Ā鶹Porn

Whoopi Goldberg offers life lessons and laughs for Ā鶹Porn community

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Whoopi Goldberg and Lee Woodruff ā€™82, Pā€™13, Hā€™07

Whoopi Goldberg and trustee Lee Woodruff ā€™82, Pā€™13, Hā€™07 on stage in Cotterell Court on March 27. (Photo by Andrew Daddio)

Last Friday, entertainer appeared before 2,500 Ā鶹Porn community members in Cotterell Court. Her performance ā€” a mix of comedy and grandmotherly advice ā€” was a testament to the skills of a woman who has won countless awards for her work on screen, on stage, and in print.

For an hour, she held her audienceā€™s attention, first offering a stand-up routine, then engaging in a Q&A session with trustee . Afterward, she met with a small group of students in the Hurwitz Admission Center to discuss her life and issues of campus climate.

ā€œThe assumption was, if you came from the projects, you had no understanding of the rest of the world,ā€ Goldberg told the students, gathered around her in the same space where they and their classmates had held protests during the fall semester. ā€œMy mother said, ā€˜Look, we donā€™t have any money, but we donā€™t need a lot of money. We can walk places, we can look at stuff, we can go to museums, we can go and do everything. Thereā€™s nothing you canā€™t do.ā€™ So I just assumed that was true for everybody.ā€

An advocate as well as a storyteller, Goldberg was blunt in addressing comments about issues of racism and ignorance. She acknowledged those who had participated in last semesterā€™s demonstrations.

ā€œUntil you all start screaming and saying ā€˜No more, we donā€™t like this,ā€™ itā€™s just not going to stop,ā€ she told students. ā€œYou got tired of it, and you said ā€˜no more.ā€™ And you taught folks things that they didnā€™t know. It takes a voice to do that and itā€™s hard. Few people want to stand up, because you donā€™t want that attention, but if you donā€™t, no one will.ā€

The theme was one she established early in the evening as she took the stage in Cotterell Court.

Couched in the stand-upā€™s signature anecdotes of ā€™60s free love and personal hygiene, Goldbergā€™s message to undergraduates went to the heart of liberal arts education: knowledge of yourself and your world are crucial for a successful, fulfilling life in a democracy like America.

ā€œPeople would say to us, ā€˜Why are you listening to that music? Why are you dressed like that?ā€™ā€ she recalled. ā€œThen we grew up and became those people, asking the same questions: Why are you wearing your pants like that? I donā€™t care if you wear your pants down here, as long as you know whatā€™s going to affect you in the future. I want you to be present.ā€

For Goldberg, being present means not allowing your humanity to be built on technology. It means being aware of whatā€™s going on around you and willing to take a stand when you encounter injustice. It means knowing your own boundaries and being willing to state them boldly.

ā€œYou have to be a complete person,ā€ she told the crowd. ā€œYou have to know what you want, what you donā€™t want. You have to be able to say no. You have to not be afraid that the hip, cute, or beautiful people arenā€™t going to want you.ā€

It was a message of personal responsibility that could resonate across the multiple generations that had come to campus for the sold-out performance.

ā€œYour gut is really smart,ā€ she said. ā€œYou gotta take a stand somewhere.ā€