Harambee didn’t live up to title
Harambee’ … a “Coming Together,” a bridge over the gap, … I think not! I approached this year’s Harambee’ festival with excitment and anticipation as it was to be the first Harambee I would ever attend, not knowing it also would be my last. Although it started an hour and 30 minutes late, the beginning of the celebration was strong and moving. The opening stomp, song and address from Andrea Allen all focused on the idea of unity. Not the unity within races, but the unity among and involving all races. I knew Harambee’ was a African-American Cultural event and I thought it was one geared toward a creative approach to bridging the racial gap, so therefore, I along with white and black friends, attended supportingly.
Then Bryonn Bain took the stage. He impressed us all with his style of delivering a strong message through rap, poetry, and singing until his message began to become “ununifying”. My applause died as I sunk back in my seat in awe as I listened to the words coming from his mouth. Mr. Bain spoke of “they” who took the drums from his people, and told a story of a man questioning the Devil’s reason for harming people only to end the story with the Devil telling the man that it is the “other” people on earth causing the harm. He ranted and raved on how the American government was letting “black” children starve, how the war on terrorism, drugs and prison system are just costly forms of oppression, and how “racism” lives at 1,600 Pennsylvania Ave. (the White House). He closed his speech with a chant that began “Rise up my people,” but evolved into “Rise up my ‘black’ people” at the end. What makes Bryonn Bain think he is even in the position to talk about these topics, such as the war on terrorism. Believe me, black or white families that lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks would strongly disagree with him and most likely greatly support the efforts to end terrorism. Attending Harvard doesn’t automatically make one’s weakly based political opinions worth listening too.
The festival ended with black fraternities and soroties bashing each other uncontrollably on and off stage. Someone please tell me how this defines unity. Not only did Harambee’ leave in me a sense of widening distance between and within races, but also made me feel that events such as Harambee’, are reasons why racism still greatly is present in the world today. I do not feel this is the direction the LSU African American Culture Center wanted its celebration to head in.
“Coming Together” … more like “Growing Apart.”
Robin Davidson
sophomore
mass communication
Dore’ needs to re-evaluate ideas
As I read Jason Dore”s column today, I found myself getting angry again. Let me just get it off my chest, because it’s been bottled up for awhile.
I have been on the LSU campus for more than two years, and Dore”s column pains me to read it. If readers believed everything he wrote, we would be convinced that we aren’t worthy human beings, good American citizens or LSU students because we aren’t partakers of HIS conservative viewpoint. Dore”s ideology smacks of Hitler thinking Jews were an inferior race that needed
to be annihilated.
The last thing this campus needs is Dore”s divisive remarks which label students and faculty based solely on whether their political agenda is either conservative or liberal. If he is the CONSERVATIVE he claims to be, where are his Christian values?
What happened to love instead of hate, tolerance instead of intolerance and unity instead of division? It doesn’t matter whether you wear a conservative or liberal hat, what really counts is what is inside your heart and whether you want to leave the world a better place than you found it.
As someone who does care about the human race, I challenge Dore’ to write about the last person he helped on campus or what he does to give back to this campus, his community or the world around him. Jason, your readers want to know if you are a compassionate conservative or a “Compassion-NOT” conservative?
Further, can you write a column and not use the word conservative?
Write something different for your reader. Who knows? You MIGHT change my mind about your column.
Chalace Epley Crow
junior
mass communication
PSA is not going anywhere
In the article “Calling Conservatives” there are many generalizations and misinterputations that need to be cleared up.
Athough this article disguises itself as a push for conservatives to be more involved on campus, it does so by critizing organizations such as Progressive Student Alliance for being organized and outspoken. This implies that these qualities when used by liberal groups is bad, while at the same time convincing conservatives to use these same tactics.
Apparently freedom of speech are only a good thing when used by the “right” organizations.
Also, Mr. Dore’ seems critical of Student Government candidates asking for support from members of PSA, saying “candidates feared them and coddled for their support.”
If it is such a bad thing for Student Government candidates to ask PSA to support them, why did Mr. Dore’ himself come to the PSA general body meeting asking for their endorsement of his candidacy in the run-off for Student Government President against Darrel Broussard in 2002?
It seems the main criticism here against PSA is for being highly organized and effective. Yes, we have been very successful getting things accomplished. We have accomplished our goals because we are hardworking and we do in fact have a lot of the student support.
Our issues are student issues.
PSA members have been elected by the student body because we stick to our issues. PSA does not “elect numerous student senators” to the senate, the student body does.
If we didn’t have their support, we would not have accomplished this.
Students believe in us because we don’t have a new agenda or catchy names every election.
Every semester you can count on us being here.
Even if you don’t agree with our issues, at least you know exactly what you don’t agree with.
April L. Tauzin
Arts and Sciences
Senator