Show Wall of Oppression Comes Down By Crystal Lowder Staff Writer Wr Salt Lake Community College students were talking all the week of April about the infamous wall as Dean Dave Richardson described it The wall a brainchild of the Peer Leadership Council was entitled The Wall of Oppression In its center were the painted words The Writing 1 O r surrounding nn on me Ine the Wall Un On vu n Burr g bricks students had written offensive names they had been called by others and phrases said to them they had found particularly particularly particularly offensive Id like to thank the students for keeping the language cleaner than they probably wanted to express added Richardson on April 10 when the wall was torn down ceremoniously Positioned right outside the east entrance of the library aller all u d t f vp es w were er ere e week w l some stu UL students ey eymet eyes J omet o the met with tears as they read descriptive words that hurt themselves themselves themselves them them- selves and so many of their friends wall if The placement of this nothing else makes it worth all so its it's right on that has happened of front of the entrance and exit the library It ought then to have been remembered for stirring i thought study and deliberation thought of the And when you things written on this wall if you youcan youcan youcan can come out of the door of the J I ff l r r p D r r D t Vi sr 1 1 fim 1 W H TI r f y WA 1 1 h t I lt 1 S1 7 t J tt It ff i o ll b Lq 7 ettl ial f j A V I I iW g f IR t Ct Rf f tai O T 0 y t J b t. t J t A w u x- x y t. t 11 tW J i W i h Ah D L y J 1 l H r N 1 01 a j n. n 7 I m F rAG 14 r o ri ii ft f l l f y r tm J i o i t m A r. r i t S fi U fi i a t i ll q h 1 Mf Ii V I F f i j m. m w I h y q Ut e AM U j j vJ f 1 Ul rJ 0 fj n 01 r ia 11 L t 1 h k L. L h wS fl VJ- VJ 1 Wi zi f Jn N. 1 9 r j y i J v r l j Mf J us 9 RO Ha Y Yu r f Sr c u l f. f Y 4 i tM A Photo By Suzanne Houghton Community College if wed we Cant Can't Lake We of and d not be stirred to lu think book entitled Why r f the d ol f words library an v uc v. v Ux U just one more time about things you haven't perhaps thought a whole lot about then you have missed the point of this wall said Reverend Dr France A. A Davis prior to the tearing down of the wall Davis recounted others' others and his own experiences with sion Slon I grew up in the and and marched with Martin Luther King Davis said In 1963 King published a Wait In T it If he Ue talked about oK nf an on experience he had in New York He was signing his books and while he was signing some demented woman placed a letter opener on his heart Stabbed him They rushed him to the hospital hospital hospital hos hos- pital and the doctor removed the letter opener from his chest and said If you had only sneezed you would have drowned in your own blood Davis continued I suggest to here at Salt you as a community dont don't rid no ot of me lIlt the kinds kin s o V that are reflected on this wall then you and I will drown in our own blood incident incident incident inci inci- Davis went on to recall an dent of his first year at the University of Utah in 1972 he Davis was told by a landlord couldn't live in a student apartment apartment apartment apart apart- after paying a 50 ment even See WALL WALLon on page 5 WALL continued from page 1 deposit In 1972 50 would be like in 2003 Davis com com- Can I remind you Utah is the thelast thelast thelast last state in the union to pass a Fair Housing Act where people can live anywhere they choose regardless of what they look like where they come from what their background is Davis asked Davis talked about author Gloria Naylors Naylor's book The Women of Brewster Place which was about women trapped behind a wall on which the other side were all the riches of life But the women were too busy fighting each other to realize it Finally a young woman woman came cameto cameto cameto to the community and said Lets tear down this wall and they grabbed pots and pans and spoons and forks and they went out and literally tore down the wall Davis said And they realized realized realized real real- they were just on the other side of all the things life prom prom- Davis concluded Its time for you and me to grab these ropes and pull down the walls that separate separate separate sep sep- arate us and keep us from full opportunity Students and faculty quickly heeded and anchored the ropes On the count of three the wall tumbled down Peer Council member Andrea Seely said The students realized what our goal was Dr Davis received his Masters of Ministry from Northwest Nazarene University and studied communications at the University of Utah There he taught Communication and Ethnic Studies later receiving a Distinguished Teacher Award from the University of Utah In 1997 Dr Davis received an honorary honorary honorary hon hon- doctorate from Seely said Once the speaker Reverend France A. A Davis started started started start start- ed talking students really seemed to be engaged in what we were doing 0 P I |