U. kicks off Black History Month

Applying the lessons of Malcolm X's life and times to today's youth, scholar William Sales kicked off the University's celebration of Black History Month last night. Sales, a 1964 University graduate who is now chairperson of the African American Studies Department at Seton Hall University, spoke about the civil rights leader's message and its applicability to children currently coming of age in urban ghettos. Sales said he firmly believes members of the older generation must pass on an accurate account of their experiences to their younger successors in the struggle for black liberation. He added that he is trying to accomplish this goal through his two books: Southern Africa, Black America: Same Struggle, Same Fight and From Civil Rights to Black Liberation: Malcolm X and the Organization for African American Unity, which will be published this spring. Sales' remarks centered around the theme of Malcolm X as a leader whose ideas are "still fresh, not stale or dated." Malcolm X's plan, revealed through his words and the experiences of his life, is his most important legacy, Sales said. "It's going to be your responsibility to rebuild the movement for black liberation," he told the small group of students and staff gathered in the W.E.B. DuBois College House. Sales characterized Malcolm X as a "thinker and theoretician," whose programs for reform evolved into revolution. He explained that this transformation was accomplished between 1962 and 1964 when Malcolm X broke with the philosophy, organization and behavior of the Nation of Islam and adopted a new kind of social activism, resistance and struggle. "Malcolm X redefined the domestic civil rights movement, and made it an international human rights movement," Sales said. This paradigm shift in ideology allowed Malcolm X to move from messianic leadership to a leadership style based on collective equality and democratic decision-making, he added. However, Sales said, "The option to resist militarily is one which cannot be given up if a people ever hopes to be liberated. We've got to start thinking clearly again." After the forum ended, College freshman Tom Maguire said he thought the program was enlightening. "I thought it was an honest and critical presentation of Malcolm X that went much deeper than any of the media interpretations we've seen in recent years."U. official heap praise on Commission report By JEREMY KAHN Daily Pennsylvanian Staff Writer Senior University officials overwhelmingly praised the preliminary report of the Commission on Strengthening the Community, although many said they had yet to finish reading the lengthy report. The report was released in Tuesday's Almanac. "I think it's a wonderful report," said John Gould, vice president and director of planning for the president's office. School of Arts and Sciences Dean Rosemary Stevens said she has only "seen the headlines" and has not read the whole report. But she added she is very impressed by the Commission's work. "I'm very pleased to see it and I look forward to reading it with the care it deserves," Stevens said. The report is the result of months of information gathering by the 22-member Commission, which was created by former University President Sheldon Hackney and Interim President Claire Fagin in the wake of last spring's 'water buffalo' incident and confiscation of The Daily Pennsylvanian. The Commission is composed of members of the University Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, students and high-profile individuals with close ties to the University. It was charged with discovering ways of creating a more harmonious, inclusive and multicultural community based on the ideal of free speech. Some senior administrators are reading the report with special interest. Gould is working with a committee including both Interim Provost Marvin Lazerson and members of the Office of the Vice Provost for University Life to examine and streamline the way in which the University provides student services. He said the Commission report will be very helpful to the committee's work. "It's the kind of the thing we can be responsive to," Gould said. "Their work and their decisions will be very helpful to us as we look at student services." Gould said the Commission has given the committee notes and minutes from the dozens of interviews it conducted in researching its findings. This will save the committee from having to conduct extensive information gathering of its own, Gould said. "It's not so much the recommendations but the legwork that will have an immediate effect," he said. And Vice Provost Kim Morrisson said she is pleased that the Commission report urged the implementation of the college house plan she drafted last year. The college house plan would create a residential system resembling those currently in place at several other Ivy League schools and European universities. "I think it adds to the momentum of that plan, and I certainly would be excited by the implications of [the Commission report]," Morrisson said, adding that she did not read the full report. The Commission report contains more than 50 recommendations divided into seven categories, touching on almost every aspect of University life. Given the report's length and broad scope, many University officials said yesterday they did not read the full report or analyze what all of its suggestions might mean for the University. But most said they are excited by the potential the report has, both in terms of what it says about current life on campus and in what the future may hold in terms of community building.