In a lecture that drew crowds of maximum capacity yesterday, Mary Lefkowitz said she would like to see people study ancient African cultures more instead of just acting on issues.

Lefkowitz said this during a lecture in Casa Real in the Aztec Center titled, “The Origins of Greek Civilization: The Afrocentric Theory”

The lecture dealt with Afro-Egyptian influence on Greek civilization.

She said anti-Semitic attacks are made on her at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where she is the Mellon Professor of humanities.

“Students and community members have different visions and perspectives about this (Afrocentric Theory),” Lefkowitz said. Some people think her book is nonsense and have different perspectives on the Afrocentric Theory.

Before the lecture began, students from the Black Student Union of Mesa College held signs stating, “Reality is that humans originated in Africa,” and “Black studies gives the consciousness of the fact that Europe denied and deformed black history in order to deny and diminish black humanity.”

“The purpose of protesting with the signs is to support black students from the Afrocentrism perspective and to challenge the power structure from Lefkowitz,” said Adrian Jones, a member of the BSU at Mesa.

Unfortunately, many students, faculty and community members were not able to get into the room to hear the lecture.

“We didn’t know it would be this popular,” said Public Safety Officer Manilito Cavarlex. “We have orders not to let any more people in because the room has reached maximum capacity.”

When the doors were closed 10 minutes before the lecture began, students were upset that they would miss the lecture.

Marshall Greene, vice president of the Afrikan Student Union at San Diego State University, said, “They should have had a bigger room. We wanted to hear her story and now have no chance to.”

Students wanted to know Lefkowitz’s theory to make up their minds about the issue of Afrocentric theory.

“I want to hear what she has to say, to hear both sides of the story,” said Jimmy Betofe, a biology student at SDSU.

He said he was planning to go to Khallid Muhammad’s lecture later in the evening to listen to his message titled “Not Out of Europe.”

Some students and community members were allowed to enter the building an hour after the lecture started when seats opened up inside.

“I ask people to read my book and draw their own conclusions,” said Lefkowitz.

She said she is responding to all the criticism she receives from her books “Not Out of Africa” and “Black Athena Revisited” in a new paperback book.

“Only 10 percent of history is facts and we need to discuss facts and theory to distinguish between history and theory,” she said.

Lefkowitz has written nine books including a study of the poet Pindar, women in Greco-Roman antiquity and the two books mentioned above.