De’Arbreya Lee
Staff Writer
Jackson State University’s Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists hosted a panel discussion on the theme “The Generation is Not Lost: Stories of Positive Change.”
The panel discussion, which took place at in the College of Liberal Arts Building, was sponsored by the Division of International Studies, GAGE Inc., and the departments of Mass Communications, English and Modern Foreign Languages, Political Science, and Entrepreneurship.
JSU Instructor of English Noel Didla, explains the reasons why the panelists were selected and how these panelist prove that the generation is not lost, but a found generation.
“I wanted students to see diversity, to understand how diverse we are,” said Didla. “We wanted students to hear from various young professionals, graduates and undergraduates who range from local to global,” said Didla.
One of the panelists was New York Times reporter Ron Nixon, a Lauderdale, Miss. native.
“I think that the generation is not lost. What happens is that each succeeding generation builds its own myths,” said Nixon. “It leaves an infusion of new blood, to show what the world is like now.”
Nixon, who has written many articles on international and governmental affairs, stated that the media’s role throughout history was very powerful.
“Media is considered the first draft of history. With that being said, that gives you a tremendous amount of power to affect what people perceive about the world in which they live in,” said Nixon.
George Chuck Patterson, coordinator for community outreach and student services at Tougaloo College, told the audience of a question he often asks his friends and others, ‘Is the Historically Black College disconnected from the community in which it resides?’
His results show that 52 percent of those who answered that poll felt that there was a disconnection between the two.
Patterson explained what Tougaloo College’s 21st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) does to involve students, faculty, and business figures in the community.
“We put all of them in a room, and we try to change the lifestyle and the mindset of Capital City Alternative schools,” said Patterson. “We have to be involved in the community in which we live in.”
Leniece Davis, a JSU political science visiting professor, discussed the importance of power, knowledge and social media in this generation.
“I think that it is very important that young people become knowledgeable about the political system,” said Davis. “You guys are the most plugged in generation of our time. Social media can be used to inform, to organize and to mobilize.”
She also stressed the importance of using all informative outlets, such as books, internet and newspapers, in order to be properly suited in the political arena.
“As a parent, I’m concerned about whose going to be running my country when I’m too old to run it. That’s going to be you all…I have faith and believe that you can,” said Davis. “You have to believe to persuade people, to change things, to open doors, to kick down some doors. That is your power. You should use that power, for good and not for evil.”
International students shared how the youth in their native countries impacted the political revolutions.
“When they [the youth] wanted liberation and freedom, they called for it, they fought for it and they got it,” said Hanen Abboud Obiedat, a JSU political science graduate student from Tunisia, Africa.
Talia Kolas, a senior political science major who came to the United States as a political refugee from Cuba, shared the many ways that American and Cuban youth differ in terms of human rights.
“The youth in Cuba have never voted,” said Kolas. It was only a year ago that the government allowed the people to have a cell phone and now, less than 5 percent of the Cuban population has access to the internet,” said Kolas.
Both Obiedat and Kolas stressed the radical actions among protesters, along with struggles of their countries and urged students to appreciate the human rights that are allowed in America.
“This freedom, you have it but if you don’t fight for it, sadly it just goes away,” said Kolas.
