“Embarrassed.” “Disgusted.” “Honestly, not surprised.” Those were only some of the emotionally charged phrases passed around Monday night in a packed room, as students, faculty and staff participated in a Town Hall Meeting held in the African American Cultural Center in response to the controversial off-campus house-party that took place Oct. 22.
The Society for Afrikan Amerikan Culture and AYA Ambassadors hosted the open forum.
The event was governed by a few, simple ground rules: one person speaks at a time, use “I” statements, treat others the way you want to be treated and challenge the idea not the person.
The meeting’s topic centered on the party which carried the highly controversial theme “CMT v BET,” thrown at The Retreat At Raleigh. Students in attendance donned racially insensitive costumes in an effort to parody individuals portrayed on Country Music Television and Black Entertainment Television.
Discussion was kicked off when mediators Jasmine Cannon, a senior majoring in women and gender studies and vice-chair of the Afrikan American Student Advisory Council, and Kinesha Harris, a junior studying biological sciences and president of AYA ambassadors, opened the floor to attendees and their overall reaction to the party.
“I am so irritated because this is not what I signed up for,” Achaia Dent a freshman studying animal science, said through tears. “At orientation I was so excited. I was in a community. I was welcome, and this is terrifying for me.”
Dent, to the group, posed the question: Does what [members of NC State’s black community] have to say actually matter?
“If me and my friends that are angry about this decided to leave, it is not going to change this school,” Dent said. “It hurts a lot to think that I was coming into something and it not be anything like what I expected. It’s sad that the handful of amazing people I have met don’t have as big of an affect on me as this has.”
Justine Hollingshead, assistant to the vice chancellor and the dean for academic and student affairs, told the group to stay determined and motivated even though the process for change can be hard and exhausting.
“I came here 20 years ago and said, ‘Wow this place doesn’t like the gays, so I may not want to stay here very long, and it is the South, and it is the bible belt and I didn’t feel like I fit in here,’” Hollingshead said. “I was not welcomed, but I was determined, and I am still here because when you let that guy win we all lose. So we have just got to stay together and don’t ever feel like you are the lone voice. Whatever we can do from the university perspective, let us know and we will start working on things. It just takes time.”
Karli Moore, a senior studying chemistry and student body treasurer spent her talking time calling the university to action and explaining how problems regarding diversity disrespects are the fault of the institution.
“We have a voice and we have power,” Moore said. “It’s not our fault it’s the institution. The institution brought us here. The institution took our money and said, ‘We will educate you, we will give you a degree, we will provide you with an experience’ and they got to deliver. If you don’t feel safe then that is the institution’s problem. How are we going to rely on a revolving set of students to change something that is institutional? I see it way too many times where students take on this as their mission and forget about the academics. If you can’t provide a safe environment, and you can’t do all of this, then you close your doors and you stop taking people’s money because you have lied to them — you have tricked them. I think it’s the institution. Those are strong words, and I know we have a place in it, but we are paying for a service, and that has to come back.”
After the open forum, attendees broke into small groups and discussed ways to better educate students on the importance of diversity and ensure that instances such as last week’s “CMT v BET”-themed party do not continue to happen.
Ideas ranged from requiring more diversity training for members of Fraternity and Sorority Life, introducing an athletic loyalty point system for attending diversity education events, introducing more diversity-based seminars at orientation to creating a cultural competency campaign on campus.
While the host of the party is still under investigation, a number of students affiliated with the Theta Chi fraternity were in attendance. At their monthly meeting Monday afternoon, the Diversity Advisory Committee discussed how to handle the situation from a university standpoint in the long and short term.
Khari Cyrus, a senior studying biological sciences and student body president encouraged students to use their time on campus to create the change they wish to see.
“Conversations are happening,” Cyrus said. “We are trying to find ways that the conversations we are having here are getting up to the Chancellor and the people that are making the changes. For lack of a better word, raise hell until you see the change that you want to see on campus.”
