A letter from the President

Reader,

Changing the ideology and policy of an organization isn’t easy. I became aware of… Reader,

Changing the ideology and policy of an organization isn’t easy. I became aware of this one week into my presidency of the Black Action Society of the University of Pittsburgh. From my perspective, much of the way we do business among ourselves and with other individuals and student groups needs changing.

Oftentimes, we are unnecessarily paranoid in our dealings with groups such as the Asian Student Alliance and the College Democrats. Channels of communication suffer and potentially profitable alliances are destroyed because of this. “We have to be careful about who we work with,” is how this paranoia has manifested itself both in the distant and recent past. Unfortunately, ideology and policy don’t exist separately; rather, the former affects the latter. And while it is true that long-term partnerships should not be rushed into, I reject my organization’s application of this notion in years past. It has been taken to extremes.

In other instances, the leadership of the Black Action Society has been particularly particular in its methods of choosing Steering Committee members. (The Steering Committee is BAS’ decision-making body; a student congress or parliament, of sorts.) Qualified applicants have been denied positions on the SC while unqualified applicants, perhaps with close ties to the president or vice president, have held numerous spots. On a much smaller scale, this machine of political patronage mirrors the governmental corruption plaguing many African nations today. A shared friendship or Greek affiliation can no longer serve as a substitute for qualification and competency. The preferential treatment will end under my presidency.

I would be wrong to ignore or understate the Black Action Society’s importance to this University. It fosters a climate conducive to black student life on a predominantly white campus in the same manner that any other ethnic student organization does for its constituency. Critics say that we’re only about parties and programs, and that’s hogwash. BlackLine, for instance, showcases some of the University’s finest literary talent on a monthly basis. I deeply appreciate the work we do and understand its utility not only to black students, but also to all students and faculty. Yet and still, no organization is perfect. Not even the Black Action Society.

I became involved because there were elements of BAS’ ideology and policy that I felt were detrimental to itself and to other organizations. I remember a brother of mine, in a Pitt News column he wrote directly in response to my own, encouraging sideliners to get involved. More than 50 years ago, Mahatma Gandhi told us to become the change we want to see in the world. I strongly believe in this advice and offer it to the readers of this letter.

If there are changes you’d like to see in the Black Action Society, become the change. If you think BlackLine sucks, write for BlackLine. Don’t like our Web site? Design one for us. (We’ll pay you!) I am not promising an easy task. Even for myself, I anticipate great difficulties in pushing some of the policies I wish to see come to fruition. I am, however, promising a worthwhile task. You enrich both yourself and our organization.

Talking Back,

Lawrence Crockett

President of the Black Action Society