Setting the record straight: in memory of Malcolm X
May 19 was Malcolm X’s
birthday, 77 years ago.
May 23, the Black Student
Union aired audio information in
the amphitheater about a man who
should be honored. As I expected,
not everyone shared this thought
with me. One man spoke at me
about his views.
“We’ve been hearing this rheto
ric all day.... Turn that shit off! ”
I did not even see his face. While
the owner disappeared, his angry
words lingered in the air. Though
directed at Malcolm X, they insult
every person whom Malcolm X
fought for by disregarding his ef
forts as mere garbage. They remain
with me as a bitter reminder that
the American public has an in
credibly distorted view of one of
Guest Commentary
C.Kawezya
Hutchinson
the most influential leaders of the
civil rights movement.
Unfortunately, many people
who do not understand my history
— no, our history — are in charge
of telling it. Ignoring the full pic
ture, history becomes sprinkled
with half-truths, until distortion
becomes prevailing thought. To
quote Jude 1:10, "... These men
speak abusively against whatever
they do not understand.” Malcolm
X is one of the most misunderstood
black men in the United States.
Make no mistake, among other
things, Malcolm, a black suprema
cist of sorts, called white people
“blue-eyed devils” and hated their
race. Ironically, many of our
revered white leaders held similar
beliefs about black people. The dif
ference is that Malcolm X never
advocated lynching or brutality,
nor the withholding of the human
ity of an entire race. And let us not
forget that, unlike the leaders who
decided that I was three-fifths of a
person, Malcolm X holds virtually
no place in our history books.
But that doesn’t justify his racism in
my mind. So why do I revere Brother
Malcolm as a man and a leader?
He transformed his life, honor
ing and loving God the best way he
knew. When he realized he was fol
lowing the wrong path, he was
man enough to change his actions.
Discovering true Islam altered Mal
colm’s outlook. On being a racist,
he said, “Once I was, yes. But now I
have turned my direction away
from anything that’s racist.”
While I am a Christian, I believe
that through his faith and love in
God — Allah — Malcolm X hon
estly sought the truth and found
his grand purpose in life. Most of
all, Malcolm X recognized that he
had to be willing to die for the free
dom he so loved. In the end, he
paid that ultimate price.
Still, Malcolm X is considered
an extremist for believing it “crim
inal to teach a man not to defend
himself when he is the constant
victim of brutal attacks.” Malcolm
is “un-American” for denouncing
the draft of black men to wars to
protect world democracy, when
our nation would not protect the
democracy of our black men with
in our own borders.
No, Malcolm X was not a radical;
he was responding to the atrocities
that were once, and in some cases
still are, a part of America.
I am not asking you to like Mal
colm X. However, I challenge you
to learn the history of this country
in its entirety. I’m not a revisionist;
I am only doing my duty to set the
record straight — in memory of
Malcolm X and all those, of all
races, who fought for my God-giv
en right to be here today.
C. Kawezya Hutchinson is a
junior journalism major.
Letters to the editor
Riot not representative
of all students
As we approach the end of the ac
ademic year, I write to offer congrat
ulations to students for their many
accomplishments, particularly for
the strong academic performance so
many have achieved. There are
record numbers of students earning
Dean’s List recognition this year.
Hours of campus and community
service have enriched our campus’
- governance conversations, brought
participation opportunities to stu
dents and guided many student-or
ganized programs and activities.
As students complete their final
examinations and undertake sum
mer activities, I hope they’ll take a
minute to recognize their many ac
complishments and the quality of
the learning experiences they have
been part of this year.
Unfortunately, a few members of
our community were recently in
volved in weekend campus distur
bances in the blocks west of cam
pus. These unruly incidents were
illegal, dangerous, costly and were
an embarrassment to our communi
ty. I join the many students who
have criticized those involved for
their immature and illegal behavior
and who have reminded us that the
few students who engaged in this
behavior are not representative of
the University student population.
We’ve worked with neighbor
hood residents for years on strate
gies for successful social functions
without excessive or illegal alcohol
use and without levels of noise or
property destruction that bring the
police to students’ doors.
I hope students enjoy their sum
mers, and I look forward to seeing
students at commencement or back
on campus next fall. Thanks for a
great year, and thanks for continu
ing to make responsible choices as
members of our campus and broad
er Eugene-Springfield community.
Anne Leavitt
associate vice president
for student affairs and dean of students
Dry fraternities won’t solve
drinking problem
Currently, fraternities on this
campus are under abnormally high
pressure to follow the social policy
we are given, combined with the
next year being a dry year for all fra
ternities. There are less — if any —
fraternity parties lately. Nonexis
tence of fraternity parties leads to
incidents like the May 31 riots on
17th Avenue and Patterson Street.
Let’s face it, if fraternities can’t
party, that doesn’t mean that the
general student population won’t.
They will still go to overcrowded
house parties in Eugene.
Fraternities on this campus
number 15. They are large houses
able to contain around 100 partygo
ers. If fraternity houses were able to
have parties without the fear of
harsh penalties and decisions made
with very circumstantial evidence,
the result would be a drastic reduc
tion of overcrowded house parties
in this town. The parties would re
main inside, removing the eyesore
of intoxicated youths on the lawns
of other houses around Eugene.
Due to the fact that fraternities
are easily identified, these parties
would be regulated by people
who are legally liable for any
problems that occur. This would
ensure that parties are kept safe
as they can be.
To curb underage drinking, more
emphasis should be put on doing a
better job in high school; it’s too late to
stop our age group. The students of
this University will still party and
continue to cause events like May 31
if they are forced to fear the cops in
overcrowded houses or apartment
complexes.
Matt Thomsen
junioi
political science
Poll Results:
Every week, the Emerald prints the
results of our online poll and the poll
question for next week. The poll can
he accessed from the main page of
our Web site, www.dailyemerald.com.
We encourage you to send us feedback
about the poll questions and results.
This week’s poll question : What do
you think of “Akbars Garden," the
structure In front of the Student
Recreation Center on 15th Avenue
and University Street?
Total votes: 64
It’s beautiful art—21.9 percent,
orl4voies
It’s ugly art—15.6 percent, or 10 votes
It’s not ait— 6.3 percent, or 4 votes
Ifs a waste of space—26.6 percent,
or 17 votes
Don’t know/don’t care—29.7 percent,
or 19 votes
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Morgan, Pace
Sr. / Psychology
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Claudia Le
Jr. / Gen Science
Angela Arnold
Sr. / Communication
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/ Gen Science
Biology
Laural Conley
Fr. / Spanish
Cass White
Post Bacc / Pre-med