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News :: Miscellaneous |
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UIUC Latina/o Students Air Frustrations with Provost Herman |
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by meridith kruse
(No verified email address) |
03 Dec 2001
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Monday December 3rd around forty UIUC students met with Provost Herman and Bill Barry from the Chancellor’s office at La Casa Cultural Latina to share their concerns about the lack of progress around Latino/a issues on campus. In 1992, UIUC Latino/a students clearly articulated a list of demands for UIUC administration, many of which have still not been met. |
UIUC Latina/o Students Air Frustrations with Provost Herman
Monday December 3rd around forty UIUC students met with Provost Herman and Bill Barry from the Chancellor’s office at La Casa Cultural Latina to share their concerns about the lack of progress around Latino/a issues on campus. In 1992, UIUC Latino/a students clearly articulated a list of demands for UIUC administration. These requests included:
1. Break down the term “Hispanic” to differentiate students from Latin America and those brought up in the U.S.
2.Latina/o graduates of UIUC should be proportional to the percentage of the population of the state of Illinois of Latino/a heritage. (11.6% in 1992)
3.The Peer Retention Program must become stabilized with recurring funds.
4.Recruit students from predominately Latino, inner-city high schools and low-income students from suburban schools.
5.More recruitment of Latinas/os from community colleges.
6.More recruitment of Latinas/os to the UIUC Graduate School.
7.Recruit faculty from underrepresented groups and in disciplines other than Spanish.
8.Recruit more Latinas/os in higher offices of Administration and Deanships.
9.Recruit faculty at institutions that have Latina/o research programs and faculty who do scholarship on some aspect of the Latina/o experience within the U.S.
10.Immediately remove Chief Illiniwek.
11.Develop and implement a Latina/o Studies Program.
12.Develop a Latina/o and Latin America Library.
13.Increase Support of La Casa Cultural Latina.
At the meeting on December 3rd, 2001 Provost Herman shared copied of a chart that outlined the university’s progress on the 1992 demands. On the majority of issues, little if any change had occurred. A specific example included a lack of progress in increasing the number of Latino/a students at UIUC in proportion to the overall percentage of Latinos/as in the state. According to the Provost, from July 1999-June 2000 “Hispanics” were awared 241 of 6,370 bachelors degrees and 53 of 2,281 master’s degrees. Also, the number of Latino/a graduate students decreased in recent years, and of course the racist mascot “Chief Illiniwek”, remains.
Additionally, students expressed frustration at lack of progress by the Provost in setting up a Committee to examine the state of Latino/a concerns on campus. The Provost apologized for not responding to the students desire for a Committee in timely fashion, but expressed his feeling that their demands he meet a specific deadline were inappropriate. Student representatives explained they mentioned specific deadlines in letters to the Provost because in the past, when dates were omitted, action was not taken.
Overall, issues of long-standing inequalities and institutional racism formed the context for the discussion. Bill Barry, from the Chancellor’s office, discussed an incident when, after the Provost had recruited a minority applicant to campus, faculty representatives from a certain department undermined his effort by asking the candidate that “why are you applying here, no one thinks your research is really important anyway.”
Also, a discussion of the best approach for making change occurred, with students wondering why, if the Provost had been unsuccessful in creating incentives/disincentives for departments to change racist hiring/tenure practices, should they continue to pressure him for change. The Provost admitted that with the decentralized nature of the university, it was hard for him to pressure departments outright, but that he could, through threats to withhold funding for noncompliance, convince departments to diversify their staff. This response, however, left many wondering why he hadn’t applied this pressure in the past.
While some students left the meeting early in frustration, vowing to seek other ways of affect change, several people stayed for the entire hour and a half discussion. In the end, the Provost expressed his wish that he could have heard more from the students about their specific demands and what they would like to be the Committee’s focus. Since many of the 1992 demands have yet to be met 10 years after their articulation, many consider this a good starting point. Overall, the Provost left promising students that concrete action, through the formation of an investigative Committee, would be taken immediately. As for the students at La Casa, they will of course closely be monitoring these promises and continuing to assess the most effective means to effect change.
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