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EDITOR’S NOTE
STAFF PAGE
COVER STORY: MEET JACKIE IYAMAH: A DISTINCT BLACK EXPERIENCE
RADICAL ROOTS: CELEBRATING AFRO PUNK, A BLACK MUSIC ANOMALY
LIBERATION NOIR: SHADES OF ACTIVISM
GREEK DAZE
2015: A STEM ODYSSEY
020305
11232937
-SUMMER MASONEDITOR-IN-CHIEF
“To me, Black activism is ensuring that the youth enter higher education because with a de-gree comes the knowledge and thepower to truly transform society. With this knowl-edge and a sense of self-determination, they can then work to make sure harmful trends of the past do not come about once more”
EREWA UKU
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I WAKE UP EVERYDAY GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE PURSUING A PHD IN BIOLOGY FROM UC BERKELEY. TO FOLLOW
MY DREAMS IS AN INDESCRIBABLE FEELING. HOWEVER, THERE ARE MANY CHALLENGES. OF COURSE, RESEARCH IS INTELLECTUALLY
CHALLENGING, BUT THE LACK OF DIVERSITY IN STEM ADDS ANOTHER LAYER OF DIFFICULTY.
-JOYCE CHERY, 1ST YEAR PHD STUDENT, INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY
BEING A MINORITY IN SUCH A DIFFICULT ACADEM-IC DISCIPLINE HAS GIVEN ME AN UNWAVERING RESOLVE APPLICABLE TO ALL ASPECTS OF MY LIFE. IT IS VERY DISHEARTENING WHEN I AM SITTING IN A CLASSROOM OF OVER SIX-HUNDRED STUDENTS AND I REALIZE I AM ONE OF THE VERY FEW AFRI-CAN-AMERICANS IN THAT CLASS. HOWEVER, FEEL-ING UNWELCOME HAS FORCED ME TO CREATE MY OWN SPACE IN THE CLASSROOM AND HAS ENABLED ME TO LEARN AND COMMUNICATE IN WAYS THAT I WOULD HAVE NEVER IMAGINED.-OSITA UMEH, 2ND YEAR, INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES
I THINK THAT BEING BLACK IN STEM AT CAL IS BOTH A CURSE AND PRIVI-LEGE. IN SO MANY WORDS, CAL OPENS MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR ITS STUDENTS YET AT THE SAME TIME BEING BLACK AND FEMALE IS NOT THE NORM SO I HAVE HAD TO WORK HARDER THAN OTHERS TO PROVE MY WORTH AND CAPABILITIES. EVERYDAY IS ANOTHER CHALLENGE BECAUSE I HAVE TO PUT ON A MY HAPPINESS OR SADNESS. IF I'M TOO HAPPY, PEOPLE WILL WONDER WHY BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE IS DROWNING. BUT IF I'M TOO SAD, THOSE THAT RELY ON ME MAY SUFFER BECAUSE I BRING THEM LIGHT. IT IS EVER CHANGING. BUT I CAN SAY THAT MY CLOSE FAMILY AND MY BESSA FAMILY KEEP ME GOING: THEY CONSTANTLY REMIND ME THAT MY STRUGGLE IS ONE THAT IS PAVING THE WAY FOR MANY TO COME. TO ME, THAT IS WORTH GRINDING FOR.
-DOMINIQUE FERNANDEZ, 2ND YEAR
I THINK BACK TO THE ANCIENT AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS THAT EXCELLED IN THE STEM FIELDS AND CREATED THE FOUNDATIONS OF KNOWLEDGE THAT WE HAVE TODAY AND THINK, THIS IS WHAT IT MUST HAVE FELT LIKE. BLACK STUDENTS IN STEM MA-JORS ARE RARE: IT SOMETIMES MEANS
THAT I’M ONE OF LESS THAN 10 BLACK STU-DENTS IN A 700 PERSON LECTURE HALL, OR THE ONLY BLACK STUDENT IN MY DISCUS-
SION SECTION.I OFTEN FEEL THAT I HAVE TO WORK A LOT HARDER THAN THE STUDENTS AROUND ME BECAUSE OF MY PREVIOUS
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND. NO EXCUSES THOUGH.THIS ENTIRE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED FOR ME TO FAIL SO I’VE MADE IT A PRIORI-TY SUCCEED. I CAN SEE MYSELF RUNNING
MY OWN LABORATORY ONE DAY.
-JABRIL KYSER, 1ST YEAR, GENETICS AND PLANT BIOLOGY
TO BE BLACK AND TO BE IN STEM AT UCB MEANS I AM ONE OF THE FEW BLACK FACES MY PEERS WILL SEE IN THE SCI-
ENCE COURSES WE SHARE. THAT WHEN I GO TO ADVISOR I DO NOT ALWAYS
GET THE SAME ENCOURAGEMENT AND HELP TO FULFILL MY GOALS. IT’S HARD ACADEMICALLY, BUT I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING ANYONE IN STEM CAN
AGREE WITH REGARDLESS OF RACE. MY BLACKNESS IS A MARKER OF MY ROOTS AND ANCESTRY, BUT IT IS ALSO FROM WHICH MY GOALS STEM FROM. THERE
ARE MANY PHENOMENAL BLACK PEOPLE IN THE WORLD HELPING BRING ABOUT CHANGE. AND I GUESS I’M TRYING TO
GET TO THEIR LEVEL, BRINGING CHANGE IN MY OWN WAY.
-RAHEL DEMISSIE, 2ND YEAR, PUBLIC HEALTH
BEING A BLACK ENGINEER AT CAL IS UPLIFTING AND DISCOURAGING AT THE SAME TIME; BEING ONE OF THE FEW OR THE ONLY PEOPLE OF COLOR IN A CLASSROOM OF 400 OR EVEN A CLASSROOM FULL OF 20 IS A BITTERSWEET FEELING. YOU WANT TO SHINE, ACHIEVE, AND EXCEL TO YOUR FINEST ABILITIES TO DISPEL STEREOTYPES PEOPLE ASSUME YOU EMBODY AS A BLACK PERSON. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, YOU’RE IN AN ACADEMIC SPACE THAT SEGREGATES ITSELF EVEN WHEN IT COMES TO STUDYING...WHITES WITH WHITES...ASIANS WITH ASIANS....ETC..ETC...BOLAJI...LEFT TO FORCE HIMSELF INTO A GROUP. MY DISCOMFORT IN MY CLASSES AND ABSENCE OF A BLACK PRESENCE HAS LED ME TO BE REAL QUIET, AND PRETTY UNINTERESTED IN A LOT OF MY CLASSES THROUGHOUT THE YEARS. OUTSIDE OF THE CLASS, YOU SEE ME DEEPLY INVOLVED AND ACTIVE WITHIN MY COMMUNITY. IN THE END I’VE LEARNED A LOT: I AM NOT AFRAID TO ENTER A SPACE, OR A ROOM FILLED WITH PEOPLE NOT OF MY COLOR AND I AM ALWAYS READY TO SPEAK UP AND PRESENT MYSELF WITHOUT BEING INTIMIDATED. BEING A BLACK ENGINEER AT CAL HAS LED ME TO BECOME HUMBLE, CONFIDENT, AND ENABLED ME TO ADAPT TO DIFFERENT SOCIAL SPACES OF DIFFERENT CULTURES.
-BOLAJI OJURI, 4TH YEAR, CIVIL ENGINEERING
AT TIMES, I FEEL AS THOUGH I HAVE AN EXTRA AMOUNT OF PRESSURE TO SUCCEED BECAUSE IN MY LOWER DIVISION STEM CLASSES OF 500+ THERE ARE ONLY A HANDFUL OF BLACK STUDENTS. AS CLICHÉ AS IT MIGHT SOUND, THIS ADDED WEIGHT HAS SERVED POSITIVE PURPOSES AS IT MOTIVATES ME TO TRY HARDER AND TO NOT GIVE UP. ON THE FLIP SIDE, THERE ARE MOMENTS WHERE I FEEL UNWANTED AND THAT CAN (AND HAS)
HELD ME BACK FROM COMPLETELY UTILIZING CERTAIN RESOURCES. IT IS DISHEARTENING TO NOT SEE PEOPLE WHO LOOK LIKE ME AND HAVE SIMILAR EXPERIENCES. I CONSTANTLY NEED TO REMIND MYSELF THAT I DO DESERVE TO BE HERE AND THAT I NEED TO STOP DOWNPLAYING MY SUCCESS. FORTUNATELY, I HAVE BEEN
ABLE TO JOIN ORGANIZATIONS ON CAMPUS THAT ENCOURAGE AND SUPPORT ME THROUGH MY ACADEMIC ENDEAVORS. I AM THANKFUL THAT I DO NOT HAVE TO FACE IT ALONE AND THAT THERE IS A COMMUNITY
THAT NOT ONLY WANTS ME TO BE SUCCESSFUL BUT SHOWS ME THAT THEY CARE.
-DELINA MEHARENNA, 2ND YEAR, MOLECULAR AND CELL BIOLOGY