By CJ Guion
In the past years, females have begun taking over the head reigns of the African American community. They are the head of households, owners of major businesses, and hold top governmental positions. That presence is even more so felt in the African American community here at North Carolina State University.
While I have nothing against females being in power positions, I feel as if they are doing a bit too much. Sometimes, it feels like the guys have taken a backseat and just let the females take over. I don’t feel that females should be forced to head the black community on their own, and I don’t feel that they should feel the need to do so. I’m not sure on the exact ratio, but it seems as that most of the major organizations on campus are headed by females; and if they aren’t headed by females, most of the e-board members are. The majority of the organizations which tend to have males in executive board positions are male-only groups.
Even though, the African American female population is greater than the male population at State, the numbers are not that great. According to 2009 fall enrollment data, 52% of the African American undergraduate population is accounted for by African American females; 47% are males. That’s only a 5 percent difference. The organizations here on campus don’t seem to reflect those numbers at all. No one gender should be expected to control the whole community. It shouldn’t be men walking behind women, or women walking behind men. They should be walking side by side. One group of people can’t do it by themselves. Black women can’t shoulder the burdens of everyone.
There aren’t really many logical explanations as to why the male participation isn’t as high as it could be. For every excuse there is a comeback. Some people say things like they are trying to get their grades up or they don’t know when the programs area. Yes, it is true that we are all here for an education. However, learning doesn’t just take place in the classroom. Many of the work skills picked up in college are garnered through relationships with peers. Not just romantic ones either. One thing that can be said is that when it comes to getting a job after college, just having a 4.0 on your resume will you get you a “NO” many times. Employers want employees that are well-rounded and who can balance several tasks at any given moment. When you have good grades, and no experience, it appears that you sat in your dorm and studied all day. If that’s the case, then you should be on the dean’s list every semester. Black males can’t complain about not getting a chance, when they don’t jump at opportunities laying in front of them. As far as not knowing is concerned, there are many resources on campus which gives information about everything that goes on around here. There is a vast number of listservs, announcements, and of course facebook. When it comes to Talley parties, everybody knows when they are. Everybody would know when and where the parties were, even if it wasn’t for the numerous email reminders flooding facebook inboxes. You pay ten dollars to get into a party to see some of the same females that you could see in the meetings for free. You would think that more females, would attract more males. However, that does not seem to be the case. I mean that is part of the reason why females get so many discounts at clubs; because, guys will pay any price to go where the ladies are. Now, this is not to say that you have to go to every meeting or every event.
There are 168 hours in a week. Dedicating 2 hours out of the week to extracurricular activities will not hurt that much. Also, I hear things like people don’t go to meetings, because they are unorganized. While that may be true in some cases, that is even more reason to go. The only way you can make a change is to do something about it. If you sit back and look on forever, nothing will ever change. You can’t always wait for someone else to do it. If the people on the board don’t hear your concerns, they will continue to do what they have always done. The don’t know what you want unless you tell them. If you have all females sitting on the board, and majority females sitting in the audience, their ideas will be the only ones to ever come to light. If some females band together like they do on class projects, then I don’t know how the few guys with power survive in meetings. Without support from other guys then they have no chance at all.
There needs to be some sort of balance in the student organizations. There has to be more unity. There needs to be change. That can only happen with your support.