Spring Break
Study: Minority programs lead to separation
ABIGAIL SMITH
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"The programs we have are not separationist," said Vanessa Smith, associate dean of students for the Office of Minority Services and Programs.
"We provide a place where students can come and feel at home within their own community," she said. "In doing that, (the students) put together many programs that are open to all, to share their culture."
The report was release by the New York Civil Rights Coalition, a non-profit organization that opposes affirmative action but promotes racial diversity.
Programs for minority students are designed to "help us understand each other," Smith said. "It's just as important for black students and white students to come to our events."
Learning about other cultures is an integral part of a student's experience at the University, she said.
"If people leave the University without immersing themselves in an experience with people of another culture, they have cheated themselves," Smith said. "The world is changing. You are going to have to know how to interact with people of another culture."
Despite these efforts to make everyone feel comfortable with minority-specific programming, some students said they are left unsatisfied.
Joseph Moore, a junior from Columbus, was involved in a minority-specific program from his first day on campus.
"On the first day of school, you come into a dorm and see your name on the door, and a CLASS (Continuing the Legacy of African-American Student Success) sticker next to it," he said.
The CLASS program is supported by the University Department of Housing.
Because of the sticker, he said, "when your roommate moves in, he's not thinking, 'Oh, my roommate is Joseph Moore.' He's thinking, 'Oh, my roommate is Joseph Moore and he's black.' It really shouldn't matter."
The concept of the program is good, he said, but its implementation has flaws.
"They're really trying," Moore said. "There are all sorts of programs (CLASS) puts on that are for the majority too, not just the minority."
Jim Day, director of University Housing, agreed that CLASS may not be for every minority, but still offers many benefits to students.
"There are African-Americans who do not want to be part of CLASS," he said. "And that's OK. No program will serve everyone."
But studies have shown the benefits that programs such as CLASS offer, Day said.
"There is lots of evidence to support the notion that minority-specific programs perform better and are more successful," he said. "CLASS is more of an academic resource than a social one, but I think social goes along with that."
