An outrage brewing on a historically black campus has put Nikole Churchill right in the center of the saga.

Churchill is definitely not your typical Hampton University student. Churchill is a 22-year-old nursing major who has an Italian mother and a father from Guam.

Churchill was one of about 35 students who applied to compete in the competition during the spring semester, and one of the 10 selected to compete after she turned in the application.

Churchill platform was about the need to mentor girls between the ages of 11 and 14 on topics including self-esteem, body images, and nutrition.

The Miss HU pageant grew out of the former homecoming queen, in which students voted for the winner.

However, the pageant winner is selected by judges and is automatically selected to serve as the university’s homecoming queen.

Like the other contestants, Churchill answered about her cause and the judges were impressed with how she articulated her words so abruptly.

Five people, including two certified by the Miss Virginia competition, which leads to the Miss America pageant, judged this year’s pageant.

The other judges were Joan Gentry, an HU counselor for freshman studies; Lorraine Bell, an HU music professor; and Henry Mills, a senior vice president at Old Point National Bank.

It was a milestone at Hampton that Churchill became the first non-black student to win on October 9, 2009.

However, after she won several people decided to walk out because they were furious that a non-black student had received the title for the 15th Annul Miss HU scholarship pageant.

What happen to the “appreciation?”

The school has a requirement that states that they must have “an appreciation for other cultures.”

Personally, I think some people are oblivious to the fact that this could be an opportunity for people to see that Hampton is moving forward and it might encourage other minorities at HBCUs to run for a high status like this.

Why do African-Americans at HBCUs feel like they have to be in charge of everything? This is obviously closed-minded thinking because as a matter of fact we need diversity, because without it we could not survive.

People just generally made their judgment to quickly and probably did not observe the qualities that Churchill acquired.

I believe that this young lady should have the right to be judge by the content of her character instead of the color of her skin.

We, as African-Americans, should know not to judge someone based on his or her color due to past issues we have undergone.

After receiving racial comments, Churchill took action by sending a letter to President Obama, outlining her concerns.

For instance, “it truly was the best night of my life!

With that being said, 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.”

I understand why she went to President Obama because he is currently being scrutinized for his position as President of the United States.

However, I do believe that they are other avenues that Churchill could have taken instead of writing a letter to President Obama.

Churchill could have written a letter to the chancellor of Hampton or possibly a local official in the state of Virginia. 

Overall, those who made racial comments about Churchill should take a look at themselves because they are not just representing themselves; they are representing the entire campus.

I thought this was the year for change, not the year for us to step back, but maybe some need to do just that.

Step back and take a look at themselves because their actions are clearly pushing their race back.

• Chelsea King