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Running head: THE DEMANDS

The Demands: University of California at Berkeley

Ryan Crisp, Chelsea B. Metivier, and Stephaine Ann Villanova

Loyola University Chicago


THE DEMANDS 1

Abstract

This paper focuses specifically on three of the demands as outlined by the Black Student Union

demands committee at the University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley) which call for the

hiring of Black admissions staff members, Black psychologists, and improvements in the Getting

into Graduate School mentorship program. Institutions such as UC Berkeley with a reputation of

prestige are more likely to have a national/international platform and thus greater influence

within higher education (Marginson, 2006). As such, the racial climate at this university

provides an interesting lens through which to analyze issues of race in the broader scope of

higher education. An analysis of these demands as well as our recommendations to address the

demands requires an exploration of literature that explores campus race relations, campus

climates, and inclusion efforts specifically as they relate to Black student experiences. Eckel and

Kezar (2016) note the importance of the contributions made by students and staff, but note that

with respect to formal governance structure, the three most consistently influential leadership

groups are the trustees, presidents, and faculty. Because UC Berkeley is a part of the University

of California system, the Regents of the University of California is the highest point of authority

and our target audience. Like Boards of Trustees at other institutions, the Regents of the

University of California have fiduciary responsibilities as the steward of public trust with regards

to University financial, reputational, and physical assets (Eckel & Kezar, 2016).

Keywords: campus race relations, activism, admissions, psychology, political,

anthropological, demands, admissions, mentorship


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First Demand

WE DEMAND the hiring of two permanent full-time Black admissions staff members and a

series of enhanced recruitment strategies, with a budget of $300,371, to recruit Black students to

UC Berkeley. We maintain that this funding comes from the Chancellors office and not from the

Division of Student Affairs. These funds will be managed through the office of Admissions &

Enrollment. This funding will be used to bolster efforts in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions

and bridges Multicultural Resource Center. The recruitment of additional Black students is

imperative to create a student body that is representative of the California population. A critical

mass of Black students will surely help to alleviate the incredibly hostile campus climate Black

students have had to endure for decades as consistently evidenced by campus climate surveys

(Ayers, 2015).

The demand for Black admissions staff and funding for targeted recruitment events to

seek increased enrollment of Black students is not unique to UC Berkeley (Ayers, 2005). This is

not surprising considering the history of restricted access to higher education for marginalized

populations, especially students of color. Higher education in the United States began in 1636,

with Harvard receiving its charter (Geiger, 2016). However, it was not until after the 1954

Brown v. Board of Education, and then the 1964 Civil Rights Act, did higher education begin to

comply with desegregation orders, making higher education more accessible than ever before for

Black students (Geiger, 2016). It is no surprise then that as a result of the approximately 330

years between the first institutions of higher education opening to the general widespread

acceptance of Black students, that the numbers of Black students enrolled in institutions across

the country remain small in comparison. Blaming the significantly decreased enrollment of

Black students entirely on the hundreds of years head-start White students, especially White
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males, received oversimplifies the systemic issues at hand but the history nevertheless provides

context.

The history of UC Berkeley's student activism also provides context for the influence and

visibility of Berkeley students. According to Geiger (2016), UC Berkeley students crystallized

the student movement of the late 1960s (p. 27). The student uprising was a result of unfulfilled

expectations from the academic revolution that Geiger (2016) characterizes as occurring between

the years of 1945-1975. While the momentum of the student movement may have crystallized

at Berkeley, students at campuses across the country were disrupted by student mobilization in

opposition to war in Vietnam and racial injustice. The power and visibility of student activism

across the country, profoundly altered the relationship between institution and student. It shifted

from one of paternalism to exaggerated permissiveness and while it peaked at UC Berkeley

and then settled for several years, it foreshadowed the student activism on campus today (Geiger,

2016, p. 27).

The history of access to higher education as well as UC Berkeleys history of student

activism is important for the Regents of the University of California system to remember as they

consider the demands. Manning (2013) explains that Boards of Trustees, or in this case the UC

Regents operate from a political framework, when addressing institutional governance. If they

were to remain governing from a political framework, we would emphasize the importance of

Critical Race Theory (CRT) as the lens through which they apply the political framework. CRT

considers the educational setting through political, economic, and philosophical contexts

(Manning, 2013).

Most relevant to this specific demand is that CRT acknowledges that racism is normal

and endemic to U.S. society [and therefore expects] to see expressions of racism and
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oppression throughout the institutions, including education, which make up U.S. society

(Manning, 2013, p. 76). Addressing the demand for two Black admissions officers and funding

for recruitment initiatives from a CRT perspective, would first require an acknowledgement of

the continued presence of systems of oppression, which undoubtedly privilege White

students. Furthermore, it would be important to build upon that acknowledgement by listening

and valuing the counter narratives shared by students of color and other oppressed groups on

campus, about their experiences, which consistently expose the aspects of higher education

where inequalities and oppression exist (Manning, 2013, p. 77). Once acknowledging the lack

of neutrality within institutions, they should respond by demonstrating their commitment to

begin to address the inequalities by hiring additional staff members and earmarking funding for

targeted recruitment events. Finally, with increased emphasis on admission of Black students, it

is critical that they consider fulfilling many of the other demands listed, especially those that

directly connect to supporting the student experience of traditionally marginalized communities,

such as the demand for more Black psychologists.

Second Demand

WE DEMAND the hiring of two permanent full-time Black psychologists at UC Berkeley. We

maintain that the funding for this (which includes recruitment expenses) come from the office of

the Chancellor. We as Black students need psychologists who share similar experiences in terms

of racial discrimination and in dealing with the racially hostile campus climate at this university

(Ayers, 2015).

After reviewing the relevant literature, it is clear that a large body of research data

relative to racial identity attitudes, acculturation, and gender exists. Researchers are examining

how these identities relate to Black mental health functioning and how this data relates
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specifically to the higher education experience of Black students at predominantly white

institutions. Focusing specifically on this demand to hire two permanent full-time Black

psychologists at UC-Berkeley, the research supports the needs for such positions to adequately

address the mental health needs of students who must contend with a racially hostile campus

climate in order to pursue their academic and professional goals.

Pillay (2005) found:

In the United States, researchers have postulated that race be viewed from the

sociopolitical historical paradigm rather than from the biological perspective because

minorities have endured different conditions of oppression, domination, and shared

experiences. It can be articulated, based on this paradigmatic position, that minority

students at predominantly White academic institutions have experiences that are unique

relative to the majority students. (p. 46)

It is vital that Black students see themselves reflected in the campus population, from the

administrative to the faculty to the student level. The research also shows that while racial and

ethnic minority participation in the field has increased and Asian Americans are well placed in

the academic profession, Black and Latino populations remain underrepresented (Altbach, 2016).

This reality underscores the importance of increasing Black representation in student support

services, and the prioritization of the implementation of these two positions by the UC Regents

would represent a positive step forward in combating these issues and making the voices of the

Black student population on campus feel heard. Of the approximately 36,000 students enrolled

at Berkeley in the 2014-2015 academic year, slightly more than 3 percent identified as

Black. Chancellor Nick Dirks has stated that he is interested in developing a major campus
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initiative to ensure that the critical mass of Black students, faculty, and senior staff is increased

on campus to ensure that the students feel supported and respected (Asimov, 2015).

The Board of Trustees at most universities operate through the lens of the political

perspective. As stated by Manning (2013), The [political] perspective lends itself to an

understanding of the political maneuvering and strategizing of administrators, faculty, students,

and members of the Board of Trustees (p. 89). To properly address the hiring of two full time

Black psychologists, the UC Regents should involve senior members of the universitys Black

Student Union in the process of both the creation of the positions as well as in the discussions of

the position funding, ensuring the students of the validity of their feedback. As BSU board

member Niyatt Mengis stated, Black students are only seen as tokens of diversity at UC

Berkeley. All the supposedly anti-racist work that happens here is being done without black

peoples input (Lochner, 2017).

The UC Regents would be wise to consider the anthropological framework of the

organizational culture theory as outlined by Manning (2013). Due to the importance of

considering the complexities of the lived experiences of Black students, this framework would

allow for all organizational members [to] play a role in shaping culture and the construction of

meaning from individual and collective experiences (Manning, 2013, p. 91). The author

acknowledges that one potential weakness of this approach that it may seem unnecessary or

extraneous to the institutional priorities, and this is a key concept of which to be mindful when

presenting this approach to the UC Regents. This weakness can be combated by emphasizing the

frameworks strengths in bringing to light connections to community, culture, and

organizational life on campus (Manning, 2013, p. 91) and how these cultural connections are

essential to the successful creation of these two psychological positions.


THE DEMANDS 7

Third Demand

WE DEMAND the current budget for the Getting into Graduate School (GiGS) mentorship

program be doubled in order to expand and strengthen the program. We believe this program

creates a pipeline for Black students and other underrepresented students to get into graduate

school, an area where Black students are severely underrepresented. We believe this program can

be one of the many ways by which the campus can attempt to increase the abysmally low

number of Black graduate students at UC Berkeley and other universities across the country,

(Ayers, 2015).

The research shows that Black mentorship is pertinent to the recruitment, survival, and

success of Black students on college campuses and continuing studies. There is almost no

institution nor environment in which mentoring is not discussed as a critical tool for personal,

professional, and career development, (Thomas, Willis, & Davis, 2007, p. 178). Specifically

when looking at the GiGS, they echo these sentiments. The purpose of the GiGS mentorship

program engages staff and graduate students with undergraduates as mentors (Getting into

Graduate School, 2017). As it was explained previously, it is important for Black and other

underrepresented populations of students to see fellow students who look like them in their

aspired spaces. This mentorship program is one means to reach this goal.

Another outcome of mentorship is that, Graduate students benefit from the exposure a

mentor can provide. Through this exposure the student gains ability to develop meaningful

relationships with future colleagues in their respective profession, (Thomas, et al., 2007, p.

180). Students in the GiGS program would similarly develop these meaningful interpersonal

relationship with the hopes of transforming into a professional relationship once they apply,

enroll, and attend graduate school. The GiGS website further captures this spirit and states that
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through mentorship, undergraduates leave the mentoring program with a better understanding of

what the process entails and are inspired to pursue academic careers and create change in the

future. These are noble goals supported by research and should be adhered to by the UC

Regents.

By increasing the current budget of the GiGS program, UC Berkeley can demonstrate its

commitment to embrace open and equitable access to opportunities for learning and

development as our obligation and goal, as outlined in their Principles of

Community. Additionally, increasing the budget will also aid in attempting to increase the

number of and better prepare Black graduate students at UC Berkeley and nationally. This

demand will also help Chancellor Nick Dirks initiative to increase Black students on campus as

mentioned in the previous demand. Additionally, Bastedo (2016) mentions how institutions

monitor their peer institutions success with fundraising. This was certainly true when UC

Berkeley had great success during their last capital campaign in 2014. If UC Berkeley were to

fundraise for this specific initiative, they could set an example to their peer institutions and

hopefully inspire other universities to do the same (Bastedo, 2016). It is for these reasons the

UC Regents should look at the wide girth of literature relating to mentorship and

underrepresented groups and allocate more support in the form of funds to the GiGS. By

supporting the Get into Graduate School initiative, the benefits will outweigh the costs of funds.

It is important to not only understand the political structure of the UC Regents, as

described earlier, but to understand all the multiple structures involved in The Demands. The

organizational structure of the UC Regents must work with the GiGS structure in order to meet

these demands effectively. The GiGS is sponsored by the Graduate Diversity Program

(GDP). The GDP possess various Diversity Development Professionals. The professionals vary
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in positional power from Program Coordinators to Associate Deans. As outlined on the GiGS

website, the various professionals are tasked with cultivating a campus environment that will

value and actively seek to promote diversity (Getting into Graduate School, 2017). The GDP

structure mimics the political structure that exists within the UC Berkeley Regents. By

recognizing the moving parts of any interaction between organizational structures, it will better

allow each organization to understand the viewpoint of the other. Luckily, moving forward a

strength of the political structure is that it draws connections among coalitions, interest groups,

and power elites, (Manning, 2013, p. 68). Structures will better collaborate, particularly when

discussing a CRT perspective in relationship to the Black student experience on UC Berkeley's

campus.

Although addressing issues within higher education from a CRT perspective is only just

emerging, we believe that by taking such an approach UC Berkeley could be a leader within the

field with regards to addressing institutional issues through the application of CRT. But

regardless of the approach taken, it will be important that in their implementation of any of The

Demands, that the UC Regents take care with regards to which demands they opt to fulfil and

how they opt to do so. As a predominantly White institution, history demonstrates that UC

Berkeley and the UC Regents will be more likely to take action in ways that perpetuate racial

capitalism, which occurs when predominantly white institutions derive social or economic value

from associating with individuals with non-white racial identities (Chang, 2016, p. 18). The UC

Regents must be focused on actually improving the Black student experience, by challenging

systemic inequalities, and not doing so simply to improve UC Berkeleys White students, at the

expense of their students of color (Ahmed, 2012). Given the University of California,
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Berkeleys long history with activism, the institution should meet these demands to better the

Black student experience and challenge more institutions to do the same.


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