To the editor,
God knows that I detest slavery, but it is an existing evil, for which we are
not responsible, and we must endure it, till we can get rid of it without
destroying the last hope of free government in the world.
The aforementioned struggle of our universities first chancellor, Millard Fillmore, emanates from the behavior and attitude of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on our university campus. As their complacency as an organization
exists in abundance, falling in line with the decline in student activism
nationwide, it is possible that their removal from the Student Association need
not be appealed this semester or in the next.
It is highly likely, seeing that Mr. Fallon's Monday article suggested the organizations potential formation at Buffalo State College, that the most feasible solution would be the creation of a nationally-recognized youth and college chapter of the NAACP.
While it is not my intent to equate contentment to slavery, I do wish to shed
light on the inaction in both cases that is possibly our universities legacy, but
I would not bank on such an assumption. There are issues at this university that
cut far deeper than any whiteout would ever resolve.
The NAACP, on its Web site, defines its vision as 'to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights and there is no racial hatred or racial discrimination'. If an organization cannot be held to the standards that it sets for itself then it need consider
existence as an entity independent of student mandatory funds. I hope that the young people find a much-needed voice in this divided city, and that they take this letter as mere constructive criticism and nothing more.
David Rose
Senior urban and public policy major
dcrose@buffalo.edu
