I have been at Kent State for three years, and I have seen a lot of things. I also have grown as a person here at Kent State. This will probably be my last Stater column, so I want to make this one special. Over the course of the three years I have been here, I have been involved with Black United Students, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and a host of other organizations/committees. Before I graduate, I have a few confessions, or just questions that I ask students to think about for the rest of their tenure here.

Racist people are all over the place here at Kent State! I know most of the people who read my articles are probably like, “Here he goes again,” but in all seriousness I would not write about race if it weren’t an issue. The police in Kent are not only racist, but anti-student, period. If this was not true, the countless cases of police versus Kent State students wouldn’t exist. It seems as though the Kent community is fed up with the students, but without the students and the university, the city of Kent would be Dumpsville.

I have never lied in any of my columns — no one can ever say I misled anyone. We live in a country that is still trying to de-brainwash itself with the whole concept of race. The whole idea of race was created for economic reasons, so that the majority can maintain control.

Speaking of race, why is it that whites in this country want blacks to “forgive and forget” slavery, Jim Crow and severe discrimination? At the same time, they are all about the Jewish Holocaust and are quick to bring it up like it happened yesterday. I believe it is because the majority knows the severe injustice done during the African Holocaust was wrong and inflicted by them, and they don’t like to be reminded of it. Germans inflicted the Jewish Holocaust, so it is easier to speak about.

And while it is fresh in my mind, black students on this campus need to learn to stick together. In the world, handouts do not exist, so it is imperative that black people unite to empower themselves. Black men are going to jail, black women are selling themselves (I am talking about videos, prostitution and such) and young black children are growing up in poverty. The government will do nothing but “ease” the pain, not solve the problem. It is up to citizens to create change within their own communities.

One last thing — George W. Bush sucks! Ohio is in a whole heap of trouble economically, and I feel that everyone who voted for him will soon see why I did not. In my hometown of Akron, two high schools are closing because of inadequate funding, and this will possibly overcrowd city schools in Akron. It hurts me to see the places where I grew up being torn apart like this.

I hope that Kent State students leave Kent with more than just a degree when they graduate. I hope we all leave here educated.

Teddy Harris is a senior communication studies major and a columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected].