Barnard hypocrisy? (Dorothy Height)

[calmom]

<p>Hate to bash my d’s soon to be alma mater, but this irks me. </p>

<p>If you go to the home page at [Barnard</a> College](<a href=“http://www.barnard.edu%5DBarnard”>http://www.barnard.edu), there is an announcement on the left under “Top” news:

Honorary Alumna and Medal of Distinction recipient Dorothy Height, a matriarch of the civil rights movement, dies at 98

</p>

<p>A link takes you to a page - [Barnard</a> College Newscenter](<a href=“http://www.barnard.edu/newnews/news060304c.html]Barnard”>http://www.barnard.edu/newnews/news060304c.html) - that goes into great detail about the citation of “Honorary Alumna of Barnard” give to Dorothy Height in recognition of her accomplishments in 1980.</p>

<p>Dorothy Height was an alumna of NYU. She could have been an alumna of Barnard, but in 1929, after admitting her, the Barnard administration refused to let her enroll because she was black:

A star student, the young Ms. Height applied to Barnard College and was accepted. Then, in the summer of 1929, shortly before classes began, she was summoned to New York by a Barnard dean.</p>

<p>There was a problem, the dean said. That Ms. Height had been admitted to Barnard was certain. But she could not enroll — not then, anyway. Barnard had already met its quota for Negro students that year.</p>

<p>Too distraught to call home, as she later wrote, Ms. Height did the only thing possible. Clutching her Barnard acceptance letter, she took the subway downtown to New York University. She was admitted at once, earning a bachelor’s degree in education there in 1933 and a master’s in psychology two years later.

[Dorothy</a> Height, Unsung Heroine of Civil Rights Era, Is Dead at 98 - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/21/us/21height.html]Dorothy”>http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/21/us/21height.html)</p>

<p>Back in 1929, Barnard was an equal opportunity bigot – they also refused admission to Sylva Gelbar (" Her application to Barnard College in 1929 was rejected, because “the Jewish quota was already filled.” - [Sylva</a> Gelber | Jewish Women’s Archive](<a href=“http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/gelber-sylva]Sylva”>http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/gelber-sylva) )</p>

<p>I realize that Barnard was far from unique in its practices – which extended to most Ivy League colleges as well – but I think its rather hypocritical to claim someone as an “honorary alumna” without acknowledging (and apologizing for) the abhorrent treatment of the person in the past.</p>

[502W]

<p>Barnard did apologize for its shameful treatment of Ms Height. She was very kind and gracious in her acceptance of the apology.</p>

[Determind15]

<p>Wow…just wow. They have a lot of nerve. Gosh, this kind of changes things for me.</p>

[calmom]

<p>

Barnard did apologize for its shameful treatment of Ms Height. She was very kind and gracious in her acceptance of the apology.

</p>

<p>And where is that mentioned on the Barnard web site? </p>

<p>The part that bugs me is that she died, and they’ve proclaimed her an “honorary alum” on their web site – without telling the whole story. I’m not irked at what they did in 1929, when Harvard would probably have done the same thing – and I’m not irked at their attempt to apologize in 1980. I’m irked at their current p.r. They didn’t have to do anything to mark her passing on their web site – but if they did, I think they owe her the courtesy of telling the full story.</p>

[churchmusicmom]

<p>I would strongly suggest (and you have probably done this already) e-mailing or even calling Barnard directly to ask about this. This may have been written by someone who did not in fact know the history involved. In fact, I would almost guarantee this to be true. I agree, this needs to be clarified on Barnard’s site, but my first inclination is not to assume that this is a deliberate attempt on the part of Barnard’s administration to cover anything up. It’s sloppy and inexcusable, but I do not think it’s nefarious. </p>

<p>However, I also think it would be a shame for a young woman today who is considering Barnard to NOT go there because of this. Unfortunately, if we were to do that with every institution that did something cruel and discriminatory in the past, nobody would go anywhere. It was all too common.</p>

[churchmusicmom]

<p>I just went to the Barnard site and clicked on the link to the actual citation that was read when Dorothy Height was awarded the honorary alumae status. Here is a quote:</p>

<p>

n 1980, Dr. Height accepted the College’s highest honor, the Barnard Medal of Distinction. This was a most gracious gesture on her part, and one for which we are extremely appreciative. Twenty-four years later, she is allowing us, as a community, to embrace her with this special tribute, a tribute made all the more poignant as the nation marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark school desegregation ruling, Brown vs. the Board of Education.

</p>

<p>Personally, I think they were pretty explicit in abasing themselves before her without going into gritty details which, at the time, probably both parties did not feel to be necessary. It seems to me to have been an honor which was humbly offered by Barnard and very graciously accepted by that great lady. And that is evident on Barnard’s website.</p>

[502W]

<p>[Barnard</a> College Newscenter](<a href=“http://www.barnard.edu/newnews/news060404.html]Barnard”>http://www.barnard.edu/newnews/news060404.html)
[Barnard</a> College Newscenter](<a href=“http://www.barnard.edu/newnews/news060304c.html]Barnard”>http://www.barnard.edu/newnews/news060304c.html)</p>

[churchmusicmom]

<p>Thanks, 502W.</p>

[mardad]

<p>President Spar must have gotten wind of it as well. Here is her April 20 message:
[Barnard</a> College Newscenter](<a href=“http://barnard.edu/newnews/news042010.html]Barnard”>http://barnard.edu/newnews/news042010.html)</p>

[churchmusicmom]

<p>Thanks, Mardad. That is much more of what I would have expected from Barnard.</p>

<p>How terribly sad that things were that way in the past…but how wonderfully uplifting that they were able to be rectified and forgiven down the road. We still have things to fix in this world, but we have at least come this far!</p>

[Barnardalumna]

<p>I saw this thread and felt moved to respond. As an African American Barnard alumna and former trustee, I had the honor of presenting to Dr. Height at the Barnard annual woman of color dinner (and apart from her receiving the Barnard medal) her honorary membership as a Barnard Alumna and her induction into the “Barnard Organization of Soul Sisters”. The specifics of Barnard’s retracting her admission were outlined in detail and a formal apology was made and graciously accepted by Dr. Height. I will never forget her kindness and her words that day that something that could hurt forever no longer did. The important story is that the outreach to Dr. Height was initiated by a dedicated group of students and alumna, who on learning of the slight to Dr. Height were determined that the College formally apologize and honor the Dr. There was never the slightest hesistancy on the part of the College in doing so. Dr. Height’s graciousness that day was an example to all of us. </p>

<p>The day Dr. Height died a family member called me to let me know that the acknowledgment by Barnard and more importantly the advocacy of Barnard woman on her behalf meant the world to her and the family.</p>

<p>To err is human to forgive is divine and to live long enough to see past injustices acknowledged is a blessing.</p>

<p>Nina Shaw</p>

[mythmom]

<p>Ms. Shaw: Thank you so much for that eloquent explanation. You have salved some wounds today yourself.</p>

[churchmusicmom]

<p>As a very proud and grateful mom of a Barnard alumna, I also want to add my thanks for your informative and eloquent post.</p>

[502W]

<p>[Letter</a> - Dorothy Height and an Apology From Barnard - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/opinion/lweb28height.html?scp=1&sq=barnard&st=cse]Letter”>http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/opinion/lweb28height.html?scp=1&sq=barnard&st=cse)</p>

[trollnyc]

<p>I don’t see a problem here. Barnard clearly acknowledges its mistake. She is an honorary alumna–nothing backhinded or deceitful.</p>