Black University groups discuss transition

Despite a campuswide fixation on recent athletic and academic scandals, UNC’s Black Student Movement and Carolina Black Caucus are looking to move forward.

In Wednesday’s BSM forum, “A Case of Race: Issues and Insights Before Us,” faculty and students met to discuss pressing issues within the black community and tensions between University athletes and students.

“There is a need for us who are on the non-athletic side to challenge our perception of what we think of athletics and of what we think of athletes,” said senior Mycal Brickhouse, founder of Carolina Men Advocating for Learning, Empowerment and Success.

“I think a lot of us have stereotypes we tend to put athletes in,” he said.

Brickhouse said there needs to be a dialogue between student athletes and their peers to emphasize the importance of both sports and academics.

This issue has been especially prominent during the recent scrutiny of UNC’s athletic department.

“So the question for the University is: If you admit (the athletes), what is your obligation to make sure they are educated?” said Donna-Marie Winn, scientist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute.

Clayton Parros, a member of UNC’s track team, spoke at the meeting, echoing Brickhouse’s desire for an enhanced conversation.

He added that he wished his peers had motivated him more academically: “We need to encourage each other to be better on all levels.”

The forum also sought to find solutions for negative perceptions of minority male students.

Freshman Bralyn Hoskins said that as an African-American male, he is subject to certain stereotypes that tend to undermine his intelligence.

“Every time I say that I go to Carolina, they ask ‘Oh, what sport do you play?’” Hoskins said.

Hoskins is not an athlete — he plans to major in biology.

The forum also questioned whether the Department of African and Afro-American Studies has been unfairly targeted in the unfolding academic scandal.

“The media has become our biggest enemy lately,” said Kia Caldwell, a professor in the department.

She said publications such as The Daily Tar Heel have distorted the department’s role in the scandal.

Brickhouse said he feels responsibility as an AFAM major to stand up for the department: “(The scandal has) given me more resolve to prove that the department is credible and changes lives and perspectives.”

Vice Chancellor Winston Crisp said the University has come a long way in reducing racial disparities and nurturing a relationship between sports and academics — but there is still a long way to go.

“We need to rise through this together, or we will continue to be fragmented.”

Contact the desk editor at university@dailytarheel.com.