Who is Eronomy Smith?

You may have seen him in the caf, questioning the quality of your dining experience. If not, then you may have seen him in the financial aid office, demanding to speak to someone's supervisor. Perhaps you have just seen him walking purposefully around campus to some business unbeknownst to you. If you still can not remember him, perhaps you will remember the dissociation notices posted in every major office and building on campus, publicly denouncing his affiliation with the university and his right to speak on it's behalf.Who is he? He is Minister Eronomy Mohammed- Smith and there are many controversies surrounding him and his involvement with the university.

One such controversy is the question as to whether or not Minister Mohammed ever attended Fayetteville State. While it is true that Minister Mohammed is not a member of the FSU Alumni Association because he did not graduate from FSU, you can find his picture in the 1966, 1967, and 1968 yearbook showing that he did attend the university his sophomore, freshmen and junior year. According to Minister Mohammed, "Alumni are those individuals who go to the institution. After you go there for a year you are part of the alumni association, so when I see you all know, I have no problem with anyone as a student. I try to let them know that they are part of the family too." Minister Mohammed claims that he gets his concept of the alumni family from older bronco alumni: "The ones who taught me to care for FSU are 80 and 90 years old now. We don't just love FSU, we built it, and a family must love and take care of one another."

Another issue surrounding Minister Mohammed is the claims made by some students that he is racist against non blacks, which he denies. "I am not a racist," he declares. "Some of my most dependable friends are white millionaires. People are misled when they hear me make statements about black pride and black history, but Caucasians who really care understand pride. It motivates you to protect what belongs to you."

Minister Mohammed has been heard saying to students on a number of occasions that he is "trying to get us a new chancellor." His apparent issues seem to be with alleged hiring and firing practices concerning African American staff members. But our current chancellor is not the only one who Minister Mohammed has attempted to unseat. He also had a problem with Dr. Loyd Hackley because of recruitment tactics aimed at diversifying the student body. Minister Mohammed claims that he has no problem with diversity; it's just too much too soon. "If you give away the advantage you have as African Americans people will turn on you," he says. "When you're competing, if people think they have an advantage over you they will get rid of you.

When asked about the dissociation notices put out by the local Muslim Mosque, or the Masjid Omar Ibn Say'yid, Minister Mohammed claims that the minister who put out the notices against him was fired for alleged misappropriation of funds. Representatives from the mosque were unavailable to confirm or deny this account.

When asked about reasons behind the dissociation notices put out by FSU, Minister Mohammed feels that it is more of an administrative decision. "I have faculty that support me; half are with me and half are not," he states. "I have neighbors and friends who were deans, administrators and teachers when I was a student and they don't have a problem, they just ask 'Why?'"

So why does Minister Mohammed feel the need to associate himself with the university? He says, "Dr. Seabrook was my neighbor and after he was president he used to come by and check on the university because he cared so much. I do it because of my loyalty to the FSU family."

Nonetheless, we can not ignore the fact that Minister Mohammed continually insists on speaking on behalf of the Alumni Association when he is not officially part of the association. One argument is that students are misled into thinking that he can solve all their problems, when in fact he has no real power at the university. He admits, however, that he has no real power: "I don't have any power, but I have friends and I go to them with the truth and they bring about change."

Minister Mohammed attributes many of the changes that have taken place on campus as his doing. Many may have heard him speak of the things that he has helped establish. He expresses involvement in getting rid of Shaw Foods, establishing the fountain in front of the student center, and says that he was in charge of the Alumni Museum in the Chick Building. He also speaks of being instrumental in many changes that have taken place in the community such as the redevelopment of downtown Fayetteville and Murchison Road, to name a few. While Minister Mohammed has an impressive knowledge of events that have taken place on our campus and in our community, it is difficult, if not impossible, to confirm or deny his level of involvement in these activities.

Whatever the case may be, Minister Mohammed has been coming back to check on FSU since he arrived back from the Vietnam War in 1971, and says that he will continue to do so. "When the FSU family is united and taken care of, and nobody is starving, it is a win-win situation. It's a real Family