Hello Dominican University community,
Happy Black History Month! In this letter, I would like to acknowledge the integral presence and active force of the Black Student Union and Black World Studies on our campus. Within the four years of my studies at Dominican University, I have come to see February as one of the most enriching months when flags of various nations vibrantly flowed in the social hall or the Rebecca Crown library. In the previous issues of Dominican Star, we had the honor of featuring the narratives and experience of African American students. However, we must also acknowledge how challenging can be studying in an environment as a minority. In my own conversation with other minority students, we often resonate on instances where we were called to speak on issues we are not familiar with or tokenized for our academic accomplishment in spite of our background. According to the demographic data from the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, even though the student demographic is 70% minority, the representation of faculty is only around 30%. Therefore, often it can be difficult to even start conversations as our experiences drastically differ. This is precisely the reason why I applaud the work of Black World Studies, the Village and the Center for Cultural Liberation in advocating for the retention of minority students, racial justice and organizing outside speakers onto our campus.
Reading through the past issues of the archived copies of the Dominican Stars, I am shocked at reported incidents of hatred and bigotry of past years. However, these archived articles also show how fragile justice can be if not strongly upheld and supported by those in power. The Center for Cultural Liberation is one of the testaments to the shared beliefs of student leaders and the support of Donna Carroll. I still believe that moments like this, when we reach a common understanding, positive changes metamorphosize.
I often wonder at the role of the Star in the history of the campus and the events in the rest of the world. In reading events of the old articles, I wonder what happened later and sought for more insights in the follow-ups. Often times, it’s hard to recover the whole picture because people choose to be silent and forgetful for the sake of feigned peace. But truth is cyclical, it resurfaces in all phases of life until one day when we are emotionally ready to capture it in our own terms.
Chelsea Zhao
Editor-in-Chief
