#TalkRadio – October 1 – No Prosecution? Black Student’s Chest carved with “N” Word

SPEAKERS:

Makayla Myers
2024 TJC Alumni
Howard University Class of 2025 (@kay4pa)
Civic Leader
Youth Commissioner, Philadelphia, PA.
Vice President, PA State Conference of the NAACP Youth and College Division
BVM Canvasser
President, Black Girls Vote
Founder, Stars of Giving – Youth led volunteer organization
Voter Education Keynote Speaker, “What I Wish I Knew Foundation.”

Jayden Donald
Graduate, Bowling Green State University (Ohio)
Hosted, BGSU Votes with Representative Dontavius Jarells (D)(OH)
Former, Midwestern Assistant Regional Vice President Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Ronald E. McNair Achievement Scholar
Financial Analyst, Amazon World Store

Attorney Harold F. Pryor
Broward County, Florida State’s Attorney;
Re-Elected (Unopposed)
Leads a Staff of 462 employees
213 Prosecutors
First Black State’s Attorney in Broward County
Only Black Elected Prosecutor in the State of Florida
Past President, T.J Reddick Bar Association (Broward County’s Black Bar Association).

Dr. Joanne Frederick, LPC-DC, LCPC -MD, VA 
Known as “The Practitioner-Scholar”
Associate Professor of Counseling, George Mason University.
Dr. Frederick prepares graduate students to be professional counselors.
Specializes in anxiety, depression, relationship issues, terminal illnesses, and learning disabilities. 
Author, “Copeology” helping people deal with loss, grief, managing survivors’ guilt, and the power of prayer.
Counseling for 30 years as a University Professor, private practice
Co-founder/Executive Director of a non-profit that offers free to low-cost counseling services to the disenfranchised community.  Doctorate Degree in Education, George Washington University
Master’s Degree, Counseling Psychology from the University of Baltimore
Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, Morgan State University
Her work has been featured on ABC, Allure beauty magazine, Forbes Health, Today.com, Black News Channel, and “The Grio”  Silver Star member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Her motto is “Let’s Talk”.

BACKGROUND News Stories:
College Swimmer Allegedly Had N-Word Carved Into Body (blackenterprise.com)

Gettysburg College student being investigated for a hate crime: What we know (inquirer.com)

Gettysburg College: Swim team investigated after racial slur was etched into student’s chest | CNN

INTRODUCTION:

This Igniting Change Radio Show on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Eastern Time, entitled, “No Prosecution? Black Student’s Chest carved with “N” Word”

An African American swim team student at Gettysburg College, a predominantly white institution in Gettysburg, PA, attended an outing with his “friend” that resulted in his “friend” carving the “N-“ word into the student’s chest with a box knife.  The college did not pursue criminal charges against the assailant but persuaded the local police to allow the school to handle the matter internally.

The Gettysburg College Black Student Union issued a statement of concern for how this matter has been handled by the University, citing a lack of transparency to the student body.  Weirdly, the victim and the assailant were both suspended from the university’s swim team.  The assailant, subsequently, withdrew from the university…apparently on his own volition. 

Gettysburg College is approximately 70% white and less than 5% African American.  African American students, understandably, have voiced concerns about their safety and disparate treatment at Gettysburg College following this incident.

Interestingly, the Gettysburg Police yielded to the request of the University officials to not proceed with filing criminal charges in this matter.  The victim’s family, however, contacted the local NAACP for assistance in handling this case. 

This Igniting Change Radio show will discuss the incident at Gettysburg College with African American students, a mental health professional and an elected Prosecutor.  This show will discuss the potential psychological trauma experienced by students who experience racial hatred and the impact on the larger African American student population.  Additionally, this show will discuss the appropriateness of the university handling this matter internally rather than having the police and local prosecutor investigate and prosecute this matter.

The first segment of the show will discuss TJC’s successful activation in Cincinnati sponsoring the, “I’ll Rise & Vote” Activation Series.  TJC, along with local and national partners, registered voters at two shelters for unhoused individuals; one at the Bethany Family Shelter; the second at a Men’s Shelter.  TJC and partners also held a grill out and voter registration and activation at Winton Terrace, a challenged voter turnout community.

The subsequent segment will feature TJC alumni to discuss the Gettysburg College case along with Prosecutor Harold Pryor and Dr. Joanne Frederick, Associate Professor of Counseling at George Mason University.

QUESTIONS:

“I’ll Rise & Vote” Cincinnati (12:00 p.m. – 12:15 p.m.)

The questions included below are designed to provide a guide but are not the only possible questions, nor may they be asked in the exact same order. If a question does not have a specific name, then it is for everyone.

1. Could you please describe for our listeners the “I’ll Rise & Vote” Activation in Cincinnati?  What was the highlight for you?
2. How would you describe the reaction of the families in the Family Shelter, the Men’s Shelter and the Winton Terrace Homes Development?
3. What long term impact do you believe the activations will have on the guests of the locations and on the communities directly?
4. Many unhoused people registered to vote during the activation.  Was there any consistency or pattern you observed during the registering of the unhoused individuals?
5. Can you describe the feeling that you had as you were registering voters to vote?
6. Were there any interesting stories regarding voter registration that you encountered at the activation?
7. Tell us about the Food Trucks and the response?
8. Winton Terrace also had a “Anti Violence” March in the community led by young children, please share with our audience why this was significant?

Gettysburg College (12:15 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.)

1. Please share with our audience your reaction when you heard about the incident at Gettysburg College?
2. What was your thoughts about the university’s handling of this incident?  Both students being terminated from the swim team?
3. There appears to be a lack of transparency from the university regarding what occurred.  In fact, the Black Student Union at Gettysburg College has called on the university to be more transparent about what occurred.  Do you believe that the lack of transparency has caused additional harm, trauma, or uneasiness to the Black students at Gettysburg College?
4. Have any of you ever experienced racism at your PWI or been made aware of a racial hate act at your school? If so, how was it handled?
5. Dr. Fredricks, what impact on the black student psychological mind this incident can have on black students, faculty, staff and parents?
6. Is there an impact that the lack of action has on the white students and administration?
7. What about the parents reaction?  What do we learn or glean from the parent’s response?  The student watches the parent’s reaction, what impact does this have on the student?
8. Attorney Pryor, what role can the local prosecutor have in cases involving local universities and crime?  What if the victim in unwilling to prosecute?
9. Is there a policy with universities regarding prosecuting cases on college campuses?
10. Impact on the community at large?
11. What message is sent by the police and prosecutors to the community if cases such as this are not investigated by the police and a decision to prosecute not considered?
12. What actions should parents and high school students about to enter college, or current college students take if they are confronted with racial hatred attacks in college?
13. How do parents best prepare students for the potential racist acts that they may experience?
14. What are your parting words for our listeners?  How do they reach you for further conversation or comment?