The regular assembly of the Black Student Alliance Monday night was dedicated to discussing and breaking down stereotypes members say affect not only black students at Iowa State, but members of the black community everywhere.

The title of the general discussion at the meeting — “Are You Black Enough?” — was geared toward specific stereotypes facing the black community and how Black Student Alliance members could take steps to overcome them.

Discussion included several generalizations of blacks; for example, that all black men are either rappers or athletes.

The wide variety of topics also included discussion of Ebonics, having “good” or “white” hair, education advancement for blacks and how members of the black community should present themselves in public.

The forum was successful in that many of the estimated 40 people in attendance had much to say about each topic.

Attendees said with decreasing financial and personal support, black organizations at Iowa State could cease to exist.

“Organizations are how black people on this campus mobilize; frankly, I’m worried about the inability to mobilize in the future,” said Marquis Jones, junior in pre-computer science.

Leonard Perry, director of minority student affairs, said it was important for groups to maintain group identities, even while developing individuality.

“What we are talking about is going further and further away from being a communal people; we are becoming more individualistic. One of the things that happens when a community breaks down is that it becomes less visible, it may even disappear,” Perry said.

The issue of Ebonics in America inspired a great deal of discussion and debate, with certain attendees supporting Ebonics as a dialect and a definition of heritage, while several others felt Ebonics has done nothing to help blacks.

Yolanda Chizanga, freshman in political science, said Ebonics can be detrimental to education.

“I was insulted when they told us Ebonics could become a second language. To me that’s like saying ‘I’m dumb, I don’t have to learn English,'” she said.

Not all of the attendees were convinced that Ebonics is a bad thing. Perry said Ebonics does have cultural and historical relevance.

“Ebonics is something that has been studied by scholars and linguistic professionals, both black and white; they have traced Ebonics back to African languages and dialects,” he said.

“We have allowed something that frames our culture to be put into the context that it is negative or bad. We can’t allow this.”

Another topic discussed at length at the meeting is how the black community stands in the ISU campus and the community as a whole.