comes to products and tools designed for natural hair, Gross and De La Cruz said there is a lack of hair supply stores carrying these items in close proximity to campus. Gross said the closest beauty supply stores are 10-15 minutes away.

Although these resources are not readily available in the campus area, Gross and De La Cruz said joining the “bOSU naturals” group chat on GroupMe, which has over 1,100 members, allowed them to be part of a larger natural hair community on campus.

“They have plenty of African American women with the same hair type, the same problems that we all go through,” Gross said. “It’s just a really great community for everyone who has the same hair type.”

Daryl Griffith, academic services specialist at The Women’s Place at Ohio State and a panelist at the “Curl Talk” event, said natural hair textures and styles are often embraced in her workspace, and she has seen students explore more natural hairstyles.

“At Ohio State, I’ve noticed there is a bit of a hair revolution that is taking place, and I find myself in an office where they accept me for being able to wear braids, being able to wear curls and really choose to style myself the way I feel best fits me,” Griffith said.

However, Roberts-Crews said at Ohio State, students with natural hair have had to face microaggressions — everyday behaviors or incidents that are subtly or indirectly discriminatory against a marginalized group.

“I’ve had students, some of my Black female students, come up to me at office hours saying, ‘My white professor

just touched my hair, what should I do?’ This is still going on. I’ve had some of my colleagues tell me ‘Oh, I touched my student’s hair; she just had this lovely hair, and she told me not to do it,’ ” Roberts-Crews said. “Unfortunately, this stuff still happens.”

Griffith said on campus, spaces such as the Office of Diversity and Inclusion exist as resources for students to speak with someone who looks like them and can relate to their experience. However, she said there isn’t an exact space allocated for people with natural hair to feel emboldened with the choice to wear their natural textures.

“I think it’s important to recognize even when they do exist, there is a culture that needs to take place, like a cultural shift around the campus, that we embrace natural textures,” Griffith said. “And until, like, Ohio State University has that, like, overwhelming culture of just accepting in every scenario, I think there’s still always work to be done and spaces to be created.”

Leaving behind her relaxed hair and embracing her natural texture has been a liberating experience, Echols said.

“It’s probably one of the most freeing things I did, is letting go of that,” Echols said. “I like my natural curls. For me, it’s like a big form of self-love, to embrace your hair the way it comes out of your scalp.”

De La Cruz said it’s empowering seeing other Black people on campus wearing their natural hair, and she views her hair as a creative space and styles it based on how she feels or wants to present herself on a day-to-day basis.

“Whenever you feel good, it’s probably because your hair is done,” Gross said. “Honestly, your hair is your staple. Like, it’s your crown; it’s literally at the top of your head. It’s the first thing people see, it’s the last thing people see and you want to be sure that you’re confident in your hair so that you can be confident in yourself.”

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African American Voices Gospel Choir offers sense of community for Black students ARIANNA SMITH, LANTERN REPORTER

“It’s kind of like a home place for me, like-minded individuals who have the same passions.”

Eliana Campbell

Secretary of the African American Voices Gospel Choir

COURTESY OF KATE NICHOLE

The African American Voices Gospel Choir is a student organization that strives to celebrate God through gospel music.

The African American Voices Gospel Choir provides a space for students to come together to worship through song, dance, service and miming.

The traditional gospel choir is a student organization that strives to celebrate God through gospel music, Briana Anthony, a fourth-year in philosophy and president of the choir, said. The group has an open-door policy, with a focus on community service and performances for various audiences.

“Our purpose is to come together and celebrate God’s existence, and we do that through the African American tradition, of course, of song and rhythmic movement,” Anthony said.

Anthony said the group practices every Wednesday at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church on North Campus, singing songs of hope and positivity. The praise, dance and mime teams practice separately.

“It’s kind of like a home place for me, like-minded individuals who have the same passions,” Eliana Campbell, a fourth-year in biology and secretary of the group, said. “Especially just music, that is our way of ministering and spreading the gospel, and that is a goal I think we all have individually, and AAV is the place that we can do it.”

Both Anthony and Campbell said they perform at churches and multiple events centered around African American students at Ohio State, including Gospel Fest, African Night and African American Heritage Festival.

Gospel Fest is held during the African American Heritage Festival and highlights worship within the Black community, and African Night is an annual event put on by the African Youth League that celebrates African culture. Both events include

singing, dancing and spoken word poetry, according to their websites.

Anthony and Campbell said in addition to performances, the choir also participates in community service such as holding food drives at each of its concerts and the MLK Jr. Day of Service at Ohio State — a university-sponsored day of service events around the Columbus area on Martin Luther King Jr. Day organized by Pay It Forward OSU and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

“We like to do service, so if a school will reach out, we like to do that, and we’ve actually worked with correctional centers in Ohio as well,” Anthony said.

Because Ohio State is a predominantly white institution, Campbell said she looks to the church for a sense of family, and the choir has provided that support.

“Being a Black woman, I am able to find

comfort in AAV, especially being at a PWI where almost every person in my class is something other than Black,” Campbell said.

Since joining the organization during her first year of college, Anthony said the choir has provided her with a family, long-lasting friendships and an expressive outlet.

“I really like to be creative and I love singing, so AAV has also given me the space to do that and express myself,” Anthony said.

Campbell said the goal of the group is to be a place of comfort and hope to anyone, and she stressed the idea that the choir is open to all individuals, regardless of race.

“I think our main goal is to be a group of people that other people can come to at any time of need,” Campbell said.

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Najla Dorsey, an Ohio State alumna, is currently the sole Black flight instructor at The Ohio State University Airport.

FLYING SOLO

Najla Dorsey soars through the aviation industry CHANTAL BROWN, BLACK X BOLD REPORTER Hailing from the city of brotherly love, Najla Dorsey is used to being the only sister.

Dorsey, the only woman of three siblings in her family, is also currently the sole Black flight instructor at The Ohio State University Airport. The Ohio State alumna said she did not always have a clear idea for what she wanted to do with her life.

“I went to mechanic school to work on cars, completed that and worked at a couple of shops for a few years, but it wasn’t very challenging for me,” Dorsey said. “It was something I enjoyed, but I was like, ‘This isn’t how I want to earn a living.’ I knew I could do a lot better, you know? I knew I had the capabilities or mental capacity to do something a little bit more challenging and at a higher status.”

So Dorsey decided to pursue a career in aviation, an industry where less than 1 percent of its professionals are Black women, according to a 2021 USA Today article.

She later applied to work for Southwest Airlines as a ramp agent at Philadelphia

International Airport. Agents loaded and unloaded baggage, marshaled aircrafts on the runway and made repairs on the planes, Dorsey said.

Over the five years she worked with Southwest Airlines, she said she fell in love with the industry. While the work was hands-on, and she received enough flight benefits to take her anywhere from Madrid to Mexico, Dorsey said it had its faults.

“It was definitely a laborious job. There weren’t many females; there were maybe like three of us. And then you’d see the pilot and they look like they’re the only ones happy all the time,” she said.

Kathryn Federer-Karst, flight education program manager for the Flight Education department at The Ohio State University Airport, said she believes aviation is not a diverse field and women are underrepresented.

“It’s a male-majority field, just as many engineering fields are,” Federer-Karst said.

“For a female to break through and be able to work with students and instruct them, that’s really saying something.”

COURTESY OF AVIATION ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AND ADAM STIFFLER

Dorsey started taking lessons at Northeast Philadelphia Airport, and, despite facing financial struggles, she earned her private pilot’s license in 2016 before enrolling at Ohio State in 2017. She said the array of scholarship opportunities, unique courses and connections drew her to the Ohio State’s aviation program.

Through the university’s program, Dorsey earned hours toward her commercial pilot certificate. This was followed by her multi-engine plane and flight instructor certifications.

Dorsey credits her motivation to push through flight training challenges to her family, including her mother, who she said worked multiple jobs to take care of her and her two older brothers.

“My mom got sick and she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2013, so that kind of really put like a fire under my behind,” Dorsey said. “I just didn’t want her life to go in vain. I always wanted to kind of make a legacy for her.”

After taking pauses in her training and postponing her graduation, Dorsey graduated with her professional pilot’s certificate and Bachelor’s degree in air transportation from Ohio State in 2021.

The Philadelphia native prides herself on not taking the easy way out. She said she continues to pursue her pilot ambitions despite financial and family hardships, coupled with plane repair delays affecting her ability to instruct her students.

In her position as flight instructor, Dorsey said she guides herself and her students forward, as well as helps them

create a legacy of their own.

With her experience as a part-time instructor in the Ohio State Flight Education program and her work as an air dispatcher for NetJets, Dorsey said she emphasizes to her students not to take flying so lightly.

“The program is, it is a challenge. You have to put in a lot of extra time and effort,” Dorsey said. “As an instructor, which is kind of like a facilitator, you just guide people along their flight training. But, ultimately, it’s their decisions.”

Alona Miller, a third-year in air transportation and a former student of Dorsey’s, said she has guided her at times where her training hit an impasse.

“I feel like she always pushed me to be a better person,” Miller said. “At some points in time you want to give up, but it never came to that point with her. She made me want to be in the plane. She made me want to go fly.”

Although her initial intentions were to work in airlines, Dorsey said she hopes to use her connections with NetJets to land a job as a private pilot that transports cargo.

The pandemic, along with a change in preferences, caused her to change course.

Dorsey continues to prove that when it comes to achieving her goals, the pandemic, long workdays and unpredictable Ohio weather aren’t enough to ground her.

“As instructors, it is important for us to point out the positives,” Dorsey said. “A little bit of progress, even if [the students’] landing was crap, but maybe they kept their traffic pattern really good or maintained a nice air speed, a little bit of progress keeps hope alive.”

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Ohio State students weigh in on campus climate in wake of Black Lives Matter protests JESSICA LANGER, CAMPUS LTV PRODUCER, THE LANTERN

“There wasn’t really an adequate time to mourn.

There wasn’t an adequate time to really process what happened.”

-Kendall Beard Member of the Black Law Student Association

Kendall Beard and other Moritz College of Law students organized a protest in May 2021 after the law school did not acknowledge the shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant like it had for George Floyd.

University spokesperson Chris Booker said in an email Ohio State combats racism through education, scholarship and numerous programs and initiatives, such as implementing non-police measures to improve safety after hearing concerns shared by students.

However, Beard said he feels face-toface discussions between students and the university have been lacking. He said the Ohio State administration was most vocal during the peak of the protests, making their actions appear performative.

“This was happening in our community, and everyone was just like, ‘Oh, we’re sorry, but you have three exams next week,’ ” Beard, a second-year law student and member of the Black Law Student Association, said. “There wasn’t really an adequate time to mourn. There wasn’t an adequate time to really process what happened.”

Washington Cole, a second-year in operations management, said even if some Buckeyes advocate for change, Ohio State is still a predominantly white school, and most students cannot relate to the daily fears of Black students.

“Because I wake up every day, and I’m a Black woman, I think that when my brother wakes up every day, when my friends wake up every day, they are realizing that they wake up and are made aware of the social and societal hierarchy that exists in our nation,” Cole, special initiatives ambassador of the Black Student Association, said. “I do not think a lot of white students think about this every single day, because they don’t have to.”

Cole said the university should require diversity and inclusion training to help students better understand and empathize with what an average Black student might experience. She said Ohio State should amplify voices of color always, not just

during Black History Month.

Organizations like BSA provide Black students a safe space from the systems of oppression that they face every day, Cole said.

Ramon Obey, a third-year in African American and African studies, said the efforts made by student activists educate others but have not otherwise made an effective change on campus due to lack of coalition amongst activist groups.

Booker said Ohio State is “committed to a safe and welcoming campus, a comprehensive and inclusive education and a truly anti-racist community.”

Booker said Ohio State combats racism and racial inequities through education, scholarship, research and numerous programs and initiatives — including the RAISE initiative and cohorts within the Office of Student Life’s Multicultural Center and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Booker said the university has also implemented non-police measures to improve off-campus safety, such as permanent safety lighting, a full-time licensed independent social worker in the off-campus area and partnerships with community organizations.

“Ohio State has also been working to respond to the needs that BIPOC students have as it relates to mental health, conducting outreach to marginalized communities and embedding a counselor within ODI,” Booker said.

Beard said Ohio State has acted with “brochure diversity,” promoting the number of Black students on campus and the scholarships given to them. Instead, he would like for Ohio State to conduct “proactive diversity,” which looks into what dangerous stimuli or environmental factors make it dangerous for Black students to come to the university.

“It’s hard being the minority where it seems the only thing they care about is the fact that you’re there, and that’s all,” Beard said.

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JESSICA LANGER | CAMPUS LTV PRODUCER

More than 400 people — largely Ohio State students — gathered outside the Ohio Union before staging a sit-in inside the building April 21, 2021, to protest Ohio State’s relationship with the Columbus Division of Police following the killing of Ma’Khia Bryant by an officer.

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2022, the centennial year of Sigma Gamma Rho

BY MARIAH MUHAMMAD, BxB COPY EDITOR 100 years ago, the emergence of the last sorority of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc., was established.

Organized at Butler University in Indianapolis, the sorority was founded by seven women, both graduate students and professors, who saw a need for sisterhood, scholarship and service, according to the sorority’s website.

At the time of Sigma Gamma Rho’s inception, not only were there issues with racial segregation and the rise of the new Ku Klux Klan, but in 1927, the university put in place a quota system that allowed admission of only 10 African Americans annually, according to an article from the Butler Collegiate.

Despite many barriers, including being the only Black, Greek-lettered sorority founded at a predominately white institution, the sorority, led by Mary Lou Allison Gardner, kept gaining momentum, and on Dec. 4, 1971, nine women chartered the Delta Phi chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho at Ohio State, according to the chapter’s website.

Nevaeh Miller, a third-year in community leadership who joined the sorority in April 2021, is just one of nine members comprising the Delta Phi chapter, and she said she continues to be amazed at the sorority’s progress in communities across the nation.

“Knowing that we were the last created and best designed while pushing out quality over quantity is what makes this sorority the best,” Miller said.

With the sorority’s mission to enhance the quality of life for women and their families, Miller said the sorority emphasizes initiating women capable of succeeding in leadership roles.

“We want to make sure that

we have women that can be put in leadership positions to be able to impact our community and family,” Miller said.

The national organization partners with various businesses, foundations and corporations, such as March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization, USA Swimming, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which sponsor and support the members and community learning about women’s health, according to its website.

“What makes us different from the other three Black sororities is that we promote quality over quantity in making sure we have women who are willing to be in this organization to uplift other women and create opportunities for women and their families to reach their full potential in all aspects of their life,” Miller said.

“One person can change a room just as much as 10.”

With its national programs, including Operation BigBookBag, Project Cradle Care and Swim 1922, the sorority has focused its efforts on impacting women, women of color, children and mothers.

Kayella Henderson, Ohio State alumna and adviser of the Delta Phi chapter, said she believes the sorority’s slogan, “Greater Service, Greater Progress,” has ignited its advancement through the years.

“It allows for us women to be agents of change in our community and to positively impact those around us to provide leadership development and see the growth of women,” Henderson said.

The Delta Phi chapter, specifically, hosts Poodle Week each semester, where the members and Ohio State students come

Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. is celebrating its 100th year.

together to discuss topics ranging from mental health and exercise to human trafficking awareness and campus safety, according to Delta Phi’s Instagram.

While the sorority does not turn 100 years old until Nov. 12, the celebration is all year long, Henderson said.

“Sigma Gamma Rho has events planned in five different locations throughout the year, calling it the ‘Central Service Tour.’ They are traveling to give back to the community and do programming in these areas,”

Henderson said. “We have grown so much throughout the years and expanded SGRho with now having over 100,000 members and 500 chapters nationally.”

The sorority members are planning on traveling to Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New Orleans and Indianapolis, according to a Nov. 11, 2021 press release.

Miller said she would advise those thinking of joining a sorority to conduct research on the organization and find their reason for joining that specific

COURTESY OF NEVAEH MILLER

group.

For Miller, it was Sigma Gamma Rho’s national Women’s Wellness Initiative, which focuses on women’s health issues, specifically women of color. Seeing domestic violence in her family and being a member of the LGBTQ+ and feminist communities, Miller said focusing on women’s health was exactly her mission.

“We want to move forward and progress, so the more service we do, the better the community is going to be,” Miller said.

Former College of Medicine dean selected to 2022 ODI Hall of Fame

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BY AMANI BAYO, BxB REPORTER Internal cardiologist, distinguished professor and advocate for racial equity Dr. Quinn Capers IV has been a driving force in changing the climate of racial bias within Ohio State’s College of Medicine.

Capers spent 10 years at the College of Medicine as associate dean of admissions before transferring to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in 2020 to serve as associate dean for faculty diversity, according to a Dec. 3, 2020, UT Southwestern press release.

During Capers’ tenure with Ohio State, he made significant advances to rid the medical field of racial bias. Coupled with his medical practice, Capers led a research study on implicit bias and helped conversations on hidden discrimination take center stage.

His ongoing advocacy for equal opportunity in the medical field has earned him recognition from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion — Capers was selected to the 2022 ODI Hall of Fame in January, according to a post he made on Twitter.

“It’s very humbling, and I was very happy and proud and excited to get the news,” Capers said.

James Moore III, chief of diversity and vice provost of ODI, said the Hall of Fame award is a way to showcase those who advocate for equity and inspire future generations to overcome racial barriers.

“The Hall of Fame, in my mind, is individuals who were glass-ceiling breakers, who have made justice, equity and equality a major part of their thrust on this

planet,” Moore said.

Capers said his attention was initially drawn toward racism in medicine during his residency at Emory University in Atlanta.

“I saw up close and personal health care disparities along racial lines,” Capers said. “Among the culprits that led to those health care disparities, sometimes the health care systems, sometimes the doctors played a role, and that really bothered me.”

While at Ohio State, Capers worked alongside experts in various professions to tackle the issue of cyclical racism in medicine at its root. Capers said there is history in the biases the medical field experiences today, which must be studied and corrected.

“These health care disparities started back in slavery,” Capers said. “We talked about how unjust and unfair medicine is when it’s practiced like that, when the doctor is beholden not to the patient, but to somebody else.”

Capers said he is currently working to diversify the faculty that teach medical students at UT Southwestern, and he has trained over 1,000 physicians on how to reduce racial bias in health care.

“One of the most important things we can do to reduce our biases is by spending time with or reading about and trying to learn about people from a group other than our own. It really is that simple,” Capers said.

Moore said Capers not only consistently makes great strides toward promoting racial equity, but he inspires future leaders to carry on the cause.

“When he was in the College of Medicine, we saw advancements

for African Americans and Black students that we haven’t seen before,” Moore said. “It is clear his calling is beyond medicine.”

Hafza Inshaar, a third-year medical student at the College of Medicine and former student of Capers, said many students remember Capers’ commitment to discussing racism in medicine and continue to pursue the actions he started.

“I think for me, personally, one of the biggest reasons I went to Ohio State was because of Dr. Capers,” Inshaar said. “And I think that sentiment is shared by a lot of Black students at Ohio State College of Medicine.”

Inshaar recently participated in creating an educational program for first-year medical students that examines historically racist practices in medicine, and she said Capers inspired herself and many others to become more focused on confronting those racial barriers.

Inshaar said Capers was the first representation of a Black physician at Ohio State who was not afraid to discuss race in an environment where the topic had been deemed taboo.

“Dr. Capers has left a huge impact on this university, and even though he is gone, he continues to have a presence in the current students and the students that will come after,” Inshaar said.

The 2022 ODI Hall of Fame awards will be held April 21.

COURTESY OF UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER

Dr. Quinn Capers IV, an internal cardiologist, distinguished professor and advocate for racial equity, was selected for the 2022 Office of Diversity and Inclusion Hall of Fame.

14

ZACHARY RILLEY | FOR THE LANTERN

Ohio State freshman defenseman Bobby van Buren (44) steps up to his man during a defensive stand by the Ohio State defense during the Ohio State-Cleveland State game Feb. 14. Ohio State won 17-9.

From homeschool to Columbus 15

Van Buren becomes new face of lacrosse at Ohio State

BY MATT GOLDMAN, LANTERN REPORTER From a graduating class of five or six to a campus of over 60,000 students, Bobby Van Buren found his niche on Ohio State’s men’s lacrosse team.

The nation’s No. 12 overall player and five-star recruit was homeschooled and didn’t play high school lacrosse. Coming to the third-largest college in the United States to be a Division I athlete, the freshman defenseman said he wanted to be a part of an inclusive program where he could thrive.

“One thing they made very clearly to me on my visit here was that I wouldn’t feel racially left out in this program. This is probably the most diverse Division I lacrosse group in the country, easily,” Van Buren said. “We do a lot of things to back that all up. We have, every month, these things called hot seat, where someone of color on our team gets to talk about their experience growing up.”

As the season begins for Van Buren and his teammates, head coach Nick Myers said he sees great growth from the determined freshman.

“He’s adjusting really well and loves his teammates, and his teammates love him each day, and he’s getting more comfortable, and it’s going to be fun to see him as the season goes on,” Myers said.

Senior defenseman Evan Riss said he sees Van Buren come in every day, curious and ecstatic to be at Ohio State with the opportunity to learn from the best in the nation.

“The best thing he brings is his energy.

He’s probably the most exciting guy each and every day when he comes into the locker room to see everyone. He’s definitely got a lot to learn. I think that’s why having this veteran group around him to lead him defensively is definitely very beneficial, because we support him and bring that extra knowledge to the game,” Riss said.

“It’s just his energy and commitment to learn and commitment to adjust to the game of Division I lacrosse is the thing that excites me most about him.”

In addition to his work ethic, Van Buren said he hopes to continue making the sport more diverse by being a leader and

inspiring African Americans to be involved in the sport of lacrosse.

Just alone, four of the 13 members of the 2021 recruiting class were of color, and Van Buren said he has seen a clear path to diversifying the sport.

“We have quite a few guys on our team that are Black and of color, so I feel like me and those other guys, the way that we carry ourselves and show what we can do on the field, will really help inspire the next generation,” Van Buren said. “We have a really special group here, and next year and the year after that we have quite a few more recruits that are also of color, so I think it’s really cool what we are doing here and building a very diverse group.”

As one of the most talented freshmen in the country, Van Buren said he wants to be a face of the sport, with goals of motivating and inspiring those who come after him.

“When I leave here I want to be the best defender in the country, period,” Van Buren said. “I feel like if that’s a goal I achieve and 95 percent of the lacrosse community

agrees upon, I feel like making that known that this guy was the best of the best by the time he left Ohio State, other African American kids will get to see that and that will inspire them to play lacrosse now.”

Van Buren started in the first two games for the Buckeyes and has been a force to be reckoned with if an attackman is nearby.

He has collected five ground balls in his two games with Ohio State.

“It’s really a blessing, and I don’t take it for granted. I feel like it’s really special here at Ohio State and means a lot to me that the coaches put a lot of trust in me,” Van Buren said. “Here it’s not just about the lacrosse player, it’s about how much effort you put out on the lacrosse field and guys that will play with their heart. I feel like it means a lot to me that the coaches put trust in me to start.”

As Van Buren starts off his first season as a student-athlete at Ohio State, he said he hopes to continue his excellence on and off the field, aiming to be a face of the sport.

“We have quite a few guys on our team that are Black and of color, so I feel like me and those other guys, the way that we carry ourselves and show what we can do on the field, will really help inspire the next generation,” Bobby Van Buren, Ohio State freshman defenseman

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