Wednesday, April 15, 2015 // The Statement
13B
Austin McCoy by: James Brennan, Daily Opinion Columnist
Khris Sanchez by: Natalie Gadbois, Deputy Statement Editor
Will Royster by: Grace Hamilton, Daily Arts Writer
sonality
have
commanded
the
respect of both students and facul-
ty, engaging in wide-ranging work
but rarely advertising it. McCoy has
been a key voice in the United Coali-
tion for Racial Justice, which last
year organized an all night speak
out on issues of race, attended by
almost 1,000 students. Along with
#BBUM, the UCRJ has shifted both
the conversation on campus and the
attitude of the administration when
it comes to race.
“The reason people have so
much respect for his leadership in
the community is he never extends
beyond his role,” said Countryman,
who also co-chairs McCoy’s dis-
sertation committee. “He’s trying
to bring voices that are not his own
into the process. The irony of it is
he gets propelled further into lead-
ership because he’s so principled
about not reaching beyond where
he stands.”
This year, McCoy has been at
the center of students organizing
against racial profiling and police
violence, the reverberations of his
and others’ work being felt through-
out Ann Arbor.
On the night of the grand jury
announcement,
McCoy
sat
in
silence with others watching Presi-
dent Barack Obama speak, a split
screen showing tear gas pour into
the streets of Ferguson. Earlier that
fall, McCoy marched through those
same streets, a helicopter overhead.
The next night, he felt himself back
in Ferguson, hearing the propellers
of a helicopter as he faced a massive
crowd on the Diag.
“I remember just looking up, and
I couldn’t see anything but people,”
McCoy said, recalling his speech at
that night’s march. “I had done a lot
of public speaking, I had never spo-
ken at a march or anything like this,
with this many people.”
Blending his scholarship and
activism, McCoy told the crowd
that the decision felt like a provoca-
tion for action, that the failures of
the justice system were not inde-
pendent of America’s other debts.
“I remember as soon as I was
finished, I just started crying, I was
just bawling,” McCoy said. A grin
came on his face, and he laughed
describing how he fell into the arms
of a nearby protester. “I was done …
emotionally I was just spent.”
But he wasn’t alone.
Hundreds of demonstrators shut
down the streets of Ann Arbor,
the march propelling the activist
group Ann Arbor to Ferguson, MO.
Naturally, McCoy has been involved
there as well, raising awareness
about local policing issues like the
shooting of Ann Arbor resident
Aura Rosser.
Somehow, McCoy has found
time to work on his dissertation,
which he hopes to complete by next
winter. His studies focus on the
economic decline of cities during
the seventies and eighties and the
response by progressive activists.
Countryman believes the research
will be “a major contribution to the
history of the 20th century in the
Midwest.”
And what comes next for Mccoy?
“Any predictions would be lim-
iting,” Countryman, his professor
and interviewer, said.
McCoy said he plans to enter
the job market sometime next year,
with a tenure track position as his
top priority. But, McCoy pivoted
with a laugh, “I don’t know if I will
ever not be able to be an organizer
or an activist.”
As a child, he dreamt of being a doc-
tor, of helping people.
“My mother said to me ‘Get an
education. Make sure you make the
most of the opportunities you have
and give back,’ ” Royster said.
His skills in math and science led
him to pursue engineering once he
arrived at the University. Royster
tutored, served as a research assis-
tant, and was also a part of the var-
sity wrestling team. Still, he felt as
though his passion lied elsewhere.
“I spent a lot of time trying
to align my passion with my tal-
ent and work ethic. When you put
those things in the same place you
can start to do incredible things to
help people, to make this campus
better,” he said.
He switched to African Ameri-
can Studies and Entrepreneurship.
With this shift came an even stron-
ger sense of obligation to give back
and explore new ways of doing so.
Royster turned to music and poetry
in addition to activism.
“We all have our narrative, and
every person’s narrative deserves to
be heard, every person’s narrative
can add substance to another per-
son. I have a lot of stories of hard-
ship but I also have a lot of great
moments in life. If I have the skill to
share them, then I have to, it’s not
really a choice,” he said. “I feel like
once we get to that point where we
feel like were obligated to give back,
that’s when you really hit that point
of ownership of your skills, and you
can serve.”
Central Student Government,
Royster believes, is one important
place where these narratives can be
shared and collaboration can grow,
but it’s certainly not the only place.
Despite The Team’s narrow loss in
the elections, Royster’s commit-
ment to building unity on campus
and increasing the volume of every
student’s voice has only grown.
“So many communities and so
many people joined to help in the
process; it was life changing,” he
said.
Collaboration, as opposed to com-
petition, is something Royster would
like to see increase on campus.
“We’re all diverse in some way,
whether it’s diversity of ideas, eth-
nicity, ability, but we all got here for
different reasons. When we start to
share and understand our narra-
tives of diversity, we start to have
that collaboration that we all strive
for, that we want and the University
wants,” he said.
Lot’s of people profess these
kinds of hopes for progress; few
actually do anything. Royster’s
candidness in his words and com-
mitment to action is evident even in
our time together. Royster is heart,
mind and body in the event of the
day and the 41 students inside.
The quote on the shirt was spo-
ken at Royster’s high school gradu-
ation. It captures an outlook on
life and on work that seemed to be
already deeply ingrained within
him. That is, graciousness for those
people and opportunities that
remind us of our strength, and the
privileged obligation we have to
give back.
also belongs to the Lambda Theta
Phi Latin fraternity, sings in the
a capella group Kopitonez, is a
member of the College Advising
Corps through the Center for Edu-
cational Outreach, and owns his
own photography business.
Sanchez recalls vividly the
moment he first learned the power
his music held for others: as a first
grader performing in a talent com-
petition.
“I go on stage, and when I sang
my first note all the way to the end
it was quiet for about ten seconds,
and I thought ‘Maybe I did a bad
job.’ But then everyone stood up
and they started clapping so loud.”
With a laugh he recounts
another memorable part of the
evening: two eighth grade girls
approaching
him
and
kissing
each of his cheeks. But it’s evident
that Sanchez is not in music for
the recognition. As a vocal major
who specializes in opera, Sanchez
readily admits that his medium is
not the most popular for someone
our age.
He shows the same drive for
his operatic future that he does in
his other activities. His plan for
the future clearly maps out the
next decade and a half of his life:
hopefully vocal grad school at the
University, studying and perform-
ing opera in Italy, then the same
in Germany, before returning to
his homeland of Peru to open a
music conservatory for children.
This part of the plan was inspired
by seeing his mom’s own acts of
goodwill in a small Peruvian vil-
lage, bringing suitcases full of
clothing for the children there.
“My mom was so giving, so
heartfelt, and I wanted to do that.
Instead of doing that through
clothes, I wanted to do it through
music,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez’
many
interests
coalesced in the most recent
project he spearheaded, a music
show called Phenom that took
place March 14 in the Mendels-
sohn Theater. Sanchez has always
found vitality in furthering diver-
sity on campus, and this event
did that through music, bringing
together fifteen multicultural per-
formance groups on campus to
promote cultural consciousness
as well as raise awareness for the
Lymphoma and Leukemia Society.
Sanchez lost his father to lym-
phoma this past December, and
the support he and his family
received after this event prompted
him to find his own way to give
back. Through chance, he came
into contact with a family here in
an Ann Arbor with a child suffer-
ing from leukemia, and the pro-
ceeds from the event were donated
to offset their medical bills.
While it’s obvious that Sanchez
has a wide array of talents and
causes, one of the most impressive
things about him is his constant
optimism. He admits to singing on
University busses and in exchange
for burritos at Panchero’s, literally
booming with warmth and pas-
sion. This all ties back to his par-
ents’ sacrifices so he could have a
better life.
“Family. You can have a lot of
friends, but they come and go.
But family will be with you even
in your hardest moments. And
friends who were with me during
those times, they are considered
family… Without love and support
from family, I don’t know how you
can go far in life.”