The Honors College administration finally cracked and agreed to our demands for transparency and policy reform. We forced them to look at their own failures and acknowledge the anti-Black environment they fostered. Stay sharp because we need to ensure these promises actually turn into real change on this campus.
November 6, 2020
Final supporters
Signing Instructions:
If you are a Rutgers University (New Brunswick) Honors College student, please type RUHC in the comments section.
If you are a Rutgers University (any campus) student, alumni, or faculty, please type RU in the comments section.
If you are an unaffiliated concerned person, leave the comments section blank.
For an institution claiming a commitment to racial equity, how is it possible that Black enrollment in the Honors College has seen a disturbing 82% decrease over the five years since the Honors College’s inaugural year?
The figure provided is based on estimates from previous and current Honors College students, however, it is incumbent upon the Honors College to clarify these numbers and provide transparency on the demographics of each incoming year. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the administration to answer why the rapid decrease of matriculating Black HC students is occurring and to address the issue expeditiously. While the trend expressed by this graph is indeed troubling, it becomes even more pressing when coupled with the experiences of exclusion and discrimination felt by Black students who choose to attend the Honors College.
According to student testimonies included in this document, the Honors College has created an environment where anti-Blackness, discrimination, and cultural insensitivity have been left unaddressed. We sought to further explore the structural and individual ways that anti-Blackness is perpetuated in the Honors College by conducting surveys that reflect on experiences of Honors College students. In our inquiry, we measured Black Honors College students' agreement with the following statements:
- Being in the Honors College plays a large role in my experience as a Rutgers Student.
- I feel connected to the Honors College beyond the title of HC student on my resume.
- The Honors College is a space for Black students to thrive.
- The Honors College is a culturally competent and truly inclusive space.
The responses to these statements revealed a startling lack of inclusivity within the Honors College for Black students, and a lack of support that results in Black HC scholars viewing their time in the institution as a transactional experience rather than one of community and growth.
By addressing anti-Blackness and opening the door to conversations about cultural inclusivity, we can make the Honors College a space that is truly inclusive and serves not just its Black students, but scholars from all different communities. In a letter discussing racism, justice, and community within the Honors College, the HC administration expressed their dedication to inclusivity, declaring,
“At this time, we recommit ourselves and the Honors College and we urge you all to recommit to a community based on listening and understanding, inclusion, and empathy, where all people, no matter their differences, can feel equally valued and safe. Together we can work towards setting a model for the kind of community we imagine is possible. But it will take much work, work that must not solely fall on those who most directly are harmed by the racism starkly displayed in recent weeks.”
It is our intention that this document serve as a call to action and an attempt to hold the Honors College accountable for the commitment expressed in the administration’s statement. In order to resolve these issues and create a more inclusive environment for marginalized students, this letter includes a proposal for curriculum changes centered around Cross-Cultural Competency within the Honors College.
Cross-Cultural Competency Curriculum Proposal:
First-year living-learning course requirement to be changed from Honors College Forum to Honors College Cross-Cultural Competency course. This course will teach students Cross-Cultural Competency, that is, to recognize and dismantle the subconscious discriminatory beliefs we are all programmed to have, and to address the real-life effects of those structural biases. This course would serve as a prerequisite to the Honors College Forum.
Honors College Forum to be taken only by students who have completed the prerequisite Cross-Cultural Competency course. Forum is to be substantively restructured in order to promote projects centered on local involvement by Honors College students and lessen the burden on Teaching Fellows in navigating culturally insensitive or ignorant student projects. Helpful cultural and historical information in choosing a local project will be covered in the Forum prerequisite Cross-Cultural Competency course, thereby allowing Honors College Forum to focus on presentation and writing skills.
Addition of race, inequity, and cultural engagement education requirement to be taken by Honors College students. Courses eligible to fulfill the requirement must include the study of race and/or marginalized ethnicities and cultures. Example courses related to various student career paths can be found in the addendum, however, many eligible courses will come from departments such as Africana Studies in order to promote university-wide equity.
By embracing the call to action herein, the Honors College will demonstrate its dedication to making real, equitable changes for the betterment of the Honors College and the Rutgers community at large.
The full document can be read at the following link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qdwRWhzY2figSd...
Feel free to email us with questions at [email protected]!
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
August 14, 2020
Reached 100 supporters
August 5, 2020
August 2, 2020
The Honors College administration is pretending this anti-Blackness doesn't exist while our numbers climb toward one hundred signatures. Don't let them ignore this momentum and force them to look at the reality of their exclusionary policies today.
148 Comments
racist honor college students must be held accountable and removed from the program, the honors college must do better at having representation and making it a comfortable living and academic space for their Black students.
As an incoming black member of the HC, I’m hoping to see some change come about as a result of this
This is super well-written and thorough. I don’t know you guys personally, but what you said here hits all the marks of race relations in the HC and I commend the amount of research you did to come up with a plan of action. This shouldn’t be something we should be expected to do as students, but it is really awesome that you put in the time and effort to write and edit this and in the future, I hope your work is acknowledged more than it was in today’s email.
I am Dominican meaning my roots are black. I want my peers especially, black students to sit with me in science courses like Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Genetics... I want them to have the same opportunity as every white student has. I want these students to receive helpful/ beneficial resources in order to be encouraged to receive education. I want these students to continue their education despite their backgrounds and battles they face every day, especially discrimination. When black students win, I win.
This is an issue that needs to be addressed. The HC needs to be the example of what other higher education institutions should strive for in regards to diversity, inclusion and equity. There are parts of me that even now, after graduating, recognize how much I could have truly benefited from all of the proposed changes outlined in the document. We need to be better, and it starts with each of us.
Honors college is still antiblack and loves to pretend it likes diversity.
RU
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The Honors College administration finally cracked and agreed to our demands for transparency and policy reform. We forced them to look at their own failures and acknowledge the anti-Black environment they fostered. Stay sharp because we need to ensure these promises actually turn into real change on this campus.
November 6, 2020
Final supporters
Signing Instructions:
If you are a Rutgers University (New Brunswick) Honors College student, please type RUHC in the comments section.
If you are a Rutgers University (any campus) student, alumni, or faculty, please type RU in the comments section.
If you are an unaffiliated concerned person, leave the comments section blank.
For an institution claiming a commitment to racial equity, how is it possible that Black enrollment in the Honors College has seen a disturbing 82% decrease over the five years since the Honors College’s inaugural year?
The figure provided is based on estimates from previous and current Honors College students, however, it is incumbent upon the Honors College to clarify these numbers and provide transparency on the demographics of each incoming year. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the administration to answer why the rapid decrease of matriculating Black HC students is occurring and to address the issue expeditiously. While the trend expressed by this graph is indeed troubling, it becomes even more pressing when coupled with the experiences of exclusion and discrimination felt by Black students who choose to attend the Honors College.
According to student testimonies included in this document, the Honors College has created an environment where anti-Blackness, discrimination, and cultural insensitivity have been left unaddressed. We sought to further explore the structural and individual ways that anti-Blackness is perpetuated in the Honors College by conducting surveys that reflect on experiences of Honors College students. In our inquiry, we measured Black Honors College students' agreement with the following statements:
- Being in the Honors College plays a large role in my experience as a Rutgers Student.
- I feel connected to the Honors College beyond the title of HC student on my resume.
- The Honors College is a space for Black students to thrive.
- The Honors College is a culturally competent and truly inclusive space.
The responses to these statements revealed a startling lack of inclusivity within the Honors College for Black students, and a lack of support that results in Black HC scholars viewing their time in the institution as a transactional experience rather than one of community and growth.
By addressing anti-Blackness and opening the door to conversations about cultural inclusivity, we can make the Honors College a space that is truly inclusive and serves not just its Black students, but scholars from all different communities. In a letter discussing racism, justice, and community within the Honors College, the HC administration expressed their dedication to inclusivity, declaring,
“At this time, we recommit ourselves and the Honors College and we urge you all to recommit to a community based on listening and understanding, inclusion, and empathy, where all people, no matter their differences, can feel equally valued and safe. Together we can work towards setting a model for the kind of community we imagine is possible. But it will take much work, work that must not solely fall on those who most directly are harmed by the racism starkly displayed in recent weeks.”
It is our intention that this document serve as a call to action and an attempt to hold the Honors College accountable for the commitment expressed in the administration’s statement. In order to resolve these issues and create a more inclusive environment for marginalized students, this letter includes a proposal for curriculum changes centered around Cross-Cultural Competency within the Honors College.
Cross-Cultural Competency Curriculum Proposal:
First-year living-learning course requirement to be changed from Honors College Forum to Honors College Cross-Cultural Competency course. This course will teach students Cross-Cultural Competency, that is, to recognize and dismantle the subconscious discriminatory beliefs we are all programmed to have, and to address the real-life effects of those structural biases. This course would serve as a prerequisite to the Honors College Forum.
Honors College Forum to be taken only by students who have completed the prerequisite Cross-Cultural Competency course. Forum is to be substantively restructured in order to promote projects centered on local involvement by Honors College students and lessen the burden on Teaching Fellows in navigating culturally insensitive or ignorant student projects. Helpful cultural and historical information in choosing a local project will be covered in the Forum prerequisite Cross-Cultural Competency course, thereby allowing Honors College Forum to focus on presentation and writing skills.
Addition of race, inequity, and cultural engagement education requirement to be taken by Honors College students. Courses eligible to fulfill the requirement must include the study of race and/or marginalized ethnicities and cultures. Example courses related to various student career paths can be found in the addendum, however, many eligible courses will come from departments such as Africana Studies in order to promote university-wide equity.
By embracing the call to action herein, the Honors College will demonstrate its dedication to making real, equitable changes for the betterment of the Honors College and the Rutgers community at large.
The full document can be read at the following link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qdwRWhzY2figSd...
Feel free to email us with questions at [email protected]!
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
August 14, 2020
Reached 100 supporters
August 5, 2020
August 2, 2020
The Honors College administration is pretending this anti-Blackness doesn't exist while our numbers climb toward one hundred signatures. Don't let them ignore this momentum and force them to look at the reality of their exclusionary policies today.
148 Comments
(RUHC) They lack of diversity is very apparent at the honors college. With the severe lack of Hispanic and black students, it makes finding that community feeling more difficult than it already is for these students.
racist honor college students must be held accountable and removed from the program, the honors college must do better at having representation and making it a comfortable living and academic space for their Black students.
As an incoming black member of the HC, I’m hoping to see some change come about as a result of this
This is super well-written and thorough. I don’t know you guys personally, but what you said here hits all the marks of race relations in the HC and I commend the amount of research you did to come up with a plan of action. This shouldn’t be something we should be expected to do as students, but it is really awesome that you put in the time and effort to write and edit this and in the future, I hope your work is acknowledged more than it was in today’s email.
I am Dominican meaning my roots are black. I want my peers especially, black students to sit with me in science courses like Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Genetics... I want them to have the same opportunity as every white student has. I want these students to receive helpful/ beneficial resources in order to be encouraged to receive education. I want these students to continue their education despite their backgrounds and battles they face every day, especially discrimination. When black students win, I win.
This is an issue that needs to be addressed. The HC needs to be the example of what other higher education institutions should strive for in regards to diversity, inclusion and equity. There are parts of me that even now, after graduating, recognize how much I could have truly benefited from all of the proposed changes outlined in the document. We need to be better, and it starts with each of us.
Honors college is still antiblack and loves to pretend it likes diversity.
RU
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(RUHC) They lack of diversity is very apparent at the honors college. With the severe lack of Hispanic and black students, it makes finding that community feeling more difficult than it already is for these students.