By Christina Miller
Staff Writer
Why is it that there are still neighborhoods predominantly of one race? And shouldn’t everyone have an equal level of quality in education?
As one of America’s leading journalists, Juan Williams speaks about social changes that are already taking place and still need to take place.
Best known for writing “Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years 1954-1965,” he is also a contributing political analyst for Fox News and a regular panelist on Fox News Sunday.
“I have so much hope and awe for what each and every one of you can do in this country,” Williams said in the meeting after Convocation Wednesday.
Williams addressed past and present issues of segregation and racial differences.
He named leaders Rosa Parks and South African president Nelson Mandela as examples of how leaders can make change come about.
He told the audience of Pepperdine staff and students that it wasn’t that these leaders had unusual strength or heroic qualities, but that they “stood up at the critical moment.”
He said that often the people who made the most profound impact on bringing about change were those who aren’t usually celebrated, but those who stood up for what they believed in, in everyday situations. By taking action at a critical moment, he said, we can all make a difference.
Affirmative action was among the issues Williams addressed.
Several people in the audience asked him what he thought about colleges accepting students based on their ethnicity.
He said you have to take into consideration each individual and their situation.
While many upper class Caucasian students may have higher scores, they have also had the privilege of a better education and more opportunities, he said.
This issue brought into perspective the still existent walls of segregation.
“It reminds me that in America we have a lot of work to do,” Pepperdine student Brandii Taper said after listening to Williams’ talk. “We’ve come a long way, but we have to stop being cowards and fight for justice.”
Students told Williams they wanted to know how to fight for justice in their own lives.
“He challenged us as Pepperdine students to get involved,” junior Robbie Sagers said. Sagers wanted to know “at what point do we go out and seek that?”
Williams’ advice was for students to make an impact in their own area of passion.
In reference to the leaders such as Parks and Mandella said that, “as things came along they didn’t turn away from them.”
He said individuals should take action for change when the opportunity presents itself and to bravely confront the issue when it comes.
Sagers said he hopes to accomplish what Williams encouraged him to do through a mission trip to Northern Ireland over Spring Break.
Through following through with his own area of passion, helping the homeless, he could bring about change, Sagers said.
Religion Professor Dr. Dan Rodriguez brought his Religion 592 class on Urban Mission and Ministry to hear Williams speak.
“It is important to recognize that the church, in addition to evangelism, also has a responsibility to provide relief, development and social change,” he said.
Rodriguez’s goal in this was to help his students see their ability to bring change in their own vocation.
Williams worked for the Washington Post for 21 years where he was an editorial writer, op-ed columnist and White House reporter. He wrote “Thurgood Marshall- American Revolutionary,” (February 2000). He writes documentaries and won an Emmy for a television documentary he wrote. He graduated from Haverford College with a bachelor’s in philosophy in 1976.
Dr. Mark Davis, dean of Student Affairs, sent a survey about Juan Williams’ Convo-cation via Pepperdine e-mail. The survey asks for students’ responses to Williams’ talk.
January 23, 2003
