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Lecture by national expert on campus climate and racism, Oct. 23

National bestseller and renowned speaker Lawrence Ross will present on campus climate and racism on college campuses on Monday, October 23, in the CUB Auditorium at 6 p.m., hosted by the National Pan-Hellenic Council at WSU.

Mr. Ross will speak on hostile campus environments and the lived experiences students of color encounter as a result of micro and macroaggressions. His most recent book, Blackballed: The Black and White Politics of Race on Americas Campuses, tackles the historical and contemporary issues surrounding campus racism.  The event is open to all and will feature a Q & A session as well as a book signing.

From Harvard to Berkeley, Missouri to Oklahoma, over 200 colleges and universities found themselves square in the eye of the campus racism storm over the past few years. Tired of dealing with racist fraternity and sorority theme parties, nooses on statues, and racial micro-aggressions, students of color are demanding that their schools create an educational environment that is not hostile, but supports them. Where did this campus racism come from, and what’s the history behind it? More importantly, where are we going?

Lawrence Ross, member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and the author of the Los Angeles Times best seller, The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities, also has written written regular pieces for CNN.com, The Grio, The Root, Ebony.com, and USA Today.

The event is sponsored in part by the Office of the President, Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs, the Black Student Union, YWCA of WSU, College of Education, Department of Sociology, Department of Critical Culture, Gender and Race Studies, and the Center for Fraternity and Sorority Life.

Questions should be directed to the Center for Fraternity and Sorority Life at gogreek@wsu.edu.