The Elm Student Newspaper
West speaks in Tawes, lecture well-attended
Andria Hayes-Birchler
Harvard professor Cornel West recently
spoke at WC.
Courtesy of College Web site
Students, faculty, and members of the local community came together in Tawes Theatre March 1 for a lecture given by best-selling author Cornel West.
The lecture was preceded by an introduction from visiting Jesse Ball duPont Scholar Harriet Masembe. In addition to Dr. Masembe, several students representing the Green Party, the Philosophy Club, and the Center for the Study of Black Culture also gave brief introductory statements about the life, writing, and philosophies of Dr. West.
Freshman John Killeen, a representative of the Green Party, said of West's lecture, "The Greens and West have similar philosophies ... I hope that students who heard West speak will begin to question what our archaic belief in capitalism's 'invisible hand' is doing to the majority of our people."
He continued, "They need to think about the 99% of the population who, as West informed us, share amongst themselves 52% of the wealth. That equals a tremendous amount of poverty. "
Other students were equally impressed by Dr. West's lecture. Freshman Meaghan Gardner, a student who attended the lecture, commented, "Dr.
West left everyone with a thought: 'Every generation must revitalize democracy, and do that by looking at what has been overlooked.' I think that this is true and something that every person, regardless of his or her color, should think about. In order to improve the world, we must try to change things by looking at that which was previously overlooked."The lecture was not attended exclusively by Washington College students.
Goucher College also brought 32 students, and Western Maryland brought a bus of 40 students, plus their Dean of Students.According to Masembe, "The lecture was also attended by key people in Maryland. The Counsel representing the Maryland Human Relations Commission in D.C., Dr. Tucker, President of the Harvard-Radcliffe Alumni in Baltimore, and members of this group all attended. We had about 480 to 500 people in that auditorium."
West is a best-selling author and the Professor of Afro-American Studies and the Philosophy of Religion at Harvard University. He has been profiled in Time magazine and in Newsweek for his numerous literary achievements.
West is quite a prolific writer; he has written numerous articles and fifteen books, including Race Matters, which was the topic of his lecture at Washington College.
The Black Student Union helped to co-sponsor Dr. West's lecture. Jennifer Walker, the president of the BSU, said, "We hoped that students would see that African-Americans can be more than what is portrayed in the media.
Dr. West is a very distinguished and accomplished writer. He is a positive image for the black community."Members of the Green Party had similar things to say about their decision to help organize Dr. West's lecture.
Said Killeen, "Many of us have truly admired Dr. West for some time now and this visit meant a lot to us. He is a brilliant and positive man."
He added, "His writings tend to be somewhat more radical, particularly his early works, so he did seem a bit toned-down ... Some of the numbers he mentioned demand action yet West seemed reluctant to endorse action."
Sophomore Shane Brill echoed those sentiments: "Dr. West's theatrical presentation reinforced my existing sympathies toward the general movement of social equality, but his arguments were blurred by ambiguities intended to please all audience members."
Some felt that Dr. West's lecture had an important impact that may not be found in his speech alone.
Killeen noted, "What I felt was most important was the audience composition that night, because everyone from our community was represented and we have a community with a firm denial problem. It was great to have all our neighbors in the theater when Dr. West said, 'Some of our communities already have snapped' under the burden of prolonged systematic poverty."
Co-sponsored by eight different organizations and attended by three different colleges, Dr. West's lecture was a major event for Washington College.
Gardner summed up her experience with three words: "It was riveting."
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