They want a “cultural space on campus specifically dedicated to Black students” and it should be “clearly marked.” Why “clearly marked”? Because if it’s in the student center (I assume the Carl A. Field Center is the student center) they don’t want any unsuspecting non-blacks to wander in. This sort of space is not the same as affinity housing. It’s “specifically dedicated” for blacks and only blacks.
Speculating much GFG?
For reference, there are 12 colleges with >= 10% Native American students:
18.4% Alaska Pacific
15.1% East Central (OK)
23.9% Fort Lewis
11.4% Hillsdale Free Will Baptist
88.7% Institute for American Indian Arts
13.2% Montana State - Northern
22.0% Northeastern State (OK)
13.7% Rogers State
31.2% Southeastern Oklahoma State
13.0% Alaska - Fairbanks
15.0% North Carolina - Pembroke
12.0% Science and Arts (OK)
I don’t see a meaningful difference between a clearly marked space being dedicated specifically to black students and a segregated space. And to say that what they initially demanded is somehow related to what Eisgruber said he would consider is disingenuous. There are obvious differences in what was initially demanded and what came out after the sit in.
At Harvard we had a “diversity” requirement in what was then the Core. I took a class on classical Chinese poetry. I don’t object to the requirement as long as its intent is easily bypassed as it was in my case.
Sure, because these are schools that draw from a local area with a large NA population. Many of the schools on your list admit virtually every applicant and most have an African American population under 5%. Dartmouth is a national, highly competitive university, and while it may have a greater commitment to NA students than most national, highly competitive universities, the percentage of NA students who would be admitted to Dartmouth under its normal admissions process is nowhere near 10%.
Note that I was not claiming that the demand for Dartmouth to enroll >= 10% Native American students was realistic in the context of Native American people being about 1.2% of the total population. Indeed, that such a situation exists at only 12 colleges, mostly in places with high Native American populations, indicates that it is not, particularly when there is no particular reason why today’s Native American students would preferentially choose Dartmouth over other schools more than other students would (as is the case with those 12 colleges).
^Got it. Sorry if I sounded snarky, as I misunderstood your original point. :)>-
“We Demand”?? My question would be “or what?” I must admit this sounds sort of hollow to me coming from students attending one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Just about everyone else in the world would be ecstatic to have the opportunities that these students at Princeton have. What will they do if their demands aren’t met? Cry, yell, leave the school? A better approach might be to present “goals” for the university. By presenting it as a way to improve the culture of the university for minorities and all students they would seem less adversarial and petty.
It may not be novel at Princeton or Yale, but affinity housing is nothing new. As for specific areas on campus designated for African Americans or other URMs, that is nothing new either. Other than the spectacle, why did they have to protest in the president’s office?
The complication may be the universities’ residential college model, which is different from the housing model used at most colleges. Essentially the protesters are asking for an enclave within an enclave.
For comparison, Berkeley has 244 courses in fall 2015 that fulfill the American cultures requirement.
http://schedule.berkeley.edu/srchfall.html (put “AMERICAN CULTURES” in the “Additional Information” box (second to last box) and search)
Some examples of courses:
ANTHROPOLOGY 2AC Introduction to Archaeology
ANTHROPOLOGY 121AC American Material Culture
ARCHITECTURE 110AC The Social and Cultural Basis of Design
UNDERGRAD. BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 39AC Philanthropy: A Cross-Cultural Perspective
GEOGRAPHY 50AC California
GEOGRAPHY 159AC The Southern Border
DUTCH 171AC From New Amsterdam to New York: Race, Culture, and Identity in New Netherland
HISTORY 7A The United States from Settlement to Civil War
INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY 35AC Human Biological Variation
PSYCHOLOGY 167AC Stigma and Prejudice
SOCIOLOGY 111AC Sociology of the Family
It’s something of a tradition; occupying the president’s “office”. The whole point of the exercise was to get attention, and shutting down the president’s office (or school library!) is the gold standard.
By virtue of their age and locations, all of the Ivy League schools except Cornell (the new kid) probably have historical ties to slavery in some way.
I don’t know enough about this specific Princeton situation to have an opinion, but in general, I think it is good when there is a strong response to current campus racism (OU last year) and clear symbols of racism (the confederate flag).
I do get the impression that in some cases the students are acting thoughtfully, and in others, they are having a visceral reaction to something that they have not really thought through.
There need to be some thoughtful standards about what symbols and names are particularly offensive to some people. And what about men who didn’t treat women as equals. That would be most of them. And, I know I have read that Amerigo Vespucci brought slaves back to Europe, so should we rename America? May just “United States”? idk
This is a difficult issue.
Hmmm…
Any class that delves deep into mortuary art, foodways and trash disposal has my seal of approval. :-bd
“The letter goes on to demand, “Admissions Office will increase transparency about data of applicant pool. For example, how many Black, Latin@, and Native students applied, their test scores, class, etc.””
Boy, oh, boy, I don’t think they want that to be public. They have no idea what they’re getting into there.
You are a far braver person than I in choosing a poetry course.
Personally, I’d rather take a course on the history, politics, society, culture, or philosophy to fulfill that requirement. Unless it was more of a poetry appreciation course…the idea of spending the entire semester reading and analyzing every stanza/wording of a poem still sends shivers down my spine when I recalled doing so for some HS English lit classes I struggled through. 
They honestly believe that they are being discriminated in admissions by bad white people.
Smith College defends their caving to protesters demands that journalists would only be allowed to cover they protest if the pledged to write supportive stories.
Thank you for your polite remark, Katliamom. Think about it: the Princeton protest is not occurring in a vacuum. It is happening on the heels of similar incidents on other campuses and is being conducted by the same subset of the population. The theme that links these campus protests is the charge of a racist campus environment. Specific details vary, but that’s the universal assertion. There have been many complaints of feeling unsafe and demands for safe places. So when the Princeton students demand a clearly marked place designated for black students, I don’t think it’s a wrong assumption that they believe they need a safe place and asking for one. And from whom or what do they require safety? From the racists, of course. And who are the racists, according to them? White people. Therefore, it stands to reason that their designated space is designed to be white-free and for that purpose it must be clearly marked so white people don’t come in by accident. I think my comment, therefore, is logical and indicates that I have been listening to the students.