New RHA President
elected, sworn in
By Justin Fl«hf
Staff Reporter
RHA President Kris Larson re
signed Sunday evening at the
weekly RHA meeting. Larson will
graduate Dec.
17.
“1 loved
nearly every
minute of my
time in RHA,”
Larson said in
her resigna
tion an
nouncement.
She went on to say, “If it were
not for RHA, I could honestly say,
I would probably not be graduat
ing from this university.”
Larson first became involved in
RHA in 1991 as a floor senator.
She went on to become an Abel
senator and then RHA vice presi
dent. She was elected president on
a write-in ticket in last April.
RHA Vice President Andrea
Casart was sworn in as president
following Larson’s resignation.
Larson said she was “happy to
leave RHA in Andrea’s hands.”
Larson and Casart both said this
semester had been good for RHA.
They said they shared credit for the
success with executive board and
senate.
Casart has selected Jeremy
Vetter, current Student Action
Team chairman, to succeed her as
vice president. With approval from
the Review and Recommendation
Committee and senate, he will take
office at the first meeting next se
mester.
Casart said she hoped to take
advantage of the experiences and
seasoning that this semester gave
RHA members to make RHA
proactive, rather than reactive.
Casart will serve as president
until RHA elections are held in
April.
In other business, the senate re
viewed the results of a survey of
residents.
Members found the results of
the survey generally favorable, ex
cept for the reaction to cafeteria
food.
Regarding sack lunches offered
at the cafeteria, one respondent
wrote, “We want more variety in
the sack.”
To which speaker Mike
DeVries responded. “Don’t we
all?”
Finally, the Senate discussed a
resolution to oppose university
housing’s ban on burning candles
and incense in the halls. This reso
lution was tabled pending further
incut from residents.
Black-on-black crime
discussed at summit
By MX Randall
Staff Reporter
“This is truly a historic event.”
With those words, Otto Green, co
coordinator of the First Annual Sum
mit to End Black-on-Black Crime,
opened the event in Lincoln on Sat
urday night.
The summit, organized by Lincoln
residents Green and Asante Moody,
was held at Christ Temple Church,
500 N. 25th St.
“This is an event to learn to take
the lead in the issues we find our
selves facing every day,” Green said.
These issues included ending
black-on-black crime, uniting the
black community and creating men
tor programs for at-risk youths.
Following Green’s opening re
marks, state Sen. Ernie Chambers of
Omaha gave his insights on several
issues facing blacks in both Lincoln
and in America.
“This is not a friendly community
for people of our complexion,”
Chambers said.
Chambers said he questioned the
attitudes of his own generation.
“Young people see us, the older
generations, as being more interested
in going along to get along than at
tempting to change what needs to be
changed,” he said.
Chambers’ comments were fol
lowed by remarks from a six-mem
ber panel of black community lead
ers and a two-hour question-and-an
swer period involving audience mem
bers.
Jerry Shoecrafl, a Lincoln city
councilman, said he was “mystified’
by many of the problems that faced
the black community.
“Our young people see violence as
nothing more than means to solving
problems,” he said, “and that just
startles me.”
The Rev. Donald Coleman of Mad
Dads appealed to the audience foi
assistance in both actions and ideas
“We are working on these prob
lems, but we can’t do it without help,’
he said. “Our question for the com
munity is ‘Where are you?’”
Audience member Mike Gaither,
a Nebraska Wesleyan student, ques
tioned the motivations of many mem
bers of the community.
“We look at ourselves and asb
fWhat can I get?’ not ‘What can 1
give?’” he said, “and there’s a real
problem with that.”
Brother Melvin X, Nebraska’s rep
resentative for the Nation of Islam,
agreed that the solutions to ending
black-on-black crime had to come
from within the black community.
“We are now the No. 1 killers of
ourselves,” he said, “and when you
slaughter yourself, no one else really
cares.
“We must redirect our energy. We
must learn self,” he said.'
John Ways, president of the Lin
coln chapter of the National Associa
tion for the Advancement of Colored
People, look a different approach to
black-on-black crime.
“Black-on-black crime is not the
problem,” he said. “Crime is the
problem, period.
“This nation was founded on vio
lence, and it has been violent ever
since.”
Ways said religious faith would
end all the troubles in the commu
nity.
“I don’t have any opinions; I just
do what the Scriptures tell me,” he
said. “If everyone went back to that
way of thinking, we wouldn’t even
have to be here to solve the problems
we have today.”
Dr. Dolores Simpson-Kirkland,
administrative assistant for Lincoln
Public Schools Student Assistance
Services, attacked the “psychological
violence” that is prevalent among
black youths.
‘Disrespect is killing us as much
as any bullet,” she said. “Disrespect
for ourselves and disrespect for par
ents need to be ended if we want to
save each other.”
Many participants cited a lack of
positive influences for young blacks
as a leading cause of crime and vio
lence.
Gaither said positive role models
and support from older community
members would make a world of dif
ference for black youths.
“I’ve been lucky; I’ve had role
models to keep me going,” he said.
“A lot of kids out there don’t have
that.”
Melvin X said the presence of role
models in the community, rather than
those in the media, was a necessary
element for youth empowerment
“I don’t care if somebody can be
come the greatest basketball player
the world has ever known,” he said.
“How does that help children in the
community?
Simpson-Kirkland said solving
the issues surrounding black-on
black crime would take a lot of time.
“Working together, we can do it
But there is no quick fix to this,” she
said
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