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See page 8 for a full rundown of Saturday’s victory against East Carolina
S P The
Serving Southern Miss since 1927
Tuesday, November 18 2008
Volume 93, Issue 26
Post-election racial tensions reach campus
Verbal, physical abuse spark need for discussion of race relations Meryl Dakin Printz Writer
David N. Jackson/Printz
Andrea Gibbs-Henson of Camp Sister Spirit Folk School waves the rainbow flag with pride on Hardy Street. About 25 gay and straight people came out in protest of Proposition 8.
Hub City protests Prop 8 decision Lesley Walters News Editor
U
SM’s Gay Straight Alliance participated in a national protest Saturday afternoon on the south sidewalk of Hardy Street in response to California voters’ approval of Propostion 8, an amendment to the state’s Constitution defining marriage as being between a male and a female. According to a Los Angeles Times report, 60 percent of California voters supported a similar proposition during the 2000 elections, when Proposition 22 defined marriage as being between a man and a woman. In May, the California Supreme Court overturned that proposition and thousands of same-sex couples married in the following months. During the elections two weeks ago, 52.2 percent of voters, over 6 million people supported the new proposition, according to a Los Angeles Times report. Anna Davis, a senior public relations major from Houston, said the GSA held the protest in Hattiesburg because, while Mississippi legislation supporting gay marriage may be “far-fetched,” the amendment in California ruined a dream for many in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender community. “You would think, at least in California, we would have equality,” Davis said. “So it’s kind of a slap in the face, and not just for California, but for everybody … A lot of people move out there because they think they’re going to be equal, but then something like Prop. 8 passes.” Davis said the amendment is comparable to discrimination, and that calling samesex marriage a civil union is an example
‘‘
Seperate but equal has never worked. You’d think we had learned from our history.
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-Anna Davis, senior
of “separate but equal.” “Separate but equal has never worked,” Davis said. “You’d think we would learn from our history.” When the California Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in May, it based the ruling on a 60-year-old precedent that overturned a California ban on interracial marriage, according to a Los Angeles Times article.
Ronald Beasley, a junior history major from Waynesboro, Miss., said the local protest Saturday was an act of opposition against Proposition 8 and similar propositions in Arizona and Florida. Perhaps a million protestors participated in the opposition in more than 300 cities, he added. Beasley and Davis are two of the threeperson council that heads GSA at Southern Miss. They have both been in their fair share of protests before. Beasley, who went to a July protest in Washington, D.C., said the rally Saturday “had a more local feel to it.” “I think I knew 80 percent of the people who were there,” Beasley said. “I could see people I knew and they knew each other, and they were feeding off each other and just getting louder and louder.” He added that an estimated 50 people participated in the Hardy Street protest against Prop. 8. There were also several spectators watching from the Southern Miss campus. Shane Holman, a senior political science major from Tampa, Fla., said most passersby were “enthusiastic and supportive.” “We got support from people just driving down the road, honking and cheering,” Holman said. “I was really expecting people to be on the other side protesting, and I really didn’t see much opposition to the protest.”
Episodes of verbal and physical abuse surfaced the day after the election, stemming from Barack Obama’s victory Nov. 4. Obama supporter Maria Newman, senior photojournalism major from Petal, said she heard the phrase “paint the White House black” from a few black students on campus. “There was a girl yelling about how it was ‘God’s will,’” Newman said. “She said, ‘I believe God came down and said, Barack! Gather your people!’ I wanted to scream ‘I’m his people too! He’s half white.’” Newman said she is especially disheartened by the recent events because she feels that they undermine Obama’s message. “Obama is about unity; he is two races united in one,” she said. “Racism is against all he stands for, so the black people who are making racist comments about white people obviously missed Obama’s message altogether.” “Just because I’m white doesn’t mean I voted for McCain,” said Kaycie Hall, junior English and French major from Jackson. Hall, an ardent Obama supporter, said she was walking to class last Wednesday when a black male stopped her and demanded to know who she’d voted for. He then made vulgar remarks about McCain, insinuating Hall had supported him, she said. “I guess he made an assumption about who I voted for because I’m white,” she said. “I just felt shocked by it. It surprised me and I wasn’t expecting that sort of thing
to happen.” Were Southern Miss’s incidents of racial tension merely isolated events or did they point to a new wave of racial profiling on college campuses across the south? Stephen Cherry, professor of sociology at USM, says there’s nothing to panic about. “I think this is one of those issues, because race is involved, any time one incident occurs everyone wants to rally around and say ‘is this a big deal?’” Cherry said. “If the entire campus exploded into a giant race riot then we can start talking about something, but I don’t think it’s helpful to just start discussing those incidents.” Cherry believes the blame rests on both sides. “If you have a few radicals on one side of the fence leading up to the election … it’s only natural that you would see some sort of radical reaction after the election by a few,” Cherry said. Cherry also discussed some of the statistics from the exit polls. He said that 54 percent of the people who thought race was a big issue voted for Obama, while 46 percent voted for McCain, indicating that Obama’s race helped him win the election. These results are similar to those extracted from a USM survey of 100 and 200 level political science classes in which 94 percent of black students said they supported Obama. With such an imbalance of support among black people, the question of priority came up: did a vote for Obama reflect support for his policy or his pigment? Cherry said that although the data isn’t available to answer that question, focusing on the racial see RACE on page 3
see Prop 8 on page 3
Eaglepalooza: The night in pictures on page 7 Submitted photo
Last year’s Songfest participants raised $25,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. This year’s Songfest takes place Thursday in Reed Green Coliseum.
Songfest Thursday Chi Omega raise funds for Make-A-Wish Andie Szabo Printz Writer
This Thursday, at 6 p.m., Chi Omega’s 57th annual philanthropy Songfest will commence in Reed Green Coliseum. Songfest is a choral competition between Greek organizations with a Christmas twist. A silent auction and other entertainment will take place between acts. The proceeds from the silent auction, donations and any money raised through Songfest will go to Chi Omega’s philanthropy, the Make-A-Wish Foundation,
which provides a final wish for terminally ill children. Last year, Chi Omega was able to raise $25,000. Each wish costs approximately $5,000, so five children’s wishes came true last year because of Songfest. One of the children whose wish was fulfilled by the foundation will be a special guest judge this year. Barbara Wakeland, a senior political science major from Brandon, is in charge of this year’s Songfest. “Songfest really kicks off the holiday season in Hattiesburg see Songfest on page 3