First off, I disagree with the author when he wrote that the jazz ensembles dominated the evening. The groups were definitely a tremendous display of Amherst talent, with certain solos evoking strong, positive responses from the audience. However, while the evening prided itself on the classy atmosphere which the bands helped to create, it was special because it was so clearly more than the jam session to which it was reduced.
Besides the jazz acts, I was surprised to see only two performances mentioned in the article. Among those two, Lyndsey Scott '06 gave a stirring performance of three monologues from Toni Morrison's "Beloved"-but if her reading was going to be mentioned, I felt her name could have been included, at the very least! Not that we need every single student performer's name to be listed, along with a catalogue of every single act … but neither did we need an exhaustive list of every song and artist which the jazz ensembles performed.
In fact, it was disturbing to see how selective, even inaccurate, the performance descriptions were. June Jordan's "Verbal Expression," although printed in the program, wasn't even performed. Why was that noted as a highlight of the event? Had the author stayed until the end of the evening, he may have noticed how many of the audience members were eagerly anticipating the stunning recitals given by other talented poets and singers throughout the night.
Furthermore, every year, the Black Student Union (BSU) makes a point to include student artwork as part of the program. Instead of describing Palmer Hayden's "Jeunesse" as "prominently employed as a theme at Harlem Renaissance," I felt that the student pieces which were actually displayed that night could have occupied some of the photo space on the page. (Especially since it turns out that Hayden's piece was never used in any of the publicity; the image used for the posters was Jacob Lawrence's "Celebration.") And out of the six pictures displayed, why were the three largest photos devoted to the jazz bands? Why not include photos of other acts to reflect the variety of the evening's performances?
Most of all, I was frustrated to see that one of the most moving moments of the night had been left completely unmentioned. At the end of the evening, co-emcee Valerie Fontenot '07 spoke on behalf of the 12 students who had arrived at Amherst this semester from New Orleans. She then presented the BSU with a gift to show appreciation for the Amherst community which had welcomed those who came to the campus post-Hurricane Katrina.
The parting gift was a fabulous rendering of the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York City by Jamar Simien. Fontenot had personally asked Simien, a student at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge who had been affected by Hurricane Rita, to create the piece for this particular event. Fontenot ended by saying that she hoped the artwork would be displayed in their memory in the Octagon (the traditional meeting place for BSU). It was a sweetly poignant and memorable way to conclude the evening, and unfortunately not a single word about it made it into the previous article.
Finally, while I am not saying that the author should have written only good things about the event, I felt that his criticisms about the food took up way more space than necessary in his article. Not only that, without even mentioning what food was served, his description came across as a trivial complaint ("One could have been picky and expected more of the cuisine"). Its mention also carried potentially misleading messages for readers who weren't there. From attending in past years, I've come to expect and look forward to the Harlem Renaissance menu of soul food, which is always appropriate for the occasion.
But far more importantly, as BSU Chair Stephanie Sneed '08 reminded us that evening in a lovely and well-received speech, the event is about more than getting a free meal. It's about sharing experiences, stories and paying tribute to history. From the perspective of those who worked hard to welcome anyone to join in this cultural celebration, it's unsettling and demeaning to see the event whittled down to a quarter-page food review in The Student, with only a dry list of the program and no audience feedback.
The BSU did an outstanding job this year at Harlem Renaissance. I hope that in the future The Student can serve as a better medium for representing their various efforts on campus.
Hashimoto can be reached at mjhashimoto@amherst.edu