'Black Pride' hits KU
By FRED PARRIS Kansan Staff Correspondent
For many years, obstacles in the path of black students at KU were institutional. The University of Kansas sanctioned some forms of discrimination, the City of Lawrence sanctioned others.
Today, the racial battlefront is changed. With dozens of laws on the books, the legal fight is over—or would be if the laws were obeyed.
But the matter of social relationships remains.
Interracial Dating
Interracial dating, the traditional "super-taboo" for white segregationists, has acquired a "live and let live" flavor at KU. With black-white couples a not uncommon sight on campus, it is tolerated—if not always approved of—by virtually everyone in the University community.
In recent months, a new source of opposition to social integration has arisen. Youthful black militants, as part of an effort to develop black pride and awareness, have spoken out strongly against integrated socializing.
This message was brought to black students at KU two
months ago, at the Black Student Union Regional Conference in late December. Black student leaders from Howard University, Washington, D.C., told local students that "Interracial dating is out."
Presently, KU's black students are divided over the question. Some adhere to the traditional integrationist stand that race should play no role in dating relations.
Others, however, support the new "social separatism" and encourage fellow black students to do the same.
Ultimately, most KU blacks agree, it is an individual matter. But in future years at KU, some black students predict interracial dating will drop off sharply.
If the doctrines of social separatism have not yet taken hold at KU, the related theories of "black awareness" and "black pride" have. Virtually all Negro students at KU-militant or not-feel a new awareness of themselves as black persons.
these in Lombard, East St.
Louis, Ill., junior, speaks for
many.
"Coming up in junior high and elementary school, if someone called you black it was embarrassing. But now, I'm proud to be black. I have pride in my heritage."
Another aspect of the new racial awareness is cultural identity.
"For too long, we walked towards another man's goals, another man's culture," says Ernie Sims, Kansas City senior. "We have a culture that is our own."
One black student who questions the current racial trends at KU is Cortland Berry, Olathe junior. He agrees that Negroes must rid themselves of the "processed mind," but fears that black students, in an imitation of whites, may begin to judge persons primarily by color.
"By all means, we should congregate together," he says, "but we should respect each other for our own humanity instead of for race."
"Black Pride doesn't mean that we all wear Afro's and call each other 'soul brother' and 'soul sister.' It means that we recognize the potential in each of us, that each of us is an individual, and that each of us deserves respect because man is precious."
Africans not close
While local black students show a new interest in their
(Continued on page 3)
Photo by Halina Pawl
Interracial dating at KU Is it on the way out?
Vote today
79th Year, No. 78 The University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas Wednesday, February 19, 1969
Vote today and tomorrow on KU's new Senate Code.
Polls will be open during class hours in the Kansas Union lobby, Strong Hall rotunda and Murphy Hall. Students must present their KU identification card to receive a ballot.
Passage of the Senate Code is designed to give students more voice in all levels of University affairs.
UDK News Roundup By United Press International
Bliss to quit GOP post
WASHINGTON The White House announced yesterday that Ray C. Bliss would resign in mid-April as Republican National Chairman.
Reason given was his desire to re-enter private business, but it was reported he felt his ideas of party administration conflicted with President Nixon's.
Airliner lost in mountains
The DC3, operated by Hawthorne Nevada Airlines, carried 32 passengers and a crew of three. The plane's flight path was over the snowclad Sierra Nevada mountains.
CRETE, Neb. — Deadly anhydrous ammonia fumes seeped from a ruptured railroad car yesterday, blended with low hanging fog, and sifted into the homes of sleeping residents in this farm and college community. Eight persons died and scores were afflicted in the wreck and the gas.
HAWTHORNE, Nev. A twin-engine airliner with 35 persons aboard vanished yesterday on a "gamblers flight" from this western Nevada resort to southern California.
Three of the dead remained unidentified and 500 remain homeless, 12 hours after the accident.
Deadly fumes kill eight
School funds may shift
TOPEKA - Two bills suggesting funding programs for public schools were introduced yesterday in another long session of the Kansas Senate.
The most pervasive bill would replace the current school foundation finance program with a school funding program that shifts the source of revenue from property taxes to an adjusted gross income tax.
9. ...
ASC restricts firearms
By RICHARD LOUV Kansan Staff Writer
In a compromise resolution, combining features of original resolutions made by Bill Hansen, Kansas City, Mo., graduate student, and Rick von Ende, Abilene, Tex., graduate student and ASC
Resolutions were passed last night by the All-Student Council (ASC) to restrict the carrying of firearms by campus police, make public any charges of discrimination in off-campus housing and form a commission to study the possbile scholarship and tutorial uses of Kansas Union Bookstore profits.
chairman, the ASC proposed in a 20-2 vote firearms be restricted to campus police vehicles between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. After 7 p.m. campus police would split into two groups: an unarmed force for traffic control and athletic events and an armed security police force. Although the ASC passed the resolution, members have no power to assure its enforcement if adopted. Hansen emphasized the need for dialogue on the subject between administration and students.
"This resolution will open up the issue. If the resolution were defeated there would be no
The second resolution, submitted by von Ende, recommended the Chancellor "direct the dean of student affairs to publicize in the University Daily Kansan any complaint delivered to his office which charges racial or religious discrimination in the sale or rental of off-campus housing," unless requested not to do so by the preson registering the complaint.
dialogue at all, one way or the other," Hansen said.
"The point in this resolution," von Ende said, "is that in many cases students never bother to report charges because they can't
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Faculty supports ROTC
A motion that ROTC courses should continue to be available to students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences was overwhelmingly approved yesterday by College faculty members.
The faculty tabled a controversial proposal to increase the number of required graduation hours for ROTC students taking the full ROTC curriculum until its March meeting.
The proposal would require Army and Air Force ROTC cadets to earn 132 hours and Navy Midshipmen to earn 134 hours to graduate from the College. The standard graduation requirement is 124 hours.
The 120 faculty members meeting in the Kansas Union Forum Room also approved a motion to request that a University Senate committee consider establishing a committee to assist the Chancellor's office review credentials of all candidates for ROTC teaching assignments at KU. Including one or more representatives of the College, the committee would review reasons for recommending the removal or dismissal of an ROTC instructor.
The motion also recommended that the Senate committee
investigate obligations of ROTC contract students. Contract students receive money each month during their last two years of school for agreeing to complete the ROTC curriculum.
All motions approved were recommendations of the College Educational Policies Committee. The committee began studying the ROTC programs after student demonstrations against ROTC on campus last spring.
The committee had recommended two alternatives.
The first alternative said students should have their graduation
requirements increased by the number of hours earned in ROTC in excess of eight.
The second alternative asked that the "question of handling of credit be set aside until such time as the College faculty approves a set of criteria for judging the professional content of any course or block of courses now acceptable for College credit."
Before the motion to change the ROTC credits was tabled, an amendment was proposed to include physical activity course credits in the same category as ROTC credits.
College faculty discusses proposal
Photo by Halina Pawl