SOUNDING BOARD

How Many Blacks Are Accepted And Come To BYU?

By Pierre Hathaway

Special Events Editor

Editor, Sounding Board:

Recently, BYU has been the target of much criticism across the nation for its supposed negative attitude toward Negro entertainers and students. Several influential people, including top stars, have been instrumental in this controversy, apparently through their own misunderstanding or ignorance. Because of the attention focused on the problem many BYU students, especially those from out of state, will in all likelihood be confronted with it sometime during their association with this school. We feel that to be armed with the facts is consistent with Mormon tradition, and would therefore appreciate yoour publishing a list of thoese Negroew who have been invited to perform on campus, and more significantly, the number of American Negroes who apply for admission and the percentage of those accepted.

Fredric R. Van Wert

Michael Harroun

RESPONSE

There is no way to tell the number of Negroes applying to the University as there is no place to put race on the application form. Dean Siddoway said all applications are evaluated on the merit of the information contained therein. As race is not indicated, it is not considered.

President Wilkinson issued a statement to the newspapers a while back concerning some controversy over Negro entertainers. In his statement he listed as having performed at BYU the following: Veronica Tyler, Adele Addison, Rhoda Jordan, Robert McFerrin, Shirley Verrett, Lawrence Winters, The Jubilee Singers, Leontyne Price and Marian Anderson. Louis Armstrong was scheduled to be the Homecoming entertainment; however, he was in the hospital and couldn't come.

Sounding Board.