New student group focuses on unity

In a powerful demonstration of symbolism, Vice President of Academic Support and Diversity Charlie Nelms pulled out a rope and began to tie it around his waist.\n"When those miners in Pennsylvania were trapped, they decided they were all going to live, or they were all going to die," Nelms said as he bound himself and some students to the rope. "We have to commit ourselves to each other's success. That's the pact I am asking you to sign."\nTuesday night, in a show of unity, over 30 of IU's African-American male students, faculty and staff took that pact to support each other until graduation.\nThe pact, written by Nelms, was the beginning activity of the Forum and Reception for Black Males, a program put on by Brother's Keeper, a new campus organization for African-American males.\nThe inspiration for the organization formed when a group of students took a summer course called "Afro-American Men in Secondary Education," taught by Ph.D. candidate VaShaun Harper, who is now the advisor to the group.\nJunior Matthew Booker, one of the students who took the class, said IU should do more to increase the retention rate for all minorities, not just black males.\n"I think (IU) works hard to get them here, but I think they need to do more to retain them," Booker said.\nMany of the night's participants shared Booker's concerns.\n"A lot of black men come down here and they are put in an environment outside their comfort zone," said junior Justin Hayes.\nAccording to statistics presented at the forum, only 4 percent of college students are African-American men, a figure that is not in pace with the national African-American population percentage, and only one out of three African-American men who enter college eventually graduate.\nFreshman Reggie Harmon said the problem may lie in the adverse educational circumstances many African-American men from the inner city neighborhoods face before college. \n"Our educational systems are not equivalent to the white institutions," Harmon said. "There are roadblocks in the way that purposely hold us back."\nJunior Brian Burt said there is a need to mentor young black men. \n"I believe there are a lack of positive black male images for us to see," Burt said.\nSenior Jacob Hughes echoed Burt's concerns.\n"A lot of black men can't see past their street corners, what's in front of their homes," Hughes said.\nStories of struggle to finish college were also told at the forum. Junior Aaron Officer said he has six brothers and sisters who never graduated from high school. Second-year continuing studies student Carlo Amani said he at one time held seven jobs to pay for his and his family's expenses.\nHarper said getting African-American men to stay in college is even harder than getting them there to begin with. \n"Getting here is one one-hundredth of the battle," Harper said. "Staying here is more difficult, more work."\nFor that, Nelms and others said hard work is the only way to get through.\n"Life has never been a crystal stair for black people, and we have to resign ourselves to that fact," Nelms said. "But we have to use our obstacles as stepping stones."\nSophomore Bryan Chatfield said he knows all about the workload.\n"You gotta have some backbone and some heart," Chatfield said. "It gets hard"