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Title
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Donna Maxey Easter oral history recording
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Description
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An audio recording of an oral history of Donna Maxey Easter, Pacific University Class of 1970, recounting memories of her time at Pacific as a college student. The main topic of the interview is what her everyday experiences were like as a very social and involved African American woman in college from 1964-1970. Specific topics include: her first impressions of Pacific; becoming Secretary of the Freshman Class; socializing and dating; winning competitions such as the Omega Epsilon Phi Sweetheart contest; being loud and social as a library worker and being fired for it; what it was like coming to Pacific from Jefferson High School in Portland; being naive about sex and feeling embarrassed in class; memories of professors such as Dr. Prince (English), Dr. Roberts (Biology), and Dr. McVicker (Education); learning to study as a freshman for her Elementary Education degree and getting help from her dorm mates; having to dissect a frog and a rat in Biology; becoming a Boxerette; the value of a Pacific education; reactions to her interracial marriage when she and her husband Steve Pomerantz, who was white and Jewish, got married while they were students at Pacific; the mixed feelings she had about joining the Black Student Union because she wanted her husband to be able to join too; protests during the Vietnam War; being reprimanded as a Student Teacher for attending a protest during a school day and Pacific's lack of support for her at the time; working in the cafeteria and interacting with Auntie Edna (who would later be the Hawaiian Club advisor); the many other campus jobs that she held; receiving financial aid due to her father's poor health; dealing with prejudice from a staff member in Pacific's financial aid department; recalling how her father had been unable to get work as a teacher in Portland because he was Black; and working in Pacific's kitchen and watching a baker who always smoked while making pastries.
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This is one of a group of recordings made during a reunion in October, 2024. The recording is accompanied by a transcript.
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Identifier
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PUA_OH_55
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Creator
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Easter, Donna Maxey
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Date
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2024
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Date Created
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Oct. 2024
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Extent
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1 audio file (41 min.)
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Spatial Coverage
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Forest Grove, Oregon
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Format
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MP3
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Contributor
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Johnson-Riley, Jenny
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Is Part Of
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Pacific University Archives Memory Lab
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Subject
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Pacific University
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Student activities
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African American college students
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Source
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Pacific University Archives
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Language
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English
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Rights
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http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
