Tuesday, November 09, 1999
Blacks at UC focus on finishing
'Rite of passage' events this week
BY ALLEN HOWARD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Black students planning to enter the University of Cincinnati and stay in school will see how Ida Rhodes did it in 1919. And how Georgia Elizabeth Beasley did it in 1925.
Through a program called Kuamka, African-American UC freshmen will be shown examples of how some of the earliest black legends were able to enroll and stay in school. Kuamka is Swahili and means “in the beginning.”
The weeklong program runs through Sunday. It is designed to provide black freshmen with a formal rite of passage into higher education, said Stacy Downing, program coordinator for UC's African-American Cultural and Research Center (AACRC).
“We want to do something to address the high attrition rate of African-American students,” Ms. Downing said.
Since 1989, the average dropout rate for UC African-American students after the first year of college has been 37.7 percent in UC's selective-admissions colleges, such as College of Arts and Design, Engineering, and College Conservatory of Music.
In the open access colleges, such as University College, the dropout rate was 45.7 percent in the same period.
The overall dropout rate was lower: 26.2 percent in the selective-admissions colleges and 40.4 percent in the open access colleges.
A highlight of the Kuamka program will be a Living Legends Symposium from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.
Mrs. Beasley will be among the honorees. She said staying in school and finishing is part of the program of living.
“When you enter school, your mission is to finish,” said the 96-year-old Silverton woman. Mrs. Beasley retired from teaching in the Cincinnati Public Schools system in 1966 after 41 years.
“If you don't get yourself prepared, you can't go anywhere in life. If you are in school, you need to know what is right — and the right thing is stay in school and finish. If the "in' thing is not right, don't do it.”
Others honored will be Mrs. Rhodes, Class of '19; Theodore M. Berry, class of '28, a graduate of the UC College of Law in 1931 and the first black mayor of Cincinnati; former Mayor Dwight Tillery, Councilman Tyrone Yates, and Donald and Marian Spencer.
The free symposium will be held at AACRC.
FEATURED AT KUAMKA
Highlights of the Kuamka program:
• An address by rap singer Sister Souljah at 7 p.m. Friday at Zimmer Auditorium. Admission charge is $12. Her 1992 rap album, 360 Degrees of Power, catapulted her to national attention. She has written an autobiography, No Disrespect and a novel, The Coldest Winter Ever.
• New Beginnings, an open forum of students discussing college life, noon to 2 p.m. to day, Room 402 at Tangeman University Center. Free.
• Introduction of Miss Kuamka candidates, open forum and jazz performance, 7-9 p.m. today, AACRC, free.
• Lunch and Lyrics, noon to 2 p.m. Wednesday, AACRC, free. Food is served free.
• Beautiful Black Expressions, a talent competition for Miss Kuamka, 7 p.m. Wednesday in Great Hall at UC, free.
• Red, Black, Green and Gold Ball and Rites of Passage Ceremony, 7 p.m. Saturday, at Kingsgate Conference Center Ballroom, 151 Goodman Drive, UC Medical School campus. Admission $20.
• AACRC Choir Performance, 5 p.m. Sunday at AACRC. $5 in advance. $6 day of event.
Tickets for UC students are $25 for all events or $15 for Rites of Passage ceremony only. Call 556-1177.
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