University of Georgia - Pandora Yearbook (Athens, GA)

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OLD CULTURE — An African dance troupe shows the ancient culture ot Afro-Americans at their perlormance at the Tate Center. CONFRONTING ISSUES — In May black and white campus leaders meet during the Racial Harmony conference. SOUTHERN LIVING — Fraternities such as Kappa Alpha take great pride In Old South traditions. 26 RACE RELATIONS

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LAKE HERRICK 25

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l IM LACK AND WHITE Racial unity on a once divided campus? • B. B. Roundtree • • Patty McCabe • • Bill Holt • For the first time in over five years, the student body elected a black Homecoming Queen, Charlita Stephens, a junior from Atlanta. The next week a Homecoming article appeared in The Red and Black without Ms. Stephens ' picture. The newspaper re- ceived numerous telephone calls and editorials about this matter. The Red and Black gave several reasons for the ab- sence of Ms. Stephens pic- ture. First, they didn ' t have enough information to do a big story on her. Second, in the past few years the editors have chosen to eliminate the Homecoming Queen article to save space. Finally, since Ms. Stephens was the second black queen, not the first, the Red and Black felt justified in their decision. The controversy over the Georgia state flag has become a campus issue. In 1956, the Georgia Legislature changed the state flag to include the Confederate battle flag. This was the same year schools were required to desegregate. Students involved in the Culture of the South Associa- tion have set up tables at the Tate Center to solicite mem- bers for their Save the Flag campaign. At a January meet- ing, the Culture of the South Association hosted a speaker who is a proponent of the pre- sent flag. Black students who attended said they felt more dissatisfied than satisfied. In February, the federal government issued a report that the University System of Georgia ' s 34 institutions still remain segregated. If minor- ity enrollment is not in- creased, the University will lose federal funds. In an effort to increase minority enroll- ment, the University has be- gun a joint agriculture degree with Fort Valley State, a pre- dominately black college. Several black campus groups have proposed that a black cultural center be built. Chris Cockfield, the newly elected Student Association vice president, said, There is not a place at the University for minority students to go. This should be looked into, as it is a concern of students. This is more of a long range plan. President Knapp said he has discussed the issue with minority advisors and groups and is willing to entertain an idea, but concerned students must present a proposal for the center. There are differing opin- ions about the current status of race relations. Geri Mur- ray, a senior in fashion mer- chandising said, I think the media and the people in charge are blowing every- thing out of proportion. They ' re making it so every- one is supposed to be against each other when we ' re really just trying to maintain our own identities. Monica Scott, a sophomore RA at Myers Hall, said, Per- sonally I don ' t have any prob- lems at all. I would like to see labels like such as ' black fra- ternity ' or ' white fraternity ' taken away. The often tense relation- ships between blacks and whites have improved since Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Hamilton Holmes, Sr. became the first black students at Georgia in 1963. During that fall the Georgia National Guard was sent to Athens to protect Hunter-Gault and Holmes from an angry white mob. Progress has been made since 1963. The Black Affairs Council created a Racial Har- mony Committee. At the first conference in the spring, black and white campus lead- ers discussed racial issues. Benjamin Roundtree, a Black Affairs Committee member said, Through this commit- tee, we hoped to mend many fences with our fellow class- mates. Also, we would like to close the culture gap on cam- pus, as well as, gain a better understanding of each other. RACE RELATIONS 27