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Show Friday, October 20, 2000 THE SIGNPOST Page 5 Boooie helps WSU remember the Titans By Mark Gray news editor The Signpost As Herman Boone began speaking to students, faculty and community members at Weber State University Wednesday, he said he didn't know if he could measure up to past speakers like Martin Luther King III, Christopher Reeve and Jesse Jackson, but he did. The crowd of nearly 500 listened intently to Boone as he spoke about diversity, personal experiences and a little movie called "Remember the Titans." Boone, the real-life coach of the Titans, said diversity is who we are as individuals and soon "you will face people of different cultures and you must be prepared to face this." Boone is no stranger to different cultures. In 1971 he became the coach of a newly integrated team in Alexandria, Va. Racial tensions were high as white students had to work with black students and black students had to work with white students in order to win. When Boone was told that that he needed to make the 92 players on the team like 'each other, he thought it couldn't be done. "The whites didn't like the fact I was black and black kids didn't like the fact I wasn't black enough," he said. Whites also resented him because he took over a coaching job that many believed should have gone to Bill Yoast, 1Q ( I V i " 1 1 W ': S - "r t la Herman Boone autographs a paper for Brad Cook who atteneded because he wanted to hear a motiva tional speaker. Boone's eventual assistant, a more qualified coach with more seniority. And Yoast was white. After the team put its color differences aside, they went on to win the state championship. "We molded a group of angry, unfocused boys into a dynamic, winning football team," he said. They brought a town together that was torn apart by prejudice and racism, he said. During the hour speech, Boone's no-nonsense attitude was evident. He also showed a fun-loving, likable side telling jokes about the "little people" and saying things like "My name is Herman Boone and yes, I am better looking that Denzel Washington." He went on to say where there is diversity, there are going to be problems. He said the problem hovers over your head like a dark cloud. "We must honor and respect the diversity that exists in our world ... or else we will fall of this earth ... Because of diversity we are a striven nation today," he said. "Never look down at an individual unless you look down to pick them up. "If more corporations had more diversity, discrimination would be a thing of the past," he said. 'There is still much work to be done. "The best way I know to help you is to share my experiences," he said. He talked about the infamous bus ride and the two-week football camp at "the cradle of freedom" Gettysburg, Penn., that was depicted in the film. "Although they hated it," he said of the bus ride, Thirty years later they tell me that experience was an experience of a lifetime." He said he made whites and blacks sit by each other on that bus so they would learn to respect each other. He wanted them to respect each other's color, see Titans page 1 1 Find out which hits to see... which bombs to miss. The Signpost movie reviews. ..in the A&E section! RAILING-ROUND, DECKING, Buy Direct from Utah Mill & Save!! Example: 1 2' long x 3' tali railing section (posts 6' o.c.) $107.27! Satterwhite Log Homes toll free 1-888-882-4645 - fax (435) 528-5003 Wefcw State University Department of Performing Arts presents VOU'RE A 600D MAN, cm -THE BKOADUIAVMUSICA music, book & lyrics by Clark Gesner Directed by Ken Plain Why is TIAA-CREF the 1 choice nationwide? The TIAA-CREF Advantage. Year in and year out, employees at education and research institutions have turned to TIAA-CREF. 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