by Simone E., Editor-in-Chief
As I was walking down Cardiac Hill one day, I saw something interesting. I’m sure you all know about the “Chalkening.” To briefly catch you up, a few years ago, an SGA senator chalked some provocative political language, i.e. the drawing of the “wall” that Trump wants to build, and being that she was supposed to represent the student body, many students were alarmed and offended. Additionally, after the incident, students chalked “Black Lives Matter” in the same place and that was immediately erased. This was also controversial. It’s been almost two years since the Chalkening, but when I was casually walking to my class, I looked around and saw chalk on the stairs with sayings such as “pro-right,” “right to life,” and “abortion is wrong.” The person that drew my attention to the chalk, though, was wearing a suit, had a bucket of water and a mop, and was at the bottom of Cardiac Hill seemingly mopping the stairs. After asking him what he was doing, he responded with, “I’m not going to let someone tell women what to do with their bodies,” as he was getting rid of the chalk. So, what is free speech on this campus? There is currently a policy that prohibits chalk on campus without express permission from the University. I’m wondering if, whoever chalked the pro-right abortion propaganda, got permission from the University. And if they got permission, is it an infringement upon their rights if the student began mopping it up without permission of the students who chalked it in the first place? What is the answer to these questions? I don’t think there will be an answer for awhile; however, I do think that we, as students, have to continue to question these things. We have to work to educate ourselves so we that can be sure of what we believe. We need to know what free speech means to us, individually.
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by Dominique M., Assistant Editor-in-Chief
In the past few weeks, I have had the pleasure of interacting with students who I normally would be unable to. The conversations that we have had stemmed around racism, reverse racism, white privilege, and black student associations. However, one experience in particular stood out to me. I was discussing my role in the Black Student Alliance on campus with a fellow student, how we advocate for black students on campus, and give them a safe space to be themselves. The student stopped me in mid-speech, and discussed how we need a white student union too. Historically, PWIs, like UTC, were meant to disenfranchise minorities because they were geared towards only incorporating white students. Although we have had much progress, there is always room for improvement when it comes to being inclusive towards minorities. Therefore, I disagreed with him that we need a white student union on campus. Rather than having a civil conversation about our differences in opinion, he proceeded to call me racist and he delineated how I was furthering segregation with BSAs. So, what really is the purpose of a Black Student Alliance? Simply put, the purpose of such an organization is not to exclude anyone or to further the idea of racism by separating ourselves from the general population. Rather, we seek to empower black students by seeing others who look like them succeed in a safe and comfortable environment. It is not always comfortable looking around a classroom and not seeing anyone who looks like you in the room. Moreover, it is not always comfortable to constantly be in settings where people may not understand you. Thus, the Black Student Alliance comes in to play. Another important reason why we have these organizations is because black students need advocators on this campus. Community is a vital part of any student’s college experience and the Black Student Alliance seeks to make that a reality for them. When someone feels apart of something bigger than themselves it is harder to walk away from that community. Moreover, when you build bonds, you rarely want to lose them. Sometimes it can be hard to build these bonds with fellow students when you are just listening to a lecture, so organizations that are advocators for students seek to actively create these bonds. In doing so, community is continued throughout the black student population and there is more incentive to stay in school. So, next time, when you are questioning why a certain group seems to be getting more “privileges” than others, try to take a step back and think about what that really means. Everyone wants and needs a sense of belonging and comfortability and BSAs are just one example of giving students this. |
Author's NoteWelcome to The Torch: Reborn, your multicultural newspaper. Archives
December 2018
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