Fifteen years ago this month a group of sixty students led by the Black Student Union held a sit-in in the UNH President’s office. They refused to leave until the president met with them and signed off on a list of requests aimed to improve campus climate for students of color. On the evening of December 3rd several UNH alums (the BSU organizers of the sit-in) will return to campus to join us in recognizing the anniversary of the sit-in and to partake in a dialogue with current students, staff, and faculty comparing campus climate then and now. I am reaching out to you as important allies to invite you to the event, which is Tuesday, December 3rd, at 5pm in the Strafford Room in the Memorial Union Building (MUB). It is being organized by the Black Student Union and Race and Ethnic Studies. As part of the event we will take a look at the list of objectives the BSU presented the University in 1998, including these three that I think might be of particular interest to you: 1. A Black student population of 300 students by the year 2004, adding approximately 50 students each year starting in the year 2000. 2. There will be no fewer than a total of 10 Black tenure track faculty by the year 2003; as well as no fewer than two Black visiting scholars per year through 2003. 3. The university is committed to support curricula that address the fields of Race, Culture, Power, and African American Studies. In 2013 our black student population is under 200, we still struggle to recruit and retain faculty of color, and are currently at work to institutionalize race and ethnic studies at UNH. Although many strides have been made to make UNH more diverse, inclusive, and equitable this event will be an excellent opportunity to examine what we still need to accomplish.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 18:09:51 +0000