Sis. Maneshkona-Shontae speaks out #3
December 15, 1995
The Director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, who was the chosen leader for the ALANA community was taken out and as a result, many students who are activists at OMA have been pushed to the point of saying -- forget it, I am going to give up or this fight is not worth it or forget these people. I know that the administration´s decision, along with the Board of Trustees, in taking out Anthony Chavez was to neutralize, to stop, the student activism on campus.
The ALANA community knows why their leader was taken out. As a result, of taking out our leader, many people thought that because Anthony was gone everything was going to okay because they don´t have their leader anymore and OMA is in disarray so we can forget about them. But that is not what happened -- this summer nor this semester.
Then, I think, well Shontae, it´s not them. If they get fired or they leave, then new people come in, the system doesn´t change, the machine is still the same. They are just part of the system. But that doesn´t mean that they can´t be held accountable. And, that´s what we have been doing this whole year. That is like the word for the year -- accountable. ALANA students have been asking that since February -- "Who is accountable?" Not many people have come to the table and said, "This. You can hold me accountable for this."
What needs to happen for me to end my hunger strike?
1. The current Office of Multicultural Affairs Director must leave. Douglas Samuels is not listening, he has his own agenda, and he should not have been chosen. If he cannot leave because of contract or legal reasons, then Lufuno Tshikororo needs to be made a Co-Director. She needs to have a position in which she can do her stuff within OMA and around this community and be able to work as a director. Douglas Samuels represents Dean Batt and the Administration who want to make the Center "more inclusive" which means they want to make it more white. OMA has been there for a purpose. Douglas Samuels changing that is going to mean something for the rest of the ALANA students who are first year and second year.
2. Immediate implementation of the OMA Mission Statement drafted by the ALANA students in October of this year.
3. Acknowledgment that Shontae Praileau´s reality or experience at UVM is the experience of many people of color at UVM and backing it up with action. This should be done by re-visiting the 1988 and 1991 takeover agreements. This must be done with an outside mediator, ALANA community representatives chosen by the ALANA community, and the administration. There must be dates assigned that these need to be completed. If those deadlines aren´t met than action needs to be taken. What will be the consequences?
4. The Board of Trustees need to know about and agree to all these actions. From now and into the future, the ALANA students have more than an input, they need to have a power base. Meaning, next semester when they start the search for the Director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the ALANA students should have a majority vote on the search committee. The students on the search committee must be selected by the ALANA community.
5. Implement the ALANA Student Bill of Rights that was drafted in the Summer of 1995. This should be done with ALANA students selected by the ALANA community and the administration with an outside mediator and a timeline for completion. This needs to be done immediately.
6. The Commission on Racial Justice and Multicultural Education is reinstated with the 1995-96 membership. The Provost should not be able to execute such power just because he doesn´t like what the commission has done.
This is a beginning....
The SunFather to Geronimo
"I see that you possess strong legs and that you have a brave heart for fighting, and that your arms are strong. Yet I wonder if you live in shadow or sun...She who bore you will bear you up, and I who forged you will give you power."
Shontae Praileau loves her people.
[This message was transcribed from an audio tape by Judy A. Ashley at the request of Maneshkona-Shontae Praileau.]
