Photo: Ashley Balcerzak
Over 100 students gathered in McCormick Auditorium last night for a panel discussion on race and discrimination with President Morton Schapiro, Provost Dan Linzer, Dean of Students Burgwell Howard, and Vice President of Student Affairs Patricia Telles-Irvin. Students presented five ideas to improve diversity at Northwestern: Introducing a racial or social inequality-based distribution requirement, hiring a Chief Diversity Officer, increasing minority enrollment, improving the resources available through the Multicultural Students Affairs department, and releasing an official “diversity report” on the state of race at Northwestern. Tensions ran high during the three-hour long meeting, with students sharing their discontent and administrators defending their past actions while also promising more change. Check out the best quotes from last night after the jump.
Schapiro, on university materials that show many minority students:
“I don’t want anybody to lie or misrepresent Northwestern but in academia we’re much better at selling diversity than actually representing it.”
Schapiro, on the lack of communication between students and faculty about racial incidents:
“If there are more bad things that happen than we ever hear about, that’s proof that it’s not working. We might have a lot of places to go to (for students to report these incidents) but people might not feel comfortable to come to me or anyone else up here about it. It’s incumbent on us to lower the stakes.”
Schapiro, on taking responsibility:
“There’s no higher priority for me. You might not believe it but it’s true. If we don’t get to create the community during my presence, the community that we all envision, then it’s my fault. I’m going to work as hard as I possibly can. It’s a privilege to be president but if I can’t pull it off you should get a better president who can.”
Junior Will Bloom, responding to a remark from Linzer that course offerings, like the Middle Eastern studies program, are based off student demand:
“While we can say that undergrads will be listened to on what the course offerings will be, that’s just not the history of this institution. We can talk about Asian American Studies or African American Studies now because students in the ‘60s took over the Bursar’s Office because no one would listen to them. We have Asian American Studies because students staged a multi-week hunger strike because no one would listen to them. While it’s great for us to talk about these things, I’m not really seeing that students wouldn’t have to take these actions again to see things changed.”
Senior James Brooks, on how minorities feel unwelcome here:
“With the things I’ve had to go through to get this diploma, if you want to ask me if I advocate an inner-city African American male coming to Northwestern University, I would honestly tell you no.”
For James Brooks to say that is a goddamn disgrace! An education is one of the most powerful things on the face of this planet and if you can’t suck up the prejudice that you’ll face trying to get that, then you don’t deserve it. I hope he never has the chance to dissuade young, minority boys from getting an education because of his own lack of strength!
Pen, I know James personally and I can tell you that he’s not speaking out of a lack of strength. As a matter of fact, James has had to go through quite a bit to be where he is, and for him to be able to stand up and be as blatantly honest as he was with some of the most powerful people at NU shows a great deal of strength. So for you to say that is 1) ignorant as all hell and 2) proof that you haven’t even tried to think of the situation James, or any other minority student is in at this school.
Let me break it down for you, because it seems as though you lack knowledge of the matter. Being black (or asian, or latino or any minority) is a daily struggle. Daily. We unfortunately live in a white man’s world where anything other than white is just that – other. Moreover, minority people especially Blacks and Latinos are not supposed to perform on the same level as our White counterparts academically, especially. So to come to Northwestern, one of the best schools in the nation, backlash and opposition are especially present. Now this animosity comes from many places – from our peers who think we’re substandard because they think we were accepted into the school under affirmative action not because of our smarts; from other minorities at home or elsewhere who think we’re “acting white” because we give a damn about our education; and most importantly from society at large who fears an educated person of color. Hell, look at all the crap Obama had to go through!
You see, the struggles that we face should not even exist, and the fact that we’re here and we’re trying to make this struggle nonexistent at NU as much as possible is quite the opposite of weak. James was only speaking out of hurt and anger. He deserves his education here just as much as you do and anyone else who worked hard to get into this institution. All James is saying is that he would rather not see a young brother have to go through what he had to go through and become jaded towards people like yourself in the way that he did.
C – you have no clue who you’re talking to and I stand by my initial statement. You are horribly wrong about so much, though.
And I want you to tell me what “this struggle” at NU for minorities is.
Pen, I’m really interested in seeing what you think I’m wrong about. So please, enlighten me.
Also, there are many struggles that minority students face, too many name. But this link has a recent example of one: http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/10074. You yourself said that there is a prejudice that must be faced when trying to get a diploma. Facing prejudice is a STRUGGLE.
This forum would not have existed if the minority experience at NU was a walk in the park. The fact that students felt the need to address the problems that they are facing because of race shows that there is indeed a struggle. A struggle to be seen as equal to their white peers and to not have race detrimentally effect the NU experience, but rather, enhance it.
Listen, C – there is racism and prejudice EVERYWHERE. You can’t blame NU for the fact that racism exists.
Pen, I’m well aware of that, and I’m not blaming NU at all. I never once said that.
NU as a whole must assume responsibility of being the place that we pride ourselves of being: A place that does not show discrimination towards race, origin, religion, creed, etc. So while racism unfortunately exists everywhere, we should try to do any and everything possible to ensure that instances of racism are as few as possible here.
Now, I would rather not waste my time going back and forth with you. I have much better things to do. Clearly you are set on your opinion and I on mine. So let’s agree to disagree.
People are going to be racist, no matter what the university does. Face it.
You’re wrong. I agree to think you’re an idiot.