OUR DEMANDS

WHAT BLACK STUDENTS WANT

1. Put the Black Student Advisory Council on ALL Search Committees for the hiring of senior-level administrative roles (Deans, Provosts , Vice Presidents, etc.)

In October 2018, the very first thing Concerned Black Students requested from administrators was the establishment of the Black Student Advisory Council. The purpose of this body is to represent African American undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Kentucky concerning strategic planning, the hiring of faculty and staff, as well as ongoing representation of African American students among administration at the university. It wasn’t until February 2019 that this commitment was actually confirmed by administrators. Even still, though they agreed to the existence of such a council, administration has been highly opposed to the empowerment of this council. One of the basic things that this council would like to do is have a single seat on the search committees and hiring committees (if applicable) of senior-level administrators. This institution has proven themselves not to be trusted when it comes to hiring individuals who are understanding of and compassionate towards the experiences of Black students. This seat at the table will give us the ability to carry our own narrative to spaces where we have historically been excluded and will call for increased accountability from hiring officers to Black students at this Institution.

2. Revise the William C. Parker Scholarship

The William C. Parker Diversity Scholarship Program, a scholarship once earmarked specifically for Black students, is the primary source of financial aid from the University for Black students. In recent years, eligibility for these funds is open to “students from all segments of society including students of different races, ethnicities, socioeconomic status, sexes, sexual orientation, gender identities, disability status, religious traditions, political beliefs, and geographic backgrounds.” This has vastly expanded the pool of students who are benefitting from these funds. While it is important that lack of financial assistance not be the reason for any student to be denied access to higher education, it is painstakingly clear that while other students are benefitting from this change, Black students are being harmed. The University of Louisville, UK’s number one competitor in the state when it comes to recruiting and retaining Black students, has maintained a scholarship program similar to the Parker scholarship, the Woodford R. Porter Scholarship Program. The Porter Scholars Program is specifically for Black/African American students from certain counties within the Commonwealth. Why didn’t UK maintain this same model? With it’s already turbulent past and current issues with recruiting and retaining Black students, we think it’s necessary that the University revise the William C. Parker Diversity Scholarship Program.

3. Standardize the roles of College Diversity Officers

In October 2018 Black students emphasized that they lacked support from their individual colleges, Black students are also put at a substantial disadvantage regarding success resulting from a lack of intra-college support specific to the stories and narratives that belong to Black students. The University of Kentucky has a College Diversity Officer in every college. According to the Office for Institutional Diversity’s website, CDOs have the following job responsibilities:

• leading in the development of initiatives and programs that support equitable opportunities for achievement and professional development of students, faculty, staff, and administrators from underrepresented/underserved populations

• enhancing diversity and inclusivity as it relates to recruitment, promotion, and retention of historically underrepresented students, faculty, administrators, and staff

• the implementation of initiatives that ensure rich experiences and opportunities for all students, faculty, and administrators, and staff to engage in meaningful interactions, dialogue, and reflection around diversity, equity, and inclusion

• assessment of college-wide diversity efforts by tracking data and generating reports

• responding to inquiries for college diversity and inclusion narratives and on-going data collection

These CDOs report to the Dean of their respective colleges. This leaves the structure of the role of a College Diversity Officer up to the whim of said Dean. This has led to mass discrepancies in the impact these CDOs are having in their colleges. Most of these CDOs have major job responsibilities that leave them far too busy to dedicate the necessary amount of attention to the aforementioned duties. Most students, especially Black students, don’t even know who their college’s respective Diversity Officer is and this is a major problem. We want the role of the College Diversity Officer to be standardized across the University. The major job responsibilities and the evaluation of said responsibilities. We want the aforementioned duties of the College Diversity Officer to make up the essential functions of this role and should equal no less than 50% of employee time.

4. Release the findings from the 2016 Cook Ross Survey on Campus Climate
The University of Kentucky used to work with Cook Ross, a consultant firm. The goal of this partnership was “to shift the University culture around Diversity and Inclusion...”. Part of this initiative was the conducting of a survey on campus climate. The findings and subsequent report from this survey have not been made public. We want to see them. If we don’t know where the University was in 2016, how are we to be sure that they are actually striving for progress now? How can we even know what progress looks likes? The report from Cook Ross survey on the campus climate at the University of Kentucky needs to be made public knowledge.

5. Remove the O’Hanlon Mural from Memorial Hall
2019 marks the 400th year since the first documented arrival of enslaved Africans in America. There is absolutely no justification, no rationale, and no moral or ethical argument for the continued display of this mural. This wildly-inappropriate painting has been displayed in the foyer of Memorial Hall since 1934. Lyman T. Johnson, the first Black student to be admitted to the University of Kentucky, got here in 1949. Black students should not have to go to any lecture or performance in Memorial Hall, be reminded by this mural of the historical trauma that Black people in this country have had to face, and then be expected to perform well academically, participate socially, and be okay emotionally. Students in years past have felt that the preservation of this mural and a detailed telling of the greater story this mural seeks to depict was okay. We do not feel that way. Black students want this mural gone. Not covered up. Not “put into context”. 85 years is long enough. We want it removed from Memorial Hall.