To bring awareness to race culture and issues involving minorities, several organizations banded together to discuss issues and potentially come up with solutions.

The National Pan-Hellenic Council, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, The Black Student Union, Student Government, The National Association for Colored Women’s Club and S.T.R.O.N.G MENtoring, collaborated to put on a forum for the students.

The forum was held in Phipps Auditorium, in the Physical science building, at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Ashley Howard, president of NPHC, said this forum is for students created by students. Howard said the point of the forum was to get the conversation going about the racial climate at Eastern.

The forum was called “I am because we are,” named after the African proverb “I am because we are and, since we are, therefore I am.”

Howard said this event was an urgent need for our campus, especially with everything going on within the campus, such as safety issues with students, racial tensions.

“As a group of minority students here we need to start standing up and speaking up instead of letting it pass by because it does not effect us,” Howard said.

The discussion for the forum was prompted by a video by Kwame Toure, titled “Converting the unconscious to conscious.”

Adekunle Adeyemo, a graduate student, represented ASA and elaborated on organization and mobilization.

“Organization is deeper than mobilization said,” Adeyemo said. “We want our people to see the reason why we need to mobilize.”

Toure said the only way for minorities to realize there is an issue needing to be addressed is for them to go through a certain issue and to struggle.

A part of the forum discussed how others receive minorities on campus.

Yolanda Williams, a gateway advisor, spoke on how students need to take accountability for their actions. She said minorities have to work harder than others to be recognized.

Moniesha Curry, a senior psychology major, said minorities are recognized by perception and reality.

“Your perception of somebody may be your reality for that person,” said Curry.

Willams said minority students do not always attend the events that are beneficial to campus.

“If this was a probate show, you would not be able to stand in here,” Williams said.

Jarrett Moore, a junior applied engineering technology major, said. Moore represented Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc.

“Organizations such as BSU, NPHC, and NAACP, are organizations that are supposed to bring black students together,” Moore said.

Shamerea Richards, a senior cooperate communications major said, “we are a force to be reckoned with but we do not use our force.”

Richards said many people are too focused on trying to be individuals instead of being a whole.

“We need to be organized on what we want to do, what we are fighting for, and what we want the end result to be,” Adeyemo said.

“People are being very prideful, they are being very selfish, and they are being very close minded to the potential of EIU.” Richards said.

As a way to further fix racial climate and make changes on eastern campus, the men of S.T.R.O.N.G. created a new campaign called “Not on our campus.”

The purpose is to debunk negative stereotypes while sending the message to not condone the senseless acts of the student body.

The audience agreed that there are serious changes that need to be made on campus, and it starts with education and vision.

“Where there is no vision people will perish,” Adeyemo said.

Torri Griffith can be reached at 581-2812 or tlgriffh@eiu.edu