The RMR - February 2011
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ISSUE 6, FEBRUARY 2011 OPINION Friendship Nine inspires the city NEWS Graduates shift into the job market
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Transcript of The RMR - February 2011
ISSUE 6, FEBRUARY 2011
OPINIONFriendship Nine inspires the city
NEWS
Graduates shift into the job market
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The Roddey-McMillan Record Specializing In Diversity Since 1986 P. 2• February 2011
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Letter From the Editor
Miciah BennettMiciah BennettEditor-In-Chief
The Roddey-McMillan Record Specializing In Diversity Since 1986 P. 3 • February 2011
Table of Contents
what black his-
tory month
means to me?
wu alumni edi-
tion
P. 4 & 5
interested in be-
ing an editor of
a publication?
find out how.
P. 8
the reality check:
friendship nine
and their lasting
legacy
P. 7
minority grad-
uates and their
chance in the
job market
P. 6
We all need someone to push us when we can’t push ourselves. Whether we lack motivation or just feel lost, having other people who know our strengths and weaknesses and can motivate us is when we lack confidence. African-Americans had no choice but to stick
together during times of hardship and uncertainty from slavery until the Civil Rights Movement.
Although self motivation is key, I think Americans, in general, are losing the connections that once made a community strong and reslient.
Today’s rat race can easily cause a person to foreget the simplest needs of their family and friends, as well as cause them to lose their love and appreciation for life. I am, slowly, but surely learning what it means to work hard for myself and, more importantly, my peers and those who will come after me, just like those who came before me.
The Roddey-McMillan Record Specializing In Diversity Since 1986 P. 4 • February 2011
REFLECTREFLECT
REFLECTB lacks have made history throughout centuries and their contributions should be
recognized in each generation. The complete history of blacks does not begin or end
with Martin Luther King, Jr. or Rosa Parks. The complete history of blacks can not
fit into one month. Although some elements of black history, such as racism and the
loss of traditional African-American culture, may still have an affect on blacks today,
acknowledging black history will preserve a part of American history often overlooked.
At Winthrop, the wisdom of black alumni will help current students achieve the dream.
A time to
‘ACHIEVING THE DREAM’
REFLECTREFLECT
REFLECT The Roddey-McMillan Record Specializing In Diversity Since 1986 P. 5 • February 2011
It’s more than a month. We as a people need to educate ourselves on black history and acknowledge our role throughout history. Those of us that are parents and/or graduates need to take responsibility and pass on that history. We need to acknowledge the past and participate in today’s conversation so that we are connecting the past and the future.
Try to make sure you educate yourself and others. I want my son to understand were he came from. He needs to understand that he is a black young man. He needs to understand the things that have happened to get him where is today.
It is an important month to acknowledge our heritage. Our history needs to be told. It needs to be taught by the churches and schools. If you don’t know your past, you won’t know where your future lies. It is important who tells/writes the history. In the 125 years of Winthrop, it is important that the black contribution should not be overlooked. We should be compelled to pass on our story.
We need to celebrate and reflect upon the accomplishments of the past and chart strategies for our futures.
It’s not just a month. My parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles are all a part of black history. Even though they weren’t famous, the played a part in my black history.
To celebrate black history you need to value education and diversity. Everyone needs to understand colored people and the struggles we had to go through and relationships we had to build to get to where we are today.
- Marylin Martin ‘00
- Byron Putnam ‘94
- Delores Johnson Hurt ‘68
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- Timothy Hopkins ‘83
- Charlene Sullivan-Davis ‘80
- Danny Davis ‘80
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Celebrating
History...
The Roddey-McMillan Record Specializing In Diversity Since 1986 P. 6 • February 2011
NEWSFEATURES ~ ISSUES ~ EVENTS
I think you have to compete,” Sills said. “You have to take advantage of everything that the campus has to offer.“
” -Howard Sills, senior marketing major
James PrioleauStaff Writer
May 7th is around the corner and for many graduating stu-dents, it is time to prepare for the next step in their lives.
For many soon-to-be gradu-ates like Sha’monique Smith graduating is a bittersweet feeling.
“I’m ready to get out of school, but I have to get ready for the 9 to 5 lifestyle,” Smith said.
Smith is graduating with a degree in accounting, and like many of her peers, will have to face challenges after graduation. Being a minority in a tough job market, Smith said it will be a challenge to show all of the capabilities she has.
“Being a woman is hard enough,” Smith said. “... being a [racial] minority on top of that is going to make it challenging, but I am willing to do what I have to do to show that I am capable of doing as much as my counter parts.”
Winthrop alumna Brittney Barnes, 23, who received a
B.A in Spanish and a minor in theater said that she did not see herself as competition at Win-throp. Instead, she saw herself as someone who showed the same amount of confidence and capabilities that other students gained.
“I think what sets me apart is that I don’t see myself as com-petition to other minorities, but as equally fit as they are,” Barnes said.
Some students believe that competition is prevalent around Winthrop. Howard Sills, 21, from Stone Mountain, Ga., is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in marketing. He believes that competition is nec-essary to become successful at Winthrop and after graduation.
“I think you have to compete,” Sills said. “You have to take advantage of everything that the campus has to offer.”
Many minorities prepar-ing for graduation believe that Winthrop has prepared them for what’s ahead. Joel Clark will be graduating with a degree in business administration and
thinks that Winthrop has done its job in preparing him for his future.
“I feel I prepared from the things I’ve learned here and out-side of Winthrop,” Clark said.
Smith said that the diversity at Winthrop has helped her prepare for the people she may encounter.
“It’s a very diverse university with different types of people,” Smith said. “It’s given me a lot of opportunity to get out there.”
As students reflect on their undergraduate careers, some believe that they should have taken advantage of the resources at Winthrop. Other minority graduates wouldn’t change any-thing from their undergraduate experience.
“I wouldn’t change anything because everything I did during my undergraduate career made me who I am today,” Smith said.
For minority graduates, going to graduate school is one of the first steps for success after col-lege, Clark said that he plans to go to graduate school, but he is not in a rush.
“A person needs to have a pas-sion for graduate school,” Barnes said.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t know what to concentrate on,” she said. “I didn’t want to go to graduate school and not be pas-sionate about what I was doing. I wanted to take a break and concentrate on life and I feel like I can always go back.”
Other graduates agree that undergraduates should wait until they’ve had job experience until they go back to school. Remi Charpin, 26, received his undergraduate degree in international business in France. Now a graduate assistant at Winthrop, Charpin said under-graduates should think carefully before making the decision to attend graduate school.
“I think people going to grad-uate school should think twice because it’s repetitive,” Charpin said. “I think they should get some job experience between college and graduate school.”
For Tomo Koyano, 24, is an international student from Japan that graduated from
Winthrop with a B.S in finance, work experience is key and that internships can help students transition.
“I wish I was involved in finding internships because I had no job experience,” Koyano said. “There’s a big difference in having work experience and not having work experience.”
Koyano, a minority and international student, said he found difficult to make it after graduation.
“Well I’m in a tricky situation because I’m international and a lot of companies are hesitant because of international visa sponsorships,” Koyano said. “If you look for jobs now they will say they are only hiring citizens or permanent residents.”
Even though minority gradu-ates face various challenges after graduation, Sills said that getting up and doing something with your life will help you become successful.
“You can’t sit back and think opportunities will happen,” he said.
ARE WEEQUIPPED?
Winthrop minority graduates feel prepared for job market
The Roddey-McMillan Record Specializing In Diversity Since 1986 P. 7 • February 2011
The Reality CheckJasmine ‘Shorti Love’ Rutledge
Within a matter of minutes of being in the presence of the brave members of the Friendship Nine I knew that this experience was going to be very emotional.
Courage of the Friendship Nine should inspire all
There really was not anything exciting about my first trip to Winthrop University except the fact that I was about to take my first step towards independence. However, once I saw a particular sign, it almost made me reconsider my choice to even attend Winthrop.
Traveling was a part of my youth, so at first this trip was just another three-hour ride of conversation and finding which CDs I wanted to hear next.
Then, I saw a sign that read: “A City That Has No Room for Racism”. To me, that sign was a subliminal message telling me to turn around.
When a sign is posted, its objective is to inform or warn its reader about a possible predicament. For instance, ‘No Loitering’ usually means there is a problem with people wandering around a particular area. ‘No Smoking’ generally means there have been complaints about smoking in a particular area. So doesn’t ‘No
Racism’ mean there is a probably a problem with discrimination in this particular area?
Fortunately, this sign never played a part in my Rock Hill/Winthrop experience. It wasn’t until I was recently assigned to cover the 50th year anniversary on Friendship Nine that this sign came back to mind.
The Friendship Nine were a group of African-American men that attended Friendship Junior College in Rock Hill that demonstrated a sit-in at a segregated lunch counter, making a major contribution to the fight for civil rights during the 1960s. I knew the story was important but I went out there with the normal mentality of just getting this story out of the way so I could move on to the next task.
Within a matter of minutes of being in the presence of the brave members of the Friendship Nine I knew that this experience was going to be very emotional.
Covering the story was no longer my concern. Understanding what motivated these men, and woman, to take act so courageously at such an early age had me very curious.
Fifty years ago, these men were just college students just like me. Still, they chose to risk their education, family and freedom to ensure all humans could be treated equally.
I’m sure many African-Americans appreciate great meals at local restaurants, a drink from public water fountains and an education at public schools. But, do they really appreciate the fact that they are able to act as ordinary citizens beside people of all colors without the threat of being ridiculed, arrested, or even hung to death?
It is very true when elders say that the youth of this generation will never be able to understand why they did what they did.
Bravery, sacrifice and faith are the characteristics those
nine young men had. I wonder how many college students today would come together the way the Friendship Nine did to revolutionize the future. Better yet, it made me wonder how much I would even sacrifice for a cause.
It is not because today’s youth do not care, it’s just that it is hard to imagine what our people went through because we have never experienced the hardships that our ancestors endured. We hear the stories and read about segregation in the history books, but a first-hand experience is always different.
For me, eight men (one gentlemen did decide to post bail) that I don’t even know exchanged their freedom for 30 days in jail with hard labor in a work camp so that I could have the right of life without limitations due to race.
Still, the question remains. How many of us would have been willing to do the same? Although Rock Hill says it has
no room for racism, it has room for a few other things. We all do.
There is room for appreciation to show respect for those who risked their lives to ensure equality of all humans.
There is room for consideration to regain a sense of care for the next man regardless of their race, gender or sexuality. We are all human and should begin to stand together and rid ourselves of self-centered tendencies.
There is room for accountability in our own actions and less room for excuses. If our ancestors relied on excuses for not making a better situation for their lives, America would probably still be segregated.
Most importantly, there is room for accomplishment. The members of the Friendship Nine worked hard and now their dream is true. Your dreams, too, can come true. It is all about how hard you are willing to go to achieve them.
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The Roddey-McMillan Record Specializing In Diversity Since 1986 P. 8 • February 2011
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