No Cal State or University of California campus enrolls a smaller percentage of Black undergraduate students than Cal Poly — just under 0.7% this fall.
Cal Poly administrators also turned down CalMatters’ request for a separate interview to discuss the campus response to racist acts on campus. Lazier, the campus spokesperson,to specifically address the campus climate, which CalMatters is sharing.
In the 600-word email, Lazier wrote that students should report any racist incident to campus officials. However, “it is important to note the limitations the university faces in disciplining any campus community member for racist speech.” As a public institution, Cal Poly is “bound by law to uphold the First Amendment rights of those who study, work, visit, or live on our campus,” Lazier wrote —in 2018 after the outcry over a student wearing Blackface.
One scholar thinks Cal Poly’s low number of enrolled Black students alone paints a picture of a racist climate that can dissuade other Black students from applying. “Racism, especially at an institutional level, doesn’t require any form of intent and doesn’t even require individual actors,” said Whitney N. L. Pirtle, a sociologist at UC Merced who studies race and ethnicity. “I think the numbers are evidence enough.
In his first email, Lazier, the Cal Poly spokesperson, didn’t attribute the campus’s struggles to attract Black students to campus climate, but rather to its cost. He noted that Cal Poly ends up being more expensive because the UCs “have been able to offer more financial aid to students with lower incomes,” he wrote, which he argues attracts a larger share of Black and other students of color.than the Cal State system average.
Cal Poly’s location “is not a satisfying” answer for why it attracts so few Black students, said Hans Johnson, a senior fellow focused on higher education issues at the Public Policy Institute of California. “Is everyone looking at me, trying to gauge how I’m feeling?” said Santiago, who’s also the Black Student Union co-president. At the same time, “I’m also trying to gauge how I’m feeling.”
That the students feel this weight makes sense from a research perspective, said Comeaux, the UC Riverside scholar. “When you have a critical mass of Black students in a classroom, the Black student doesn’t have to be the representative for all things black, right?” he said.For Jackson, the Cal Poly history professor, the subject of race becomes an abstraction without Black students in the class. That can lead to some white students feeling guilty about the caustic U.S.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Protestors dressed as refs display banner at Cal football gameThe banner remained up from halfway through the third quarter to the end of the game.
Read more »
UCLA's defense could get bowled over: Takeaways from the Bruins' win over Cal.UCLAFootball-CalFootball takeaways: 🏈 Zach Charbonnet's successor 🏈 Defense vs. bowl opponent 🏈 Jack Landherr IV makes his awards case 🏈 Opting in … or out? 🏈 Precautionary measures
Read more »
Smith: Cal McNair should see that changes are needed for TexansSmith: Cal McNair should see that changes are needed for Texans beyond getting first pick in draft
Read more »
Stanford finishes disappointing season with home loss to BYUThe Cardinal allowed 358 yards rushing to BYU, including 164 from Cal transfer Christopher Brooks.
Read more »
San Antonio-based Rooted Vegan Cuisine now shipping its lasagna nationwideThe Black-owned business prepares the lasagna in small batches to ensure quality, its owners said. SanAntonio SATX SanAntonioTX SanAntonioFood SanAntonioRestaurants vegan veganfood
Read more »