All this talk about mistreatment at these universities got me wondering if I was clueless of my own oppression or if I just got lucky.

I went to school in racist ass Texas (2005-2010) and never got called nigger (although we did have plenty of confed flags. I mean, this IS Texas). My teachers treated me more than fairly, and I never felt unsafe or uncomfortable.

Our Black Student Association never got the opportunity to get mad about anything because nothing worthwhile ever happened. The occasional racist flare up was just shrugged off as random events not worth our attention.

So has the landscape drastically changed just recently? Are students more aware/care more? Are they more sensitive? Do they just want to be a part of something and are just riding the momentum?

nm

http://www.richmond.com/news/local/city-of-richmond/article_4a05d70e-99fe-539f-9097-8415205caafd.html

Black students take over VCU's president's office to demand changes

A group of black Virginia Commonwealth University student activists marched into the school president’s office Thursday morning to demand the university increase the number of black professors and offer more cultural training on campus.
The students, about 30 in all, took over the first floor of the office on Franklin Street about 10 a.m., blocking the entrance and offices on the first floor as well as disrupting daily work.
What followed was not a protest rife with tension or safety concerns but an open and frank conversation with VCU President Michael Rao about the problems the black students they say confront at VCU.

“I’m really glad you’re here. I think it’s important for there to be some sense that our students see a lot of what’s going on, that our students acknowledge it and are willing to talk about it,” Rao said.

The students' main concern is a lack of black professors at VCU. They say they deal with educators who don’t understand their cultural concerns or the experiences driving their thoughts and world view.

VCU says 5 percent of its professors are black. That’s equal to the national average, according to The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.
In addition to concerns about what’s happening inside classrooms, the students said they feel like outsiders on campus. VCU’s student body is 15 percent black.

“You can go a whole four years talking to white people, being taught by white people and not having anything to do with black people,” sophomore Reyna Smith said.
The students, several of whom were scheduled to meet with Rao at 11 a.m., entered the building Thursday morning after marching across campus and up Franklin Street chanting “No justice, no peace.”

Once inside the office, they read from a prepared letter expressing their solidarity with student protesters at the main campus of the University of Missouri and from a list of changes they are demanding from VCU officials.

Staff members allowed the students to peacefully read their letter and demands. Brian Shaw, senior executive director in Rao's office, then took the list of the demands and offered the students a chance to meet with Rao an hour early.

The students, sitting down and occupying most of the first floor, declined to leave or to reschedule the appointment.
Rao came downstairs a few minutes later and talked with the students for more than two hours.

The efforts of Rao, his staff and the students themselves defused what easily could have become a nasty standoff.
The students told Rao about feeling alienated at a place where they turned to improve their future. Several said they were angry, hurt and feel abandoned by the university.

Rao sympathized and encouraged them to talk about their concerns.
He told them that their issues are not a complete surprise and that VCU is taking steps to bring more black professors into the university. The university hired eight black professors between last school year and this school year.

Still, he said, it must be acknowledged that black students have a unique perspective and that the university needs to work to bring about fundamental change.
“Students of color can’t take on the burden themselves,” Rao said. He added later, “I very much have the same vision for VCU. I think there’s greater capacity to do what we know we need to do for all fellow human beings, and it needs to be a model for the rest of the nation.”

Among the students’ demands are for VCU to double the number of black faculty members to 10 percent of the total number of professors by 2017, to have at least one of every three candidates interviewing for a faculty position be black, and to create a position to make sure the policies are being implemented.

The students also demand the creation of a cultural competency course for all students and the hiring of an ombudsman so students have someone who will relate to their experiences and concerns.
The students also want to see an increase in funding for cultural organizations and events on campus.

Shayla Sanders, a senior at VCU who took part Thursday, said the issues the students are confronting aren’t simply about themselves. She said having more black professors would benefit all students because of the point of view those professors will bring.

Sanders, and other students, said the idea is to give everyone an opportunity to learn and experience things outside of their cultural comfort zones.
“You really don’t learn about black people at VCU,” she said. “That’s why I think we should go out of our way … to have a transformational experience and have these conversations.”
Thursday’s takeover of the president’s office is the second time black students have rallied this week. About 200 gathered at the university Wednesday.

The demonstrations at VCU follow student-led protests at the University of Missouri, which led to the abrupt resignation Monday of the university’s president, Tim Wolfe, over his administration’s handling of racial complaints.

“As black students at a (predominantly white university) located in the capital of what was once the Confederacy, what the black students at Mizzou are currently experiencing could someday be VCU if further progressive action is not taken,” Attalah Shabazz said, reading from the letter.

Rao, in an email to students and faculty members following Wednesday’s rally, said the university took the concerns seriously and would hold a forum on diversity and inclusion next week.
On Thursday, he invited the students sitting in his office to play a role in the forum and said his staff would work to get them excused from class.

The two sides also agreed to meet again, including gathering in February to discuss progress on the students’ demands.
“I have very little doubt at all about many of the things that people are talking about because sometimes you feel it," Rao said. "Sometimes, to be honest, you wonder, 'Where are the students?' ”

I dont know how I feel about this...

I applaud them for the solidarity with Mizzou. But they look like some biting ass biters right now.. lol.

I know the basketball team aint boycottin shit tho.. we trying to prove we can win without Shaka...

new coach and brand new practice facilities.... and we play Duke in a few days.

Maybe my wife should apply to be a professor at VCU? Lol

I ha e no problem with demanding more black faculty... looking at those numbers I we their point and agree with trying to get 10% black faculty by 2017/18

I was a little too focused on if they felt oppressed on campus...

There aren't enough qualified black professors out there to meet the demand these protesters are calling for.
In my field, there are so few of us that we pretty much all know each other.

From this source there are 37 tenured faculty (http://www.ksl.com/?nid=157&sid=32903617). They want to double this within two years. There might be little over 37 new faculty positions available in that span of time. They basically want all new faculty members to be black. So unreasonable and irresponsible.

The proposal that 1 out of 3 job candidates is especially unreasonable as well. Because the number of qualified black candidates is so small, this is basically just handing out token interviews to unqualified candidates. That helps no one.

This whole sit in seems rushed and forced... like they didn't really have a strong list of demands and just threw a few things together once Mizzou was in the news.

I damn sure don't believe they feel oppressed on campus tho...

15% Black
12% Asian
7% Hispanic
6% International
4% 2 or more races
50% white


Shit has been a melting pot for a while...

And difference in skill sets needed?

there were a couple incidents that I vaguely remember. One involved a class I was in. we felt like the white teacher was treating us unfairly in regards to how she answered, more so didn't answer our questions.

she'd spend a lot more time answering the white kids, but very little on our questions. it didn't blow up, but we let her know about it. nothing really changed lol

another incident involved a white frat. don't remember what they did, but the black student union had a sit in or two and I participated. I wasn't in the union or a frat, just wanted to be supportive.

and focused on some of the transition minorities go through going to a PWI
especially in engineering

gave minorities a free math class right the summer before freshman year
free room and board and books for the summer class to both get you acclumated but also to build a network of peers

as a freshman year did start you were assigned an upperclass mentor in your major

had a study hall sponsored by the minority retenrion program

never ever felt out of place

in the middle of North Philly.

It was pretty chill from what I remember

She was heated...

Based on what I see on the spanish language channels on DTV, I'm guessing "were monkeys"

especially ones in the NE
i was mostly in the CS building(s) and Fox school
which weren't that diverse in terms of AA presence
but ppl were chill

Thus I don't think that I would have fared better at an HBCU.

and i think also my entire ch-durham community was essentially a queer collective (southerners on new ground)
my fave queer couple (ever)- one was a professors and one grad student
- probably the reason im on this drph track
that chapel hill-durham community is something special altogether- havent found an equivalent anywhere else

interesting that we had such different experiences

I think that the climate was pretty queer-friendly for professors, grad students, white folks, and enough other groups to earn the school its liberal reputation. You couldn't ask for a more affirming faculty. But my sphere was predominantly among African-American undergraduate students. And it was stunning that at a school as left-leaning as UNC, at a PWI with such a relatively large Black student body, there were virtually no openly gay black undergrads on campus.

Don't get me wrong, there were TONS of queer African-American students at Carolina. From the track team to the fraternities, we were gettin it IN, lol. But it was a clandestine community. Although we socialized and hooked up with another, no one dared claim a gay/bi identity in mixed company. The intellectuality of UNC didn't change the fact that most of its black students hailed from conservative towns across North Carolina. And they brought their churchy social mores with them. There was no way that I was going to come out and risk becoming a pariah and losing most of my Baptist ass friends.

It's kind of funny that as soon as queer black students graduated from UNC, they started living more openly in the cities that they migrated to. My black gay friends from Carolina are now successful scientists, professors, lawyers and movers and shakers in industries such as finance, fashion, etc. I can't help but wonder what college would have been like for us if we weren't made, by our own community, to feel so ashamed about who we were.

But homophobia wasn't a UNC thing -- it was a Southern and an American thing. And I have no illusions that my experience would have been any better at an HBCU, especially since Carolina's Black student community was so smart and influential.

Since 1976

I attended FAMU the first two years of college and frequently went across the tracks (literally) to FSU to socialize. I don't know how it is now, this was the late 80's, but Florida State was racist as hell. Everything you might expect from a Southern PWU back then, like rebel flags and pick-up trucks full of drunk rednecks yelling "nigger".

I eventually transferred to Georgia State, and while the racial climate was a lot better, there was some tension. The only real incident was when a white frat tried to throw one of those pimps and hoes parties with folks coming in black face. This was pre-internet and social media so the only way we even knew about it was because I worked at the on campus Kinko's, and some stupid asshole actually got the flyers printed there.

college based movements. So little of my college experience prepared me for real life dealing with non-liberal white folks.

I was an all star all my life including college and grad school and then I got in the real world and learned that nobody cares. That shit was a wake up call.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

Movies I need y'all bastids to see so we can discuss:

Five Star - https://goo.gl/jBHbVv
Appropriate Behavior - http://goo.gl/isCzTM
Ma

at least that's how it seems to me.

Almost like you don't realize how American you are until you leave the country, i didn't realize how white the rest of the country was until I left my city to attend a PWI. Was an interesting learning experience.

I went to all black and Latino schools from k to 12. Grew up in the DC area when white ppl weren't jogging around NE at midnight. I grew up in a very black environment and then being around mostly white ppl and many of these white ppl never having encountered a black person or thought Black ppl were irrelevant was an eye opener. The subtle/dismissive racism was what I saw

College was the first time I EVER had a class with more than two white people in it. By that point, IDGAF about what anyone non-Black thought of me. There was some shit that occurred in school, but it was toothless (from my perspective).

I can see how a Black person that grew up dealing with racial shit would have a different perspective.

The most publicized was when the Young Conservatives thought it was a good idea to have an affirmative action bake sale.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=124735&page=1

Aside from that, one night walking home from the library, I had a group of racist assholes throw stuff at me from a truck and call me a nigger, but they didn't stop when I ran after them. In retrospect chasing them down wasn't the best idea. So, that probably worked out for the best. At any rate, I called the campus police and nothing was done.

I don't know anyone who attended a PWI and hasn't experienced this on some level. It just seems that racist behavior is common place on campuses that people think todays kids are just whining or making a mountain out of a mole hill. When in realty administration to be expelling mofos left and right. The students who do this racist shit know better....but they also know, that generally it won't be treated like a big deal.....and so every year there is an asshole dressed up Black face or scrawling nigger on a wall.




Everybody's got a lil light unda the sun....

there was that one time a Black got called 'nigger' as he rushed one of the white frats. the admins wouldn't address the issue when the black student org brought it to their attention. so we made some noise and got the media involved. the university then created a special provost position to deal w/minorities. LOL

other than that and an incident w/campus police rolling up on me on some bullshit i didn't experience any race-based 'oppression' on campus.

When Oklahoma was going through that racist fraternity stuff, they created a Vice President of Diversity.

Ithaca College is going through some protests right now. The immediate response? Appoint a Chief Diversity Officer.

It's like step one in the counter-protest cookbook lol

LOL

like: "here. when you darkies have a problem go to talk to *insert name of the new admin position* and don't bother us w/your nonsense."

...Yeah, I felt some oppression in school. From both the campus police and the town police.

- Roomate and I got pulled over on our way home (winter break). Cop went as far as trying to peel off the inspection sticker, talking about "it looks fake"
- Got harassed and chased by the town police for walking in town several times
- Got blamed for shit that the white dudes would do, like pulling the fire alarm in the dorms.
- Homey had his bike stolen, cops refused to believe that he even owned a bike in the first place
- Had the cops called on me/us for simply existing (called by some scurred non-black student, no doubt). It was obvious because the cops would make a bee-line towards me, look at me, make some small talk then bounce once they realized I was just a student.


>other than that and an incident w/campus police rolling up on
>me on some bullshit i didn't experience any race-based
>'oppression' on campus.

that school was diverse as fuck...there was a good mix of all ethnicities and backgrounds.

....my professor, who's a white Jewish rabbi, doesn't sugarcoat the racism issues this country has had for too long. Every historic period we've gone through, sooner or later he would include how non whites, especially Black people, have gotten the short end of the stick. I'm in the south, so I be all up in class wondering which one of those youngsters who come from those 'they're taking away our southern heritage' households are getting uncomfortable.




Since 1976

but for graduate school. My experiences have been mostly good, but my undergrads had a completely different perspective.

HBCU's outside of the top 5 (HU, Hampton, Spelman, Morehouse, FAMU) are just black community colleges. I learned a ton about black culture, which I appreciate. I experienced more classicism and colorism at the HBCU (light skinned, where ya parents went to school etc)

Left HBCU because of illogical over emphasis on black American social issues. I felt like I was missing out on many other elements of education. I could learn about social issues in a student group. But to spend every class talking about social issues was too much.

So I transferred to a PWI. I felt like I got a much better well rounded education in Business Writing, Global Literature, Communication, and the interaction with a global community.

I still loved the friendships from the HBCU, but many of my friends who didn't follow up with a PWI have not fared will in the job market unless they created their own business.

and you're slighting a lot of HBCUs...

You're generalizing the hell out of them really...

getting a job in their field...

granted its not a large sample size but it's large enough to call bullshit.

Going to a PWI doesn't get you a better job. Its all based on the individuals ability to network and depends on their field of work and how well they interviewed.

I'm visiting another company to finish up a project...

I always wear my NC A&T lanyard with my badge...

This person approaches me and notices the lanyard...we have conversation because he was from Greensboro and went to UNC Greensboro...

The first thing he says was..."I went to your (A&T) career fair to get this job. UNC-Greensboro didn't really help when it came to finding work"

It's all about the right fit ultimately...HBCU or PWI...but I'll put NC A&T against any institution...PWI or HBCU...it's one of the best universities in this country...

>I'm visiting another company to finish up a project...
>
>I always wear my NC A&T lanyard with my badge...
>
>This person approaches me and notices the lanyard...we have
>conversation because he was from Greensboro and went to UNC
>Greensboro...
>
>The first thing he says was..."I went to your (A&T) career
>fair to get this job. UNC-Greensboro didn't really help when
>it came to finding work"
>
>It's all about the right fit ultimately...HBCU or PWI...but
>I'll put NC A&T against any institution...PWI or HBCU...it's
>one of the best universities in this country...

No doubt, A&T produces a lot of black engineers (the most I believe). But that post was an ignorant swipe at HBCUs in general. I've met grads from most HBCUs doing big things in a wide assortment of careers. A lot of these new negroes that go to PWIs have a superiority complex (racism is a motherfucker).

The top HBCU's are producing and graduating students. I don't see A &T on this list.

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/hbcu

Overall, the academic rigor is often watered down to make the students feel good about themselves.

Instead of creating really innovative majors and areas of expertise and necessity for black students ( Health/Fitness, Music/Sports Management & Small Business Entrepreneurship) we just chase after what white schools are doing or recycle outdated black studies curriculums.

I am sure the kids you know have jobs but the kids I know are in jobs that anyone from a community college can do.

I went to both (not a top 5 HBCU) so I saw first hand what our HBCU taught us to think about. I felt like I was ten years behind when I went to the PWI. But I had great self esteem, for whatever that is worth

>The top HBCU's are producing and graduating students. I don't
>see A &T on this list.
>
>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/hbcu
>

A&T is #9

>Overall, the academic rigor is often watered down to make the
>students feel good about themselves.
>
False and racist

>Instead of creating really innovative majors and areas of
>expertise and necessity for black students ( Health/Fitness,
>Music/Sports Management & Small Business Entrepreneurship) we
>just chase after what white schools are doing or recycle
>outdated black studies curriculums.
>

False and unaware

>I am sure the kids you know have jobs but the kids I know are
>in jobs that anyone from a community college can do.
>
>I went to both (not a top 5 HBCU) so I saw first hand what our
>HBCU taught us to think about. I felt like I was ten years
>behind when I went to the PWI. But I had great self esteem,
>for whatever that is worth

I did as well and had no problem, but since you only seem to believe information from white sources check this article.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/historically-black-colleges-offer-rewards-for-those-who-finish-study-finds-1445966447

There are many HBCU's outside of the ones you listed that produce highly intelligent, productive students. How classist of you to shade community colleges. I took some amazing classes at CCP in Philly the summer after my freshman year. I had professors who graduated from Penn, Yale, and Harvard.

Nothing wrong with a community college, however it is not a complete and whole education and it is not on par with a 4 year degree. That doesn't mean that a community college student won't graduate to be a "productive" person. It just means that they will be geared towards certain careers that are reserved for lower middle class people.

HBCUs produce productive workers, not innovators. I used to work in a division that only hired HBCU grads. They were the best followers. Very few would critically think. They followed orders and were malleable because they never were taught to be independent thinkers. They wore suits, were sure to have their hair done, could code switch and maintain the face of the company.

Were they job creators, initiating new concepts, or in positions to hire other black people? NOPE. I left because I refused to be clustered with robots.

These are my observations. Why would you be offended?

>Nothing wrong with a community college, however it is not a
>complete and whole education and it is not on par with a 4
>year degree. That doesn't mean that a community college
>student won't graduate to be a "productive" person. It just
>means that they will be geared towards certain careers that
>are reserved for lower middle class people.
>
>HBCUs produce productive workers, not innovators. I used to
>work in a division that only hired HBCU grads. They were the
>best followers. Very few would critically think. They followed
>orders and were malleable because they never were taught to be
>independent thinkers. They wore suits, were sure to have their
>hair done, could code switch and maintain the face of the
>company.
>
>Were they job creators, initiating new concepts, or in
>positions to hire other black people? NOPE. I left because I
>refused to be clustered with robots.
>

most people employed fall within that description.

>These are my observations. Why would you be offended?


Because they are false and racists

most college grads are going to get a regular ass job in corporate America "if" they are lucky...

but for the most part i checked folks to the point someone told me i had the 'angry black woman' label

which is hilarious because i was literally one of two in my class and pretty well liked

i was NSBE president for 3 years and there were so few black & latino students we often joined together to do events

one year student government tried to deny/cut our funding and i went to the appeals meeting and went AWF

good times

so it's not as if i was segregated from black people
no more than i am going to work in my office today

and i had friends at NYU and NSBE as far as connecting w/ other black folks in college

I'm just curious...

race-related problems.

.

I would transfer in a heartbeat but some tough it out.

or at least that's what they say...

Scholarship money might be the only reason for me to tough it out...

It has to be a MAJOR leg up in my major to stick around...

location location location

in this country.

It was certainly the least segregated time of my life. I mean I had legit white friends then.


I think the biggest shock for me was leaving black public schools K-12, going to PWI for college and grad school, was not be prepared for how racism works in professional settings.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

Movies I need y'all bastids to see so we can discuss:

Five Star - https://goo.gl/jBHbVv
Appropriate Behavior - http://goo.gl/isCzTM
Ma

and having a few white friends doesn't mean shit when bubba and em drunk at 2AM shouting nigger from dorm rooms.

some of things my friends have told me made me question what year it is...

I can't lie... there were TONS of friendly white people. My first visit with my mom it took us 5 cars to realize these white people were waving at us...

but at 1AM on the strip on a Friday night? Man... those white kids have no chill.

I worked for intramural sports and had to ump a game of softball between 2 white frats. FUCK THAT!!

I still had a blast.. actually had too much fun but nah... those SEC schools are filled with racist assholes.

>I still had a blast.. actually had too much fun but nah...
>those SEC schools are filled with racist assholes.

My question is isn't college less oppressive then the TN area around where you were?



**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

Movies I need y'all bastids to see so we can discuss:

Five Star - https://goo.gl/jBHbVv
Appropriate Behavior - http://goo.gl/isCzTM
Ma

I get what you are saying tho...

"go to school with the otha man..
to know what he knows to know him/
and then my chances to survive is less grim"

agree or disagree?

students tho.

I wasn't as woke then as I am now & couldn't wrap my head around educators actively working against you in tertiary ed. I thought that brand of hateful sabotage stopped once one completed high school, lol I learned my lesson!

on the numbers point especially because in my year there were 2 black male full time students. shit was like they didn't even try to recruit.

But even without the outright student prejudice, u have stuff like 3% blk faculty at white schools

90+% blk professors end up at hbcus
:)

There's a row of White Fraternity houses that I must have went through a couple times with my white dormmates. I think I saw the Confederate flag a couple of times. This was in the mid-90's. Based on the recent unrest, it doesn't seem that symbols of racism have been completely eliminated from campus.

I was never the victim of outright racism in Columbia. It was my first taste of unchecked white privilege which leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Lots of microaggressions - friends telling me that students on Affirmative Action scholarships don't deserve them, teachers being less than inviting to me, being the only african-american in class, things like that.

But that being said, I made a number of white friends who I still keep in touch with on facebook.

But on a macro level, the university has had major issues embracing and making the campus climate amenable to people of color.

There is a Black Students Center on campus which may have been vandalized while I was there. There was the seemingly yearly moments where a kid would write 'Nigger' or some racially intimidating language on someone's dry erase board.

I think the reason the Mizzou situation is so troubling to whites is that they view the president being fired solely because of the incidents which happened this year when in reality, those situations were borne of conditions which were existing on the campus long before he got there.

b/c i didn't feel comfortable on campus when i visited. of all the schools i visited that's the only one where i had that feeling. i feared that the double whammy of being Black AND gay on that campus back then was going to result in too much negative drama - especially relative to the other campuses i'd seen.

i'm sad that i wasn't surprised to learn about the recent shenanigans experienced by too many Mizzou Black students.

.
.
.

Forbes currently lists it as 72% but with 14% white, and you know how some people choose to identify.

I never felt oppressed but I never felt in place. San Antonio is such a weird place. It's overwhelmingly Hispanic and oppressively so. My experience post high school was such that I left two weeks after graduating college.

For me it felt a lot like the Deep South, only with Hispanics traded for white people. You were expected to "know your place" as a Black person; and many Black people did/still do treat themselves as second class citizens in that city.

I didn't play out much for me in school because I worked so much. I'd leave class and head straight to work and then I lived at home. But there were some people that consistently had slick shit to say. There was a year where Lanier played Sam Houston (Hispanic vs Black) in the HS basketball playoffs and won and some folks kept running up to me talking about how they beat my boys.

The BSU was underwhelming, they rarely did anything, and for the most part existed as a campus clique. Most of the women joined city wide sorors and two of the more "memorable" men were some of the biggest fake Farnsworth stans I've ever come across.

I'd say the campus was reflective of the city. "Good" black people were like the ones that played for the Spurs, everyone else was not. I remember the year when the Pistond knocked off the Lakers, everyone was so happy how a team came together and beat that Kobe and his ego. When the very next year that same Pistons team played the Spurs, they were suddenly all thugs. That was/is that city. That was the campus. I'd never move back there.

It's becoming more black, but not more Black. I'm more than happy to stay in DC for the foreseeable future.

is that some new shit?

am i old as fuck?