Universities pushed to address incidents of discrimination, bias

Some Connecticut universities are being confronted with stories from their students and alumni about alleged racist incidents that went unreported or ignored at the institutions.

Students and alumni at Quinnipiac University, University of New Haven and others have been speaking out about a culture in which students of color have said they face discrimination, exclusion and racial prejudice.

“These institutions are raising future lawyers, future doctors — we know the disparities in health for Black women — and where do they get these ideas?” said Layomi Akinnifesi, a 2020 Quinnipiac graduate of a 4+1 business degree program.

“It’s their upbringing, but also their education. They (schools) can’t solve the world’s problems, but they can help give people the resources and help them unlearn the biases they have,” Akinnifesi said.

Action sought

Instances of overt or covert racism by current or incoming students and the responses of some institutions to the death of George Floyd have prompted recent calls for action on the part of institutions.

In response to a June 3 Instagram post by Quinnipiac in which the administration professed solidarity with community members hurt by racism, for example, former Quinnipiac student Sokaina Asar started a petition to address what the students and alumni were calling out in the comment section.

“They had come forward to express how they felt unaccepted in the QU community as well as the true racism they experienced, and I could not let those stories go ignored,” Asar said in an email.

The petition had approximately 4,500 signatures as of Thursday.

Asar attended Quinnipiac University from 2015 to 2017, transferring to the University of Connecticut to complete her degree in 2019.

In addition to Asar, a pair of recent Black alumni, including Akinnifesi, contributed specific actionable steps in the petition, such as working to retain students of color by creating financial supports and mental health services, and educating the school community at large on racism and bias.

“I see that Judy (Olian) is on the track for that,” Akinnifesi said. “But Quinnipiac is really quick to grab a lot of students of color, but they don’t retain them. They (students) transfer out because they don’t feel comfortable in that space.”

Asar was one such student, who said one of the reasons she left Quinnipiac was due to a lack of support and cultural competence on the behalf of students of color.

Larryssa, a 2020 graduate who wasn’t comfortable giving her last name because she’s trying to get into a graduate program, said students of color were able to talk about their concerns on campus in a town hall last fall, but when the discussions come up, the follow-up seems empty.

“QU says it is dedicated to diversity and inclusion, then the students come with their experiences and nothing is done about it,” she said. “Even if you are doing something we don’t see it on the outside so it looks like you’re doing nothing. It doesn’t seem like there’s any sense of urgency.”

Akinnifesi emphasized, however, the university’s approach to racial issues has changed significantly during the Olian administration.

She recalled, for instance, her first year on campus when a student posted a photo on social media in a dark-colored face mask captioned “Black lives matter.” Akinnifesi said the administration didn’t do much to address it other than talk to the two white students involved, whereas Olian has made efforts to engage with students of color to address racial incidents.

“I see that Quinnipiac is trying,” she said. “I’m just hoping that Quinnipiac makes more lasting movements and puts more actions behind their words, not just in a myopic sense but be forward-looking as well.”

“University leadership is engaged in deep discussions with students and faculty to collaborate in addressing and eradicating the corrosive, crippling effects of racism within our own community, and more broadly in all that surrounds us,” Associate Vice President for Public Affairs John Morgan said on behalf of the administration.

“We held a town hall with students on June 24, tackling these challenging issues headon,” he said. “These conversations with students, faculty and staff are helping shape QU's actions and commitment to lasting change and we’ll hold ourselves accountable for constructive and sustained results.”

Coming forward

Across other Connecticut institutions students also are calling on their colleges and universities to create systemic change and be more welcoming places for students of color.

These issues aren’t new for many students of color, though, as the country previously has seen student-led protests and demands for institutional change.

Last October, two University of Connecticut students were recorded shouting the n-word outside a campus residence hall. The students subsequently were arrested by campus police for yelling the racial slur, the same day a rally against racism was held at UConn’s Storrs campus.

At the time of the incident, of the nearly 20,000 undergraduates at the flagship school, 6 percent were black. As of Nov. 1, 2019, the most recent data available from the university at the time, African Americans made up 2.3 percent of UConn’s faculty, and just under 3 percent of all employees.

One student involved in the protest said racism “is an all too frequent, if not a daily, experience” at the school. That day students also said the incidents were part of a broader campus culture that makes people of color feel unsafe, uncomfortable, unseen and unheard by the administration, faculty and peers.

Meetings and town halls were held; UConn President Thomas Katsouleas met with students and among ideas brought forward were a university-wide celebration of diversity; education, programs and research on social justice; a database to connect students of color with mentors; and hiring and retention of black faculty members and other staff.

In 2016, Yale University students protested the name of a residence hall, formerly named for John C. Calhoun who was a 19th century vice president and slavery advocate, until Yale changed the hall’s name to Grace Murray Hopper.

That year Yale held discussions across campus on the renaming and after President Peter Salovey initially decided the hall would remain named for Calhoun, eventually the board of trustees reversed the decision from the year prior, concluding an entire academic year of debate.

The year prior there were protests at Claremont McKenna College in California, the University of Missouri, Ithaca College in upstate New York and others surrounding concerns about racial discrimination.

At some institutions, many students of color have had to battle institutional racism alongside living in academic environments where peers perpetuate microaggressions and stereotyping, Akinnifesi said.

Changes

Quinnipiac released a follow up statement June 9 in which it addressed two social media posts by incoming students, one showing an individual in blackface, the other targeting a specific culture as it related to the impact of COVID-19 on high school graduations.

“To the students and alumni who have written to us over the past few days about these social media posts, we invite you to join with us to help turn words into action,” the university said in part. “We, the leadership team, hold ourselves accountable to achieving results that demonstrate commitment to equity and fairness.”

In the statement to the community, Quinnipiac leadership said they have begun implementing necessary changes, including increasing diversity among faculty and leadership, creating pathways for minority students in high schools and community colleges to enroll at Quinnipiac, developing a diversity training for students, staff, and faculty, and “exploring how to best address, head-on, the legacy of racism in our country starting with a re-examination of the curriculum for greater presence of racial and social justice content across courses.”

“We are not naive to think that change happens overnight,” the statement said. “Much more must be done on our part, and as a community. We embrace this pivotal moment in our nation’s history to avow that Black Lives Matter, and to stand with our students, alumni, faculty, staff and neighbors in black communities — and in all underrepresented communities — in decrying acts of racism, prejudice and bias.”

Marley Marston, director of public relations for the Black Student Union at Quinnipiac, said on behalf of the student organization that they’re happy Olian has reached out to them recently on the matter.

“Change won’t happen in a day, but knowing that our University leaders stand together in this fight for justice and equality makes all the difference.” Marston said.

Asar said, though, the two incidents from incoming students were a “small example of the racism and inequalities students and alumni have faced throughout the years and even generations.”

In addition to the petition, a social media movement titled Bobcats for Justice — formerly Enough is Enough — has gained visibility among the Quinnipiac community. The movement highlights experiences of students of color, which are posted anonymously on the organization’s Instagram page.

“The page is so important because they’re showing their experiences and the public safety the administration aren’t seeing and it’s important to hold students accountable,” Akinnifesi said. “If a lot of these stories are told it shows these aren’t isolated incidents and it can help students who are going through these experiences.”

For that reasonmore counseling is needed on campus, because racial trauma can lead to depression in students of color and affect learning for the students who stay, Akinnifesi said.

Josephine Liz, who graduated in 2013, said she never experienced explicit racism on campus, but also never felt at home in her four years there.