Obama to be center of Neal-Marshall panel dicussion

While the country heads to the voting booths for the midterm elections, the first week of November also marks two years since Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States.

To reflect on the past two years, the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, in collaboration with the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies, will present a panel discussion called “The Obama Presidency at Midterm: The Perils and Prospects of a Post Racial Presidency” at 7 p.m. today in the Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center 152.

“As we’re approaching midterm, it’s time to gauge how the president is doing,” said Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center graduate assistant Muhammad Saahir. “It’s time to see if he’s meeting his agenda, or is worthy to be re-elected.”

The forum is part of the center’s “Critical Issues Forum,” a series of panel discussions the center sponsors once every semester.

June Evans, also a graduate assistant at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, said she thinks it is necessary to look critically at the presidency so far, but that the discussion will not be biased.

“It’s important to have a discourse,” she said. “We’re going to be looking at both the cons as well as the pros to see where the president’s going and where he’s been.”

To ensure the discussion reflects a wide range of opinions, Saahir said the panelists were carefully chosen to represent different disciplines and perspectives.

The panel consists of two undergraduate students, one from AAADS and another from the Kelley School of Business, as well as a graduate student and professors from AAADS, religious studies, English and history departments.

“We wanted a diverse panel reflecting different ages, political leanings and AAADS affiliation,” Saahir said. “We wanted a wide array of voices with a host of students and professors and to see who disagrees, who agrees and why.”

The forum’s moderator, the director of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, professor Audrey T. McCluskey, said one of the main issues to be addressed concerns the administration and its public reception in terms of race.

“A key question will be whether the media and public discourse have attempted to define the Obama presidency in racial terms,” McCluskey said.

Saahir said he is hoping for a good turnout and that the crowd will have as wide range of opinions as the panel members.

“Come with an open mind,” he said. “See what you can come away with and what you can add to the conversation.”