Lost in time

City Pulse was made aware of the time capsule by Ray Walsh, owner of East Lansing’s Curious Book Shop. Walsh remembered the story about the time capsule, and found the article in his personal archive. The article states that the capsule was placed in Case Hall by resident assistants and minority aids “as a way to celebrate Black History Month.” The time capsule contains articles on civil rights, photos of students and interviews with student leaders.

The capsule was placed in Case Hall room 335 at 5 p.m. on Feb. 28, 1990, with the instructions that it should be opened in exactly 25 years. The Case Hall room currently labeled room 335 is a nondescript, flexible classroom space with no such capsule in sight.

Darius Peyton, a student leader at the time the capsule was assembled, is quoted in the article. Attempts to reach Peyton through his personal website were not returned. The article also quotes Decolle McNair, then Case Hall Black Caucus president. Attempts to locate McNair have so far been unfruitful, and the Case Hall Black Caucus no longer seems to exist. The only digital evidence of the group is a dormant Twitter account (no posts since 2012) which contains a link to an abandoned Facebook group (no posts since 2010). The bio lists a  physical address of room 330 in South Case Hall, which is currently marked as the Alex Haley Commemorative Room.

Students in the article made predictions and shared hopes about the state of race relations in 2015. Some have come to pass, including that of Joe Smith, Case Hall graduate adviser.

“By the time it’s opened, I’d like to see MSU students be able to get a degree in black history,” he said. MSU now offers graduate degrees in African and African American studies.

Other predictions were not so prophetic. Smith went on to say, “According to present projections, in 25 to 50 years, enrollment will be much better for minorities. Minorities will be in the majority and white students will be in the minority.”

That trend is playing out, albeit at a slower pace, on a national scale, with the U.S. Census Bureau projecting that Caucasians will be a minority group by 2043. In terms of university enrollment, however, the chances of that prediction coming to pass are unlikely.

Using data voluntarily submitted by the university, collegeportrait.org indicates that in the fall of 2013 MSU’s student body self-identified as 69 percent white. That leaves only 30 percent for all minority groups, with 1 percent not responding. Self-identified African-American/black students made up only 7 percent of the student body.

Another unfulfilled prediction came from Peyton, who overestimated the racial tumult of the 1990s “The ‘90s will be as turbulent as the ‘60s,” said Peyton. “We’re going to go through a revolution in the next 25 years. I think we’re going to see a revolt by the oppressed against the powers that be.”

While the early ‘90s were a period of racial unrest — this article was published a full two years before the 1992 Rodney King verdict and the resulting riots — the decade certainly never rose to the levels of violence and upheaval of the 1960s.

This time capsule, were it to be found, would offer a fascinating glimpse into the state of race relations at MSU at the beginning of the 1990s. Attempts to contact student leaders and Case Hall residential staff were unreturned, and Case Hall residents couldn’t recall seeing or hearing about a time capsule. MSU’s Communications and Brand Strategy office had no knowledge of the time capsule or any plans to open it.

Do you have any clues about the time capsule or its whereabouts? Send an email to ty@lansingcitypulse.com.