Spring Break
Portrayal of blacks in music to be discussed
Wendy Lopez
Daily Staff Writer
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Idealized representations of African Americans in the media will be addressed in "Images of African Americans and Issues in Sexual Health" Wednesday in the Student Union.
This is a hot topic students will be interested in, said Megan Anderson, administrative support coordinator for the Mosaic Cross Cultural Center.
Music videos will be played on a muted television screen. Lyrics may be played to support comments, said Jen Styles, nutritionist for the Student Health Center.
Featured panelists will cover how music videos portray the African American community with regards to drugs, sex, alcohol, body image, race and social class.
Guest speakers include Ruth Wilson from the African American studies department, Marlene Coach from the College of Social Work and Ramon Johnson of KSJS.
The Student Health Center is trying to get students to think about the sexual issues in music videos, said Dawn Lee, activities coordinator for the Mosaic Cross Cultural Center.
"Personally, this is going to be interesting because it deals with tough issues, and the relationship between images in music videos and sexual health issues and sexuality," Lee said.
Students should attend the event to ask questions regarding sexuality, Anderson said.
"This would be the perfect environment to talk freely about cautionary measures, and the issues that are out there," Anderson said. "Especially for those who do not know how to ask questions on this issue."
The Student Health Center is trying to get students to relate to the issues addressed in music videos, Lee said.
Because the event is a different approach to sexual health issues, it will be interesting to see what is going to go on, Lee said.
All students should attend, Styles said. Although the event is focused on African Americans, it does not mean that it is an issue that cannot be applied to other ethnicities, Styles said.
"Those who attend the forum will, hopefully, never look at music videos the same way," Lee said.
Hopefully, it will make students into critical viewers, she said.
The event is scheduled to run from noon to 1:30 p.m. on the second floor of the Student Union.
