Articulate, pensive and candid, John Barros '96 has created many avenues for improving race relations on campus.
In addition to his position as president of the Afro-American Society, Barros is an intern for the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program, a member of the senior society Casque and Gauntlet and a member of Paleopitus, a group of senior leaders who advise the Dean of the College and the College President.
In addition, he is a performer in the Black Underground Theatre Association and the program liaison for Cutter-Shabazz Hall.
Balancing his many responsibilities, Barros focused on the main project that lay ahead of him at the beginning of this year -- reconstructing the AAm.
Leading the AAm
Perhaps Barros' most time-consuming responsibility at the College is his job as president of the AAm.
When he ascended to the AAm presidency, Barros faced the challenge of returning stability to an organization whose leadership structure had been seriously shaken last spring.
Last year's AAm president, James Hunter '95, resigned under pressure in the wake of charges from The Dartmouth Review, the off-campus conservative weekly, that alleged Hunter was brought before the Committee on Standards to face charges of sexual assault and that Hunter was convicted of credit card fraud.
AAm Vice President Thomas Fisher '96, who has worked closely with Barros, recalled how last year's AAm "ended in controversy and in fighting."
Barros recognized that leading the AAm would be a challenge, and once he took the reins of power, he initiated an internal overhaul of the organization.
"One of the main goals of my presidency was internal cleaning-up," Barros said.
"It was something that needed to be done in order to fulfill our mission to students to act as a support and to help them excel academically," he said.
Many executives welcomed Barros' ideas to rebuild the AAm.
And under Barros' leadership, Fisher said the AAm has come a long way. Calling Barros' leadership ability "unparalleled," Fisher said he and the AAm president make a "great team," and this year's AAm is able to make careful, informed decisions.
Fisher said with a diverse mixture of men and women of different ages and backgrounds, "the productivity and peace of [the AAm] this year was inevitable."
Mia Shelton '98, AAm communications chair, said this year's AAm is "definitely more effective" than last year's, and that working with Barros has been a "very positive experience."
In his tenure as the leader of AAm, Barros said he has tried to focus on programming as well as attempting to cultivate membership by encouraging the participation of freshmen.
Citing the of number of freshmen representatives in his cabinet and the level of freshman programming available, Barros said he has tried to involve freshmen in the inner workings of the AAm because he sees a lack of freshman leadership opportunities.
Barros said he is also currently working on rewriting the AAm constitution and facilitating the dialogue of better improving gender relations within the AAm.
The AAm should "welcome students with open arms," whether or not students participate in AAm activities, Barros said.
Barros said he was happy with the direction in which AAm is headed, and added that "this year the black community has really come together."
With Black History month beginning later this week, Barros offered an invitation to students across campus to monitor the AAm bulletin. "I would like to challenge students to grow ... to take the risk and find out we are all about," he said.Work with other groups
But Barros' leadership extends well past the AAm.
This fall, he and Fisher helped initiate Men of Kilamanjaro, a group Fisher called "a forum for black men of all interests and ideas" that came together for "support, exchange of ideas and as a vehicle to reach the campus as a whole."
Catapulted into action after Barros' attendance at the Million Man March in Washington D.C. in November, the group will address issues that involve black men and their role on campus and in the world.
The Million Man March was a march on the Capitol organized by Louis Farrakhan to reaffirm the black male's commitment to the family, community, and self.
Men of Kilamanjaro, headed now by Carlos Speed '97, will attempt to address such issues as the disparity between the number of black males on campus versus the number of black females. "The group will try to understanding what is going on and to begin working on finding solutions," Barros said.
"We will look at these issues as a mature, intellectual men as a group. We really hope to bring the men within the black Greek system, upperclassmen and freshman together," he said.
Barros has also met with leaders of several affinity organizations on campus to discuss the formation of a larger minority coalition, including the presidents of Native Americans at Dartmouth and La Alianza Latina.
"One of the missions of the AAm and a goal on the agenda was to create some sort of concrete bridge with other organizations on campus," Barros said.
Barros said the mobilization of a bigger group could give the existing organizations a larger collective voice on campus, and could "potentially be a larger springboard for minorities to jump into Dartmouth."
Dartmouth and racism
Barros said he came to Dartmouth hoping he would not have to deal with racism.
Coming from a high school with high racial tension, Barros said he had hoped the academic environment at the College would be better than the one from which he came.
But he added, "There really is no escaping racism."
According to Barros, people should be more eager to fight back against racism. "Many put academics first, but racism is just as important," he said.
"We just don't talk about it," he said. "The issues involved are not being placed on the forefront and they definitely should be."
"We must not let it continue and it must be dealt with immediately," Barros continued.
