The Virginian-Pilot
©
HAMPTON
The first non-black winner of the Miss Hampton University Pageant has apologized for writing a letter to President Obama saying her win was not widely accepted on campus because she was not black.
Nikole Churchill, 22, a nursing major from Hawaii who now lives in Virginia Beach, won the pageant on Friday. She wrote a letter to the president saying “many negative comments regarding my win have been shared throughout my campus.”
She wrote that “the true reason for the disapproval was because of the color of my skin. I am not African American.” She invited Obama to come to Hampton University to help “in opening some closed minds and help share some aloha spirit throughout my campus.”
The letter sparked a debate on campus, and on Tuesday Churchill issued a statement apologizing.
“I have now come to regret writing this letter and disappointing the very students that I now represent,” she said in the statement. “I took the comments of a few and blew it out of proportion. In reality, all comments that have been directed towards me and the reception I received at the Hampton University versus Howard University football game …were genuinely supportive.”
Churchill’s mother is Italian and her father is from Guam, WVEC-TV reported. Her pageant victory marked the first time in 50 years that a Miss Hampton University at the historically-black school was not black.
Churchill studies at the school’s Virginia Beach campus, WVEC reported.
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Why can't we just take her
Why can't we just take her at her word? Y'all certainly believe her when she said there were negative comments but don't believe her when she talks about the positive comments or says she over reacted? The same student body that some of you claim are so racist are the ones that elected her. Do you think she pulled off her black mask right after the election and said "surprise! I'm white?" Sure racism exists and sure it isn't confined to one group. It's something everyone deals with in one way or another. But consider that you're painting the whole campus and in a couple of cases in prior posts essentially all people of a given skin color as racist. What do you call that? Look in the mirror people. As to her motives for her apology think on this: she was elected to represent HU for the year. Her term has just begun and the first thing she did was write that letter. How do you think that made the people who voted for her feel? My guess is that it was for those people she wrote the letter because it was for those people she wanted to be elected. But no, since this is black on white racism, you have to pile on. It's pathetic. Nothing changes.
You-go-girl !
Right on dcwbysfn22 ! She should not apologize , she is entitled to her opinion and she can write anyone she want's. We need to start speaking up about this behavior.
It must have been bad to write a letter...to POTUS!
She has a right to free speech. She exercised it.
Now the University forces her into an "apology". Somebody needs to tell her that her rights are constitutionally protected and the university or beauty queen know-nothings can't touch her. They can take away her title though. No big loss.
Typical PLANTATION MENTALITY at Hampton University. It's ingrained.
Remember the Journalism School students and Dr. Harvey with the food fiasco?
This girl got called out in front of the others and told what to do. And she did it anyway as they made an example of her.
Tragic.
Tell me how you know (if in
Tell me how you know (if in fact you do know) that anyone forced her into an apology?
applogy
Now I'm sure no one FORCED her appology, intimidated, bullied maybe, pressured, but I doubt forced. She is entitled to her own opinion. Whether anyone views it as right or wrong.
Black, White, Hawaiin, Asian, Mexican, Philipino, German, whatver your race or ethnicity, as long as we live here, we should be united as one. American. We all have freedom of speach. May that always be so.
Reverse Racism?
Am I missing something? She did get elected Miss Hampton U correct? It is not as if she attempted to participate in the pageant and was denied access because she was not black. She participated and won and now she is the first non-black individual to wear the crown of Miss Hampton U. Congratulations on a historic victory! Was she expected to be universally lauded? In any contest aren't half of the people disappointed in the result anyway? I feel bad that some of these college students do not have the couth to accept the winner but it is not like a "quota" wins you a beauty contest. It seems as if this non-Black individual has apparently been treated well enough on campus to be elected its pageant representive.
I've only read the article,
I've only read the article, the letter and the subsequent press release but my guess is the issue was her wording in the letter.
I am sad to say that my crowning was not widely accepted and many negative comments regarding my win have been shared throughout my campus.
Obviously, if she won by popular vote her win was "widely" accepted. Her mistake, if she made one, was to not make the amount and nature of the negative criticism clear in her retraction. A naive reader is left with the impression that her initial letter was dishonest, something I doubt. She likely chose to issue the detraction for the reasons she gave "to best represent HU." I see no reason to doubt or decry her motives. This incident highlights the fact that racism and prejudice are alive and well. For anyone who has lived in the commonwealth for any length of time this is hardly a surprise. Also I think it is silly to call this "reverse prejudice" or "reverse racism" as if hatred and fear of people who are different than you is the exclusive domain of one group or other.
Quick to Judge
Lets see...Ms.Churchill wins the pageant on Friday night, she attends the football game on Saturday and apparently was well received, on Sunday sends a letter to President Obama about negative comments regarding her win but states in her letter that "all comments that have been directed towards me and the reception I received at the Hampton University versus Howard University football game...were genuinely supportive", and then on Tuesday issues an apology for the letter. Hard to believe that she received that much negativity in such a short time to warrant sending a letter to the President of the United States. To Ms. Churchill, welcome to the real world. During your lifetime you will always have people that will not accept you or the things you may do, be it good or bad. You can ask President Obama about that. Enjoy your reign.
Double Standard
Give me a break. Had she been black. There would be zero "checking of facts" and we'd be having a million man march and boycotts within a week a al Duke Lacrosse, Tawana Brawley....the list goes on.
According to you, if I'm white and I experience racial hate I should just suck it up.
Letter, what letter
how is it we know she wrote a letter to the Pres