It has been nearly a year since a string of allegedly racial incidents spurred an upset on MSU’s campus and raised a question to students and administrators: How safe, inclusive and welcoming is the school’s atmosphere to people of all cultures and backgrounds?
The events included a racial slur written on the white board of a black student’s door in West Akers Hall, followed by another slur on a wall in Armstrong Hall and the discovery of a black doll hanging by its neck in the Biomedical and Physical Sciences Building.
These incidents shocked the student body and motivated the Black Student Alliance, or BSA, along with other community members, to take action, birthing the BSA’s list of demands.
On Oct. 28, 2011, members of the BSA brought all 22 demands to MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon and other members of administration.
In the demands were efforts to increase diversity and inclusion at MSU. The list included requests such as the creation of an official statement on racial intimidation and discrimination, constructing a freestanding Multicultural Center and an increase in the number of intercultural aids and diversity in the residence halls.
The list also included regular meetings among the Council of Racial and Ethnic Students, or CORES, and the Council of Progressive Students, or COPS, and administrators when all issues can be discussed.
To each of these demands, Simon said she has published written responses or progress reports. The groups met on a biweekly basis throughout the last school year, and although the formal meetings ended, informal meetings will continue.
“(Recently), Dr. Maybank, (the) head of BSA and I had an informal cup of coffee … to make sure that we were still on the same page about the outcomes from last year,” Simon said. Simon referred to a meeting with Denise Maybank, interim associate vice president for Student Affairs and Services and BSA President Silver Moore.
Simon’s progress reports state what has been done to meet the demands and how the university plans to meet others, and are to be updated each semester.
Moore said some of the demands that have been addressed include funding for CORES and COPS, an increase in the number of intercultural aids and the creation of an undergraduate African American and African Studies course.
Although progress has been made, Moore said there is far more work to be done.
“We have seen changes, but hopefully what was promised to us is actually acted on,” the journalism senior said, adding the BSA wants to see more tangible changes.
Despite advancements, Moore said there still is bias and intolerance on MSU’s campus.
“I’ve had people call me and tell me this year, ‘Oh, well, this happened in this hall,’ or, ‘This happened in this hall.’ So, we know that there’s still stuff going on,” Moore said.
Paulette Granberry Russell, director of the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives, said if one compares the state of where the university and the BSA stood last fall to today, there has been much improvement.
The improvement has come not only from addressing the issues, but also in terms of communication and understanding between the two sides.
“Students and administrators have stayed at the table and (are having) discussions,” Russell said. “It’s building trust and a campus culture that will support not only African American students (or) minority students, but all students.”
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