Re: Oct. 17 article, “Opinions collide over racial discussion.”

Now is the time for candid conversations confronting the issue of race relations to take place.

This cannot be facilitated through poorly planned satirical skits at Chapel or any other venue in which students are forced to participate. In order for meaningful discourse to take place, toes must be stepped on, and opinions (no matter how offensive they may be) must be voiced in an arena that does not stifle the free exchange of ideas.

Articulation of ideas, and honest discussion is our only hope for change. No semblance of progress will take place if our supposed reconciliation is made up of apologetic prattle and pusillanimous presentations. Students, not administrators, must determine the nature of these talks of racial reconciliation, for the dynamic between races takes shape in 2007 in a way that it never has in any preceding generation.

An appreciation of this country’s tumultuous past, as well as an understanding of today’s reality should be brought to the table when trying to make congruent different ethnic groups, specifically whites and blacks.

Common Ground as it stands today is a farce and spits in the face of an advancement in the state of race relations at Abilene Christian University.

Daniel-Paul Watkins
Junior political science major from Fredricksburg, Va.
dpw04a@acu.edu