Thursday, January 23, 2014
Vol. 124, Issue 33
Obama lauds University at D.C. education conference Recent research impacts recruitment of low-income students, outreach programs Michael Drash Senior Writer
OPINION: A striking distance African-American students remain marginalized at the University Reem Hasheen Opinion Columnist
It’s 2014 and we still have to cope with blatant racial tension — something especially endemic to the University. This Monday marked a national holiday in the memory of Dr. King, a civil rights martyr, and just a week prior to it, the words “UVA HATES BLACKS” were written over the Elson Student Health sign. Bizarre, right? However, most of the University community has failed to see the absurdity of this. When I saw a picture of it taken by a friend, I immediately expected buzz — the kind of buzz that would stir up intense dialogue and critical thinking about the context in which these words were written. Much to my dismay, there was very little talk and few of my friends even bothered to read or tell others about it. In spite of the fact that the action was reported so poorly, making it seem like a minuscule issue, no one cared to reflect on the symbolism behind the words. People have instead chosen to focus on whether a white or black person
wrote the bold phrase. No matter who wrote it, or what his/her skin color is, the act expresses the reality of some sentiments toward and treatment of African-American students here. There is no scientific answer, but maybe University students are somehow disillusioned by the image and so-called “prestige” of this university, and thus get caught up in a culture that falls short of integrating people. From Greek life, to wardrobe, to student activities, many things have been racialized to either black or white. On a university level, the percentage of African-American students has significantly dropped over the years. Perhaps this is an indication that the University Admissions Office is not doing enough to draw in African-American students. What broader agenda does the University have? Why haven’t there been any serious and mandatory race/humanistic talks on grounds? People need to question these things, especially when reading a sign that says “UVA HATES BLACKS.” Why don’t we ponder the reason that the person felt so compelled to write such a thing, instead of focusing on how it is “disappointing” (as the News-
plex article covering this story suggests)? No one should pretend that racial discrimination in general (not just at U.Va.) is a myth, yet not many want to discuss why black students feel marginalized here, or why things just seem to be separated (parties, activities, friend circles, etc.). I obviously cannot speak for everyone, but as an African-bornimmigrant student, I have personally observed a striking distance between white and black students, whether it may have been deliberately created or not. My most vivid memory of racial division at the University is being turned away at a frat party on Rugby because they only allowed “hot white chicks” (yes, this was actually said to me). However, many of such experiences are lived by students on an individual/student level — not on an administration or Board of Visitors level. But there issues on the institutional level as well. I predict the Board’s recent decisions about AccessUVa will result in less diversity and fewer black students at the University.
see HASHEEN, page 4
University President Teresa Sullivan was among more than 100 college and university presidents and leaders in attendance at a higher education summit hosted by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama last Thursday. The White House meeting was organized to discuss the underrepresentation of low-income and minority students in higher education. Two University professors, Asst. Education Prof. Ben Castleman and Economics Prof. Sarah Turner, were also invited, though only Castleman attended. Many proposals were discussed throughout the summit, but speeches by the First Lady and the President highlighted the importance of early advising and aid in attracting and keeping low-income students in higher education and reiterated their dedication to the issue. “An idea that I'm particularly excited about builds on the great work that the National College Advising Corps, including the Virginia College Advising Corps, which is based at U.Va., is doing to provide individualized college advising to low-income students,” Castleman said in an email. “I'm particularly interested in ways that we can leverage interactive technologies, video chat, document sharing, etc., to make high-quality college advising available to students regardless of where they live.” The University was directly referenced during Obama’s speech as an example of a university that reaches out to low-income applicants in novel ways. “U.Va., for example, is going [to] experiment with new ways to contact high-achieving, low-income students
see SUMMIT, page 43