Editorial: Campus and Community

Editorial: Campus and Community

Racial Tension, Stabbing Incident, Black History Week, Larry Dowdy, Black Student Union

An editorial article about racial tension on campus including a stabbing incident.

N.J.H.

Quad Angles Vol. 39, No. 18

West Chester University Quad

March 2 1971

Angela Grabosky

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JPG Newspaper Scan

English

Newspaper Article

Editorial: Campus and Community The racial problems here if they can be termed "racial" or "problems" in the full sense of the two words, might be partially alleviated in the near future by making social events and course studies more relevant to black students. In the past the term "racial problems" has been used for sake of no better term. When this term had been applied before, it usually referred to violence of racial origin. West Chester has experienced no racial violence be originating within the academic community itself. The Hackman stabbing and the Chambers Brothers bust (for lack of a better word) were both caused by "outside agitators." Even though these incidents are not real problems within the academic community, West Chester State College still has a responsibility to the West Chester community. At this point, the college is not yet a part of the community, which is a very tragic but true statement.Much»is being done within the college to upgrade the relations between the black and white campus factions, namely, endeavoring to make social events and course studies more relevant to the black student. Yet with all this emphasis on upgrading relations on the campus, what is actually being done to upgrade relations of the college with the town? Larry Doudy, who was Chairman of Black History Week, stated in a previous article, that the black college community is striving toward establishing tutorial programs in the town. He also commented that the Gospel Choir will be performing in the town on three occasions. The Director of College Union says that a forum program is in the making for the next academic year which will bring more black and minority group speakers onto the campus. Hopefully, some of these speakers will come from the West Chester community. But to what degree will these ideas prevent incidents like the Hackman stabbing and the Chambers Brothers disaster? The ideas presented by the two above are well taken and hopefully will improve relations with the community to some degree. But for the college community as a whole, black and white, administration and faculty, these ideas are short-sighted. What must really be done to prevent further incidents like these is to open up more social events which would depend on not only the participation of the college but also on equal participation of the community. Events like a basketball game between students and community residents would be worthwhile. Anything that would engage equal participation of both factions is a healthy idea. Until the college community as a whole "Looks over the fence" as Larry Doudy so aptly stated, and. stops ignoring the existence of a community, the college will suffer. If the college in all its idealistic grandeur fails to see this, we might as well close our books and admit to ignorance. N.J.H.

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