No-show white panelists say a lack of adequate prior notice and other commitments prevented them from attending a BROTHERS-sponsored discussion.

But their absence is pushing some of NIU’s black community to feel like they were blown-off—again.

Student Association President Robert McCormack and Campus Activities Board President Wendy Reid were scheduled panelists for “Should Blacks and Whites Be Educated Separately?” on Tuesday. Neither could attend. They were the only white members slated for the seven-member panel.

“It could be expected because white participation at the meetings of black organizations has always been low,” said audience member Michelle Buchanen. “We want both opinions.”

“It’s like we get the brush-off,” said Sheila Emery after attending the discussion.

But McCormack and Reid said they didn’t mean to leave the panel high and dry.

McCormack said discussion mediator Michael Bonds invited him Friday to be a panelist. McCormack told Bonds he would try to attend, but had a busy schedule and could not promise anything. Monday, McCormack left a phone message and sent Bonds a memo telling him he could not make it because of other academic commitments.

“I sent a memo thanking them for the invitation, but explaining that I would be unable to make it,” McCormack said. He said he did not send a replacement because he didn’t know if other panel members or SA members were participating.

Reid said she attempted to contact Bonds several times to notify him that she could not attend and would seek a replacement.

“If they had let us know a week earlier, I could have brought it up at our meeting and found a replacement,” Reid said. She said that CAB is making a special effort to recruit minorities and encourage their participation. “We need a diverse board.”

The forum, which was to run without the influence of a BROTHERS position, started with a panel and audience chant of the African Pledge.