Hook:
- Stories of students and faculty feeling alienated and out of place due to the color of their skin or where they come from.
- Samia
- Benji
- PRCC Director – Carlos Wiley
- Penn State is satisfied with meeting the bare minimum requirements of diversity initiatives
- This is symbolized in our long standing love of yelling the “we are” chant which represents a time when the Penn State football team welcomed the first black college athletes. However, at the same time, black students were required to live in a separate, segregated, off-campus location. In short, we have always been and still are numb to the real story of people of color at Penn State. We stop after checking off the boxes instead of digging into the real struggle and disadvantage of the black community in “Happy Valley.”
transition into →
Context and Historical background
Recent history of racism and issues of race relations at PSU
- Demographics of admissions
- Compare to other universities
- Deliberate how widespread of an issue this is
- Mention affirmative action as an effective means of fighting the issue – but not enough
- Express sentiment “if you lower the bar enough, you can always clear it.”
THESIS:
Penn State not only fails to meet its diversity initiatives, but needs to improve upon its current requirements to create a more welcoming campus for people of color.
Breakdown of Issue Brief:
Breakdown current diversity plan of 2016-2020:
Goal #1: Create a Welcoming and Inclusive Campus Climate
- In what ways is campus not welcoming and inclusive
Goal #2: Advance and Build a Diverse Student Body
- Statistics to prove that we are not diverse
- Pick up on narratives from introduction
Goal #3: Advance and Build a Diverse Workforce and Management
- statistics
- Use paper written by professor on what it means to be black at PSU
Goal #4: Develop a Curriculum That Fosters United States and International Cultural Competencies
- Not sure on this one yet
Analyze the success of SMART:
- To assist in the recruitment of underrepresented student populations.
- To assist the Penn State community, faculty, staff and support services with developing positive relationships within the diverse student body.
- To increase retention and graduation rates of minorities by incorporating the use of workshops and conferences focused on student success.
- Luis and Victoria
- Two students recruited by SMART
- How effective was it?
- How did scholarship play a role?
- Two students recruited by SMART
- How can SMART be expanded to increase its effect
- Compare to other diversity programs at schools across the country
Reports and Opinions on PSU Diversity
- ranked at #1,453 in the nation (College Factual)
- Dr. Errol A. Henderson reports of racism and discrimination
- “why from 2010-16 did black students graduate from Penn State at a rate of 70.5 percent when their white counterparts graduated at 87.5 percent?”
Conclusion:
- Positive note on the growth and inclusion improvements of the past
-
- Where we are with gender diversity has come along way → we can have hope in doing the same with racial diversity here at PSU
- Dr. Errol A. Henderson report quote
https://news.psu.edu/story/555134/2019/01/21/campus-life/martin-luther-king-jr-rec-hall-jan-21-1965