William Jewell College - Tatler Yearbook (Liberty, MO)

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I gh Steelers in ohler consult. ing cart race. , - 1 '16 , T- fit x I ' l -Hui. 1 lv f' H -..nfs- . . fs' ., 4 I ' 'I gtffffrala' o A . ,t , -vi 1 l i- 4 s::1w e ,..,-M , ,, W- Hgh-T: i w: -My fe- A., ig:-vg g A I' ' .tif f,-fggjfixiziig f 1 g g A . vkgjf Q, si 1.-fi -' 1 Tai V- g X . I ' Conflicting loyalties, a Concerned Senate, and a controversial flag motivate students to begin reaking Down the Barriers b Kirk Priddy ustice, understanding, dialogue, and care were the , battering rams in a battle 5 waged on several fronts I across the William lewell I campus this year. The aim I was to break down bar- A , f, riers and the attack was led , by the Student Senate, J following the lead of Presi- dent Mike Smith and Vice-President Scott Burton. Other groups, ,such as Christian Stu- dent Ministries, fell in behind as the campus family began to recognize the invisible walls of pride and prejudice that were separating each individual and group from the broader college community. -' - I come from a very backward area of the state, racially, and in my own life I have had to overcome many pre- judices. I feel like many students have, at this college, come from similar backgrounds, stated Smith in explana- tion of the emphasis. It was on the racial front, in fact, that barriers were first confronted during the school year. Though many other divi- sions were identified by student senators, the tension that had been growing along racial lines .for some time seemed to merit immediate concern. As quickly as the Senate could move to begin breaking down, the walls, new bricks and mortar were being add- ed to the barricades that separated black and white students on campus. Fueled by intense feelings about the ap- propriateness of the Confederate flag flown twice a year at the Kappa Alpha fraternity house, the barriers began to rise at a growing rate during the fall semester. By November, however, the Senate had succeeded in getting both sides to begin constructive dialogue as a first step in solving the problem. A number of forums were held at which minority students could voice their ideas and complaints. We wanted to make sure that minority groups had the chance to talk about the problems they saw, said Burton. UA couple of evenings, we even went to dinner together, he added. As the process continued a growing desire seemed to develop on both minority and majority sides to begin resolving differences. The battle, however, had only begun. Com- municating was our biggest problem, said so. Rachel Hsu, member of another campus minority - the International students. Improving relations with that group was also part of the barriers emphasis adopted by the Senate. As the spring semester drew to a close it was evident that efforts to break down barriers were finally beginning to meet with some success. The college administration asked that the Con- federate flag no longer be displayed publicly, and the seeds sown in Senate forums began to take root in relation- ships across minority and racial lines throughout the college community. I feel that the Senate's ,work has been a great help in trying to make the undercurrent tension rise to the sur- face and be dealt with on a more public level, said sr. Margaret Moore. Many others would agree. At least at year's end it was evident that the battles would no longer be fought in secret. . Breaking Down Barriers I 7 A Tgg .,. , .

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. 1 f f , f J' 1' ' X, if , ,f - m'P9'?'f?' 6 lbreaking Down Barriers Above: Sr. Runningback Scoop Gillespie who was drafted by the NFL 's Pittsburgh Steelers in May out-maneuversa defender. Left: Fr. Giselle Hillenbrand and Prof limmy Mohler consult. Rryht: fr. Ken Kennedy and fr. Stacia Deer prepare for a Quad Game shopping cart race. Below: Greek women celebrate a Red-rage lewell football victory. W H . ' x I l u I I l Q

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of xxmww' I new ' Above: Chuck Lopez, sr. scans a medical journal from the magazine racks which divide the Reading Room. Right: A single sign near the entrance of Curry Library summed up all of the efforts in the library campagn. Below: After Spring Break the library had a new look with the addition of a display case. 8 f Library Noise -b ' J i 7 I