Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 5 October 2006 — Page 35

The Muncie Times • October 5, 2006 • Page 35

NEWS BRIEFS

continued from page 34 said McKoy. “Before that I never really ever thought of anyone attacking this country. Now I know that we can be blown up, so that’s uneasiness.” McKoy prefers not to ruminate on the possibility, however. She said as she watches the nation go to the “War Against Terrorism” and hear the conflicting reports about weapons of mass destruction she takes it in stride. “If you think about it too much you will get overwhelmed,” she said. “There is really nothing I can do about it. What I’ve learned in life is that if you cannot do anything about something, you have to let go and let God. “If there is something I can do about something to prevent something then I will. In this situation it’s best to go on with life and pray. I certainly don’t feel any safer now than before Sept. 11.” Jean Lawrence readily admitted that she is not prepared for any manmade or natural disaster, though she, too, feels unsafe. Recently she had a discussion with a member of the Philadelphia School District’s emergency management team and she realized that while the district is preparing with certain plans in place, she has not done the same in her personal life. “It’s really a scary thing,” said Lawrence. “I know that you should have the flashlights, bottled water and emergency supplies on hand. I know that I barely go grocery shopping, let alone stock up on these supplies. “I think most people, while not feeling safe, are

like me and still don’t take the threat as seriously as they should. On the surface it’s easier to think it won’t happen again and to go about your daily activities and feel safe. “Yet in my quieter moments I have to think about how our country tends to hold ourselves above other people, and that there is real hatred for this country by some in other parts of the world. That’s scary. Misdirected anger leads to murder and a lack of respect for human life. So when I think about it in that light, I can’t help but be more afraid today than I was before Sept. 11.” Lawrence added living in Philadelphia, with New York City to the north and Washington, D.C., to the south, makes the event of Sept. 11 more of a threat locally. During that day the city’s subways, schools and government offices shut down early. Special precautions were implemented around federal, state and municipal buildings for weeks after the attack. “If it had happened in say, Oklahoma, we could be of the mindset that’s their problem,” she said. “Having the events happen a hop, skip and a jump from Philadelphia makes it more real for anyone living on the East Coast.” For Evans the real forces to fear are not in the Middle East or any other foreign soil. Every day on Community College’s campus she encounters angry young African American males who only mirror part of the rage of their counterparts who are not seeking higher education, she said. “I am more concerned about the violence on the

streets and the nearly daily murders in our city,” said Evans. “I am more concerned about my safety when I run errands, go out on the weekends or just going to and from work or the grocery store than I am concerned about a terrorist attack. “There’s a lot of desperation in our community and when people become desperate they are more likely to commit criminal acts or turn on each other. That’s the real terrorism.” Magazine again says Wake good for blacks Wake Forest University was named one of the top 50 colleges for AfricanAmericans in the September issue of Black Enterprise (BE) magazine. Five other North Carolina colleges made the list - Duke University, North Carolina Central University, Davidson College, the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and North Carolina A&T State University. A&T placed third on the list, higher than any other North Carolina school. To come up with the rankings, the magazine surveyed more than 500 African-Americans working in higher education, including chancellors, presidents and directors of student affairs about the social and economic environment for African-Americans at accredited four year colleges. The rankings gave schools’ black student graduation rate the most importance, followed by academics and social environment. The magazine also took into account total black undergraduate enrollment; the percentage of

black students among all undergraduates, and the schools’ past Black Enterprise rankings. The article lists Wake Forest, which is 22nd on the list, as only having 249 black students out of 4,128 undergraduate students, but the university’s black graduation rate is a very high 89 percent. Wake Forest also made the list last time. Martha Allman, Wake Forest’s director of admissions, said she hopes the article will help attract more black students to the university. “Diversifying our student body is a very high priority for us, and we hope African-American students and families will look at this ranking and consider Wake Forest and visit our campus and look at us seriously as a college choice,” she said. Wake Forest’s total minority student population is 17 percent, but black students only make up about 6 to 8 percent of that figure. The school has a full-time admissions employee devoted to minority recruitment. Terryl Dozier, a senior at Wake Forest and president of Visionaries of Integration Creating Equality (V.O.I.C.E.), said he was glad to see the university on the list. “I think Wake Forest University has progressed a lot in the area of trying to give opportunities to African-Americans. It’s almost an award given to us to be in the top 50,” Dozier said. His student organization is dedicated to breaking down barriers and bringing students together through activities and forums. He said while there has been

progress on campus, there are still racial divisions at the school. He said rarely do black and white students attend the same student activities. Dozier said he would also like to see the percentage of black students grow. “We’ve got progress in that arena. It isn’t where it should be, I hope it isn’t where it’s going to be,” he added. Tiffany Waddell, another Wake Forest senior, said she was surprised at first when she heard Wake Forest was on the list because the AfricanAmerican population is so small, but then she remembered all the resources that the campus has. Waddell is a member of the Black Student Alliance and is president of a multi-cultur-al student theater group, Umoja, which performs plays by minority playwrights on campus. She said the ability to start little niche groups like Umoja is one of the things that makes the university great. “You can find your niche and network between organizations,” said Waddell. The only real negative experience involving race she could think of in her time at Wake Forest was when an article was published in The Howler, the university’s yearbook, that said that the black homecoming kings and queens didn’t represent the campus. Forums were held to address the brouhaha caused by the article. Both Dozier and Waddell also said they appreciated the work of the Office of Multicultural Affairs which provides support for minorities on campus. Compiled By Andre ’ Scott