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Post Souljah Reflections
November 14, 2001
I don't want to say I told you so, but I did. Sista Souljah. BSA Student Summit. Last Saturday. It's a shame when some of the people who need to hear something the most aren't in attendance. Sista Souljah broke it down for everyone in attendance. Maybe one of the journalism majors from the audience will write an article about the event. You can do one of those little report card things they do on CD's by people like Fabolous (and no that's not a horrible misspelling.) You can't deny it. If you do write the article, could you cover Black Student Association while you're at it or maybe some positive Black news, just as change of pace? And no, the sports page does not count.
I'd reprint as much of Sista Souljah's speech as I have in my personal shorthand, but I don't get that many column inches a week. Plus, you should have been there. Especially the men, we as usual, were out numbered. But is this important? That's for you to decide.
As the majority if not all the audience would agree with, I enjoyed the whole Summit and got a lot out of what Sista Souljah said. Always teetering on the edge of a personal revelation/transformation, its always helpful (painful?) to hear a positive speaker. Helpful because positive reinforcement is hard to come by when people are so quick to point out the negative without saying why they think something is negative or offering a solution. Painful because nobody likes to have a mirror held up to his or her imperfections.
Hence the constant intrapersonal struggle of some to be able to maintain a schizophrenic image. Take my friend Jobari3 for example. He's got problems. He runs from his problems and doesn't tell people when he has a problem with them. Sort of a Ball State High School mentality. More problem causing than problem solving.
No one is perfect and college is a time for finding one's self, meaning that people are going to make mistakes. Reputations both based on fact and rumor are going to be attached to people, organizations. People are going to be small-minded. You aren't going to like everyone. Everything isn't going to go your way. Just like when you escape, I mean graduate, from here. So maybe it's true, (it's true) Ball State does have everything you need. Then that means it's the things we want we have to work on.
I could reflect for pages on the Summit as a whole, but I'll spare you the details. I just thought those who weren't there might be interested in what they missed. E-mail me if you want a copy of Sista Souljah's "Bitch Test" or crib notes to help you get that speaker credit you need for class. I'll administer the test for free. Notes probably for fee.
Write to Aric at ariclewis@hotmail.com
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