Brittany Dean
Staff Writer
I was deeply disturbed by the article about the posters BSU put up in the cafeteria in the Feb. 24th issue of the Graphic. Although it was an opinion piece and does not require a reporter to get the full story, I find it not only disappointing but somewhat distasteful for Matt Llewellyn to write on a subject that he obviously does not know about. He even misquoted a poster. He stated that it said, “We sit alone.” That wasn’t on there. It was “where do you sit?” Which proves that he did not do much research.
In his article, Llewellyn stated he believed on Pepperdine’s campus many black students do not make the effort to educate other ethnicities about our history and our culture. This is definitely not true. I have been to at least three meetings where the whole discussion was how to make sure that, as African-American students, we try to teach others about who we are. Also due to last year’s controversial displays, BSU’s main initiative this year was not to offend anybody but to bring people together in African-American culture. The main theme was: “Walk in Our Shoes.”
Another point that the writer made was that he believed that African-American history month should be a time where we embrace all different cultures. BSU believes this too. I find it interesting that we have the same outlook on various issues; however he finds it necessary to accuse BSU of things that is has not done.
Where the article really upset me was his accusation that the posters did nothing but “create more racial differences.” Every person who I talked to believed that the posters were not only creative, but thought-provoking — not offensive. I haven’t had anybody come and complain about being offended. How can a poster that addresses the many stereotypes that are placed on a race not be educational? We were trying to bring these negative ideas into the open so people can understand that they aren’t true. If anything, it starts conversation and attacks ignorance.
The writer also made a personal attack on me without even knowing it. I took a picture of myself and three other black students at a table in the cafeteria, and it was titled, “What table do you sit at?” The concept came from many people believing that the African-American students separate themselves in the cafeteria. This isn’t the case, but it is a fact that we all sit with people that we associate ourselves with. There are many tables in the cafeteria from various athletic teams to fraternities and sororities.
This isn’t a negative thing, but it is negative for people to feel intimidated to sit with us. We want everyone to feel comfortable to come and eat with us at any meal. We are all simply friends who are connected through BSU. We don’t want to sit alone but don’t care if we do. We also don’t feel that we are discriminated against because we sit together. In fact, we feel more comfortable. I wish that the writer would have researched the concept if there was any confusion about the poster instead of writing outlandish ideas and misquoting to prove his point.
I also disagree that the posters reinforced any stereotypes. The intentions of the posters were not to be offensive. I hope that through this editorial some of the stereotypes are dismissed. No one wants to be labeled. I pray that people realize that: we cannot succeed in creating an open-minded environment without everyone making an effort.
03-17-2005