Title: Lakeside
University Cover Up
Author Name:
Charles A. Taylor
Advice
for Parents to give their kids entering into college about diversity
by
Charles Taylor
First
and foremost I would hope that parents would tell their kids that
diversity benefits everyone. It is something to be celebrated,
embraced and not feared. But let’s take one step back and assume
that parents have already had this conversation with their children
long before they entered college. I know that’s being
overly optimistic but just for a moment let’s pretend that parents
are having these serious conversations with their kids. Here’s what
I hope they are telling their children to help
prepare them for the new world they will face.
Son/daughter,
Acquire
Cultural Competency Skills
I’m sending you
off to college with the expectation that you will engage
intellectually and socially with all types of people. I don’t want
you to live your life in fear of others. I want you to become
culturally competent and that’s different from just being tolerant
of differences.
Tolerance has no
healing power in society. It means little more than leaving one
another alone. It leads to indifference, not understanding. Besides,
no one wants to be just tolerated-we all deserve to be celebrated!
Red, black, brown, yellow or white we’re all precious in God’s
sight. When all of the cream is allowed to rise to the top, the
butter is bound to be better.
Cultural competency
is what you’ll need to understand others’ points of view and to
replace tolerance with. Cultural competency is the ability to engage
people in ways that respect and honor their culture. So take
advantage of any opportunity you get to learn cultural competency
skills.
Understand
that both Diversity and Inclusion are needed
Remember that the
true definition of diversity is broad enough to include all of us and
takes into account differences in religion, race, gender, disability,
sexual orientation and other areas of differences. But diversity by
itself is nothing without inclusion. An inclusive college
intentionally creates a culture and fosters a welcoming environment
where everyone is valued for the skills and talents they bring to the
table and where they are involved and empowered in decision making.
Diversity describes "the who we are" – while Inclusion
describes "the how and what we hope to become." They are
related yet distinct concepts. Advocate for both!
Know
that Diversity Benefits Everyone
Son, remember that
we’re all connected. I need you to understand that when the
environment on campus is improved for some students, it’s improved
for you as well.
Let me give you an
example--One of the things that the federal disability act did was
make campuses more accessible for disabled students. Students in
wheel chairs no longer have to worry about opening doors—all they
have to do is push a button and the door swings open. What that means
is that any student who has his/her hands full can push that same
button. Although the automated doors were designed to benefit
students with disabilities, they in fact benefit everyone including
you.
When you improve the
environment for some students, you improve it for all students. When
a critical mass of black students was admitted to our colleges during
the 60s, for the first time in this country, many working class white
students were allowed in too. Diversity benefits everyone or as Jesse
Jackson says, “a rising tide lifts all boats.”
Learn about your
classmates histories
Daughter I want you
to learn about your classmates histories and their stories and I want
you to share yours. We are all products of our history, and in these
histories we carry our DNA, all the time, passed on to us through
generations. To deny this history, is to deny part of ourselves, our
beings, for indeed we are very much shaped by the history lived by
our forebears.
Diverse racial and
ethnic groups have a different history in the United States, and
therefore traveled very different paths to becoming part of the
American Society. Lumping all minorities together is tantamount to
stripping them of their collective histories, rich cultural heritage
and unique experiences.
Consider the history
of the U.S. as composed of multiple narratives, where glory for some
might have meant poverty, disenfranchisement and oppression for
others. I encourage you to search for the historical truth wherever
that search might lead. You see daughter the world that you will
inherit will be vastly different from the one that I grew up in. It
is your generation that will have to find a way to live in peace in
our multicultural world.
Parents can make
a difference
Wouldn’t
it be wonderful if parents had this type of conversation with their
kids? I’m confident that if they did our campuses would be
transformed overnight. If there was ever a place where
students should be encouraged to leave their comfort zone, that place
has to be a college campus. Institutions of higher education can be
described as laboratories for learning. Students have multiple
opportunities to explore, debate, engage, date, visit, room with—you
name it—with people who are culturally different. We should
encourage them to grow and to expand their knowledge about others.
That is what college is all about.
You
see I believe that parents must
set an example. They must not
only believe they can make a difference, they must choose to do so.
Given the changing demographics in this country diversity is one of
our greatest challenges, which also makes it one of our greatest
opportunities. Diversity enriches the educational experience,
promotes personal growth and it’s simply the right thing to do.
Parents
can play a vital role in planting the seeds so that someday diversity
and inclusion are just taken for granted. But they must start the
conversation to make that reality possible.
Author Bio: Dr. Charles “Chuck”
Taylor, author, speaker and diversity expert is currently a professor
in the school of education at a Midwestern college. Although he has
written and edited over 10 books, this is his first novel. Chuck has
also written a full-length children’s musical, a highly acclaimed
documentary on the Milwaukee, Wisconsin civil rights movement and
continues to serve as a national consultant to college campuses in
the areas of racial diversity and inclusion. Please visit his website
for additional information: http://drcharlestaylor.com/about/
Author Links -
Book Genre: Mystery Thriller
Publisher: Roar
Enterprises, Inc.
Release Date: January,
2012
Buy Link(s): Lakeside
University Cover Up,;
http://www.amazon.com/Lakeside-University-Cover-Charles-Taylor/dp/0935483535?tag=amazoniediscount01-20
Book Description:
A
cross is burned in the yard of two black Lakeside University
students. When campus
Instead,
the administration devises a divide and conquer scheme to create a
rift between black and white students. Feel
the tension mounting as the students react to the Administration’s
response to the incident. As
black students turn up the pressure, the campus stands on the verge
of a racial explosion. Campus leaders must find a way out of the
crisis so they seek the help of Dr. Wendell Oliver, the country’s
leading expert in diffusing racial tension.
Watch
Dr. Oliver as he masterfully guides the feuding students into looking
beyond themselves on a weekend retreat that is filled with action,
danger, sexual attraction, and racial conflict. Discover
the hidden lessons that students learn about friendship, betrayal and
forgiveness. Follow the love story as the plot unfolds. Experience
this roller coaster ride of emotions for yourself! Learn the secret
behind the cross burning as the leading character Gloria finds her
voice.
Students
come to realize that the cross burning is more than just about
racism. Its wicked flames shed light on corrupt cops, complicit
college administrators and misguided attitudes that point to a major
cover up. When students finally piece the puzzle together, justice is
served but it comes with a steep price. Lakeside University will
never be the same again.
Excerpt One:
Enough
was enough. Dean of Students, Todd Severson stormed into President
David Horning’s office and slammed the door. “Sir, we need to do
something!” Severson said, lowering himself into the chair across
from Horning’s antique desk. “Your divide and conquer strategy is
backfiring—we have to do something and do it fast, or this
university will explode!”
President
Horning glanced up from his coffee. “That’s a bit dramatic, Todd,
don’t you think?”
Severson
leaned forward in his chair and pressed his palms against the
desktop. “A black student has just been attacked!” he said.
“Classes are being disrupted. The police are running themselves
ragged, trying to keep everything under control. Now we have threats
of a major civil rights demonstration being held on our campus!”
Horning
looked at Severson and frowned. “Why don’t you just calm down,”
he said. “We’ve weathered crises before. This isn’t any
different.”
Severson
stared back, his jaw askew. “Sir, I beg to disagree! We may have
been able to smooth things over in the past, but this is very
different. This could turn violent—even more violent than it
already has become. And it's just a matter of time before the media
plasters this mess all over the front page.”
Before
Horning could respond, his phone rang. As he reached to answer it,
Severson stood to leave. “Hold on Todd. Let me get this. This might
be the call that will get us out of this damn mess,” Horning said,
as Severson paced the floor.
***
Three
Weeks Earlier
It
was a cool, cloudy Sunday night in early autumn. Two figures huddled
in the shadows next to a small house, near the Lakeside University
campus. They set to work quickly, and soon a sharp chemical odor
drifted through the air.
“Man,
this shit really stinks,” said the first one, muffling a cough in
his gloved hand. “Are you sure this will work?”
“It
has to,” said the second. “You heard what they said. We’ve got
to take care of this tonight.” “Okay, okay,” said the first.
“Just light the damn thing so I can make the call and we can get
the hell out of here!”
***
Inside
the small house, Lakeside University student Ashante Melashe was
working on a recording for her broadcast engineering class. Just as
she hit the record
button, the shrill ring of the telephone echoed through the house.
"Oh, no!” she moaned, “I forgot to turn off the ringer!”
She pushed her chair back from the table. “Well, that’s another
sound bite down the drain."
"I'm
coming," she grumbled as the phone continued its loud summons.
"Hello?"
"Look
outside,” said a gruff, male voice. “You’ll see how we feel
about niggers
at Lakeside University."
"What
did you just say? Who is this?"
"Just
look outside, bitch."
“Is
this some kind of joke?” Ashante asked, but the only answer was the
dial tone.
Shaking
her head in disgust, she took a deep breath and stepped out into the
front yard. The shock of the flames sucked the air from her lungs in
a choked gasp. A strange smell burned her eyes and throat. She stood
frozen, glaring at the blaze of bright red and orange fire burning
against the cold, black starless night.
Then
the realization hit her with as much force as if someone had kicked
her in the stomach. Suddenly she knew what she was staring at: a huge
cross, whose wicked flames lit up the yard and filled her with soul
wrenching horror.
"Oh, my God," Ashante whispered.
