Diversity group marches for unity

Unity march marks the beginning of events for the Zeta Phi Beta sorority week.

By Katie Micik, Staff Writer

Published March 7, 2006

Students, community members, black students, white students, Hispanic students, Greek students, non-Greek students, lesbians, gay students, toddlers and parents walked through the columns Monday in a unity march organized by Four Front and Zeta Phi Beta sorority.

The group marched down Eighth Street to the downtown columns singing "This Little Light of Mine," "Amazing Grace" and "We Shall Overcome."

"In diversity we can be unified," said Erin Moses, a co-organizer from Zeta Phi Beta. "Today is not about blaming anyone. We want it to be a reflection of whether we have overcome."

This is the first year Four Front and Zeta Phi Beta organized the event together, and it is the sixth year Zeta Phi Beta has held the march.

The theme for this year's march was "Have We Overcome?"

Four Front delegate Whitney Boyd said it was a "big coincidence" that the organizations were planning similar events at the same time.

"It would defeat our purpose to work apart," Boyd said.

Boyd also said by combining their resources, they had a higher turnout from a more diverse group of students and community members.

After the candlelit march, Moses led what she called an "impromptu town hall discussion." The discussion featured diversity issues and unity and was held in the Boone County Government Center.

City Councilwoman Almeta Crayton opened the discussion about what it means to overcome differences.

"I want you to know overcoming is not getting a degree," Crayton said. "It's when you bring back what you learned to the community that you overcome."

After the discussion, Crayton went upstairs to attend the City Council's 7 p.m. meeting.

Boyd said a lot of times things are "just black and white," and people stay within their comfort zones and stick with their own race. Overcoming comfort levels is an important part of the college experience, she said.

"This is an eye-opener for us," said Kevin Arendt, who attended the event with his fraternity, Sigma Tau Gamma.

Arendt said his fraternity isn't very diverse.

"You are all minorities," Arendt said. "We don't have the opportunity to face what you do everyday. No one here is comfortable right now, but we can somehow relate because we are here talking about it."

Jackie Cook-Eberle, co-chairwoman of Four Front, said being a multicultural organization means it includes everyone, even white students. She also said part of college is to learn about people around us regardless of race.

National Pan-Hellenic Council President Chris Jefferson said he sees segregation on campus every day, especially in the Greek community.

"We are a Greek community, so why don't all Greeks participate in Greek Week?" Jefferson said.

After the event, Arendt said he supports the idea of combining all Greek organizations, but he says the combining must be done carefully in order to be effective.

"We would have to not be just paired with a black fraternity," Arendt said. "We need to be integrated with the black fraternities."

Integration of all groups was a major topic of discussion. Representatives from the Triangle Coalition, the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center, Hispanic American Leadership Organization, Shout magazine and many other organizations shared their upcoming agendas.

"Inclusion is a big thing," Moses said. "Don't be afraid to invite different people. If you don't put information out there, you never know who will show up."