A piece of Hillman

There are a whole lot of white folks at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Library. \nThis is a good thing.\nBut I can't help but to be concerned. Sitting amidst the bohemians, ballerinas and script chasers -- many I presume are students from the Theatre and Drama Centers -- I can't help but wonder "where, oh, where have the black folks gone?"\nToday a gaggle of scholars, students and administrators from various university black culture centers will convene right here on the IU-Bloomington campus for a four-day national conference of the Association for Black Culture Centers. \nThis means that in between sessions like "Acquiring Empowerment and Self-Identity through African-American History" and "Hip-Hop and Political Activism," these folks, just like I did, will probably wonder, "Where, oh, where are the black folks?" The naïve freshman that I once was, the idea of a black culture center spawned visions of what I'd like to call "the Hillman Experience."\n"Hillman?" you ask.\nHillman, my friend, just happens to be the fictional, historically-black alma mater of Dr. Heathcliffe Huxtable, himself. \nMaybe your bedtime began somewhere in that half-hour after "The Cosby Show." And, maybe, instead of jocking the idea of college life at Hillman a la "A Different World", you were hugged up with a GloWorm under your New Kids on the Block comforter.\nThat's okay. \nBut for people like me, who chose not to attend a historically black college or university but dreamed of one day sharing ideas and space with similarly brown, education-pursuing individuals, like themselves, the observable scarcity of black students at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center (NMBCC) during the day can be quite the hurter.\nLike the Indiana state legislators who coughed up $21 million in government funding to build the Center, many might say my desire to study and socialize with other black people at an African-American culture center represents separatism -- therefore promoting the very thing that hinders diversity. \nRacial diversity is in fact a beautiful thing -- but it's my argument that the Culture Center's statement that "hey, black people have a presence on this campus" supports the idea but is weakened when, oftentimes, there are so few black students studying in its library or hanging out in its lounges. \nClass after class of feeling like a chocolate chip lodged in the middle of a sugar cookie makes a homegirl want to retreat to the Neal-Marshall for a little black people fraternization. Am I alone?\nGiving credit where credit's due, just the other night the Black Student Union hosted an event in the Grand Hall involving pizza and poll results. And last week, I enjoyed the regular "Harambee" discussion with a side of wings.\nDedicated in January 2001, the Marcellus Neal and Frances Marshall Black Culture Center began its mission to promote "academic excellence through quality cultural and social programs that promote awareness about the Black experience ..."\nAnd I think the Neal-Marshall does that. \nBut as one faculty member said soon after the Center opened its doors, "The students make the magic."\nThat was two years ago, and unless I missed it, I'm asking "where's the magic ya'll?"\nSome folks said that they're used to attending NMBCC events during the evening but don't think of studying at the center during the day.\nAnd like the Center's director, Oyibo Afoaku, said soon after the Center opened, the NMBCC's formal design and limited hours can make it seem off-limits.\nBut, come on ya'll, the Neal Marshall was meant to be a black student's home away from home. The Center's named after IU's first black male and female graduates - two people who couldn't even live on the school's campus during their time here.\nIf we don't owe it to ourselves to visit -- we at least owe it to them.