Contributing & Guest Columns

  • Black voices, black pride: Pride personified

    CAMERON ALFORD | CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST Over the course of Black History Month, I attempted to capture the voices of young black students and professionals. Their voices express the pride they have in their heritage. And I have only scratched the surface. This month has seen multiple forms of political stances on race in America. Beyoncé’s…

  • South Africa: An experience abroad

    South Africa: An experience abroad

    MARIA RAPISARDA | CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST When you talk to most college graduates about their study abroad experience they’ll tell you one of three things: “Oh, I didn’t have time for that,” “Yeah, I went to Australia!” or “Europe was amazing.” A study abroad experience is supposed to open you up to new ideas and cultures…

  • Black voices, black pride: Corporate creativity

    CAMERON ALFORD | CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST I have found my voice as a black student here at Butler University. It took me two-and-a-half years of successfully struggling through academics, leadership and continuous writing to find something I could be proud of about myself and my black history. I learned so much about myself and my history…

  • Black voices, black pride: School spirit

    Black voices, black pride: School spirit

    Illustration by Camille Bates CAMERON ALFORD | CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST “To handicap a student by teaching him that his black face is a curse and that his struggle to change his condition is hopeless is the worst sort of lynching.” Carter G. Woodson made this statement referencing the miseducation of black students in America in his…

  • Black voices, black Pride: the introduction

    CAMERON ALFORD | CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST Black students hold a certain level of significance to being Black at Butler, which creates a natural stigma about our place on campus. You cannot legitimately move forward if you do not know your history. Black students fall victim to many false stereotypes, categorizations, a lack of cultural awareness and…

  • Racism takes a toll

    Racism takes a toll

    Dr. Terri Jett | tjett@butler.edu | Guest Column When I first started teaching here at Butler University, I brought my children to campus so they could see my new office in Jordan Hall.  When we entered the building, my son, who was seven years old at the time, said to me, “Wow, you work in…

  • He’s not your accessory

    ANNIE DEVOE | adevoe@butler.edu | Contributing Columnist The wind was filled with the savory smell of grilled food and beer, while music and loud cheers echoed between Hinkle Fieldhouse and the Butler Bowl. I looked around, past my little brother and best friend, and found myself surrounded by hundreds of new and familiar faces. All of them…

  • Comfort at a cost

    Comfort at a cost

    JUSTINA KAISER | jakaiser@butler.edu | Contributing Columnist For an environment dedicated to future success, many Butler University students look a little too comfortable. Some students dress professionally, but, unless a group presentation is at stake, most appear to dress down rather than up. Students shuffle past in T-shirts and jeans. Some professors share the same…

  • Valerie wants you! To be a diversity advocate

    VALERIE DAVIDSON | vdavidso@butler.edu | Guest Columnist From Butler University’s humble beginning, its leaders have believed that education should offer a global commons where all people can meet with respect and tolerance to foster individual aspirations and fashion a common destiny. In 1855, when race was considered an insuperable marker of superiority and inferiority, when women…