Spin It Anyway You Want, There Would Be Massive Riots If Harvard Held "White Male Only" Graduation Ceremonies

Harvard students plan graduation ceremony for blacks only, claim it’s ‘not about segregation’

Jon Street 9 hours

Harvard University graduate students are planning to hold a separate graduation ceremony for black students only. (Erik S. Lesser/Getty Images)

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For the first time in the institution’s history, there will be a separate graduation ceremony for black students at Harvard University.

More than 125 graduate students worked for more than a year and raised more than $27,000 to pay for the event and a reception, the Root reported.

Students attending the ceremony, scheduled for later this month, will still participate in the main graduation ceremony as well.

“The students are excited and have put a lot of work into this,” Michael Huggins, who is set to graduate this year with a master’s degree in public policy, told The Root. “Too often at Harvard, there is not cross-discipline contact between black students. So it can feel like you are the only person of color.”

“At this graduation, we can show each other and the administration that we are here, we are strong and we are not going away,” Huggins said.

Courtney Woods, who will graduate from Harvard University this year with a master’s degree in education policy and management, told The Root that “it speaks volumes” that there has never been a graduation ceremony of this type before. Woods, citing the past struggles of black students and their ability to overcome those obstacles, also stated:

Harvard’s institutional foundation is in direct conflict with the needs of black students. There is a legacy of slavery, epistemic racism and colonization at Harvard, which was an institution founded to train rising imperialist leaders. This is a history that we are reclaiming.

“As a first-generation [college student], I know I am here to change the trajectory for all of us,” she said.

Huggins also described the blacks-only graduation ceremony as an opportunity to celebrate Harvard’s “black excellence” and “black brilliance” but insisted that the event is not is segregation from Harvard University graduates who are not black.

“This is not about segregation. It’s about fellowship and building a community. This is a chance to reaffirm for each other that we enter the work world with a network of supporters standing with us. We are all partners,” Huggins said.

Organizers of the blacks-only graduation ceremony plan to hold a similar event for black undergraduate students next year. Harvard University is at least the fourth institution to hold a separate ceremony for black students. Stanford University, Temple University and Columbia University host additional graduation events for black students, the Root reported.

(H/T: Daily Caller)

Students Don't Understand The Need And Purpose Of A Dress Code.

Dress code crackdown suspends 150 high school students

By The Associated PressMay 5, 2017 2:43 pm

In this Wednesday, May 3, 2017 photo, Allyanna Jones stands outside Wilby High School in Waterbury, Conn. The 16-year-old junior was among more than 150 students suspended for dress code violations on April 21. The crackdown has brought attention to high suspension...

WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — A one-day sweep in which over 150 high school students were suspended for dress code violations is bringing new criticism to a Connecticut district of predominantly Hispanic and black students that was already under scrutiny for having low numbers of minority teachers.

The students, summoned dozens at a time, were called out of class by loudspeakers and ordered to sit out the next school day for wearing hoodies, forbidden colors or other violations. Among those caught up in the sweep at Wilby High School two weeks ago were first-time offenders like Allyanna Jones, a 16-year-old honors student.

“I said, ‘I’d rather be cold than suspended,'” Allyanna said of her offer to remove a sweat shirt. “They said, ‘It’s only a day. You’ll get over it.'”

The district office later wiped the suspensions from students’ records, noting schools are supposed to issue lesser punishments for first violations. But activists say they reflect deeper problems with the climate at the high school, where half of all students received at least one suspension last year.

“This is the purest example of promoting discipline over academic performance,” said Robert Goodrich, a co-founder of Radical Advocates for Cross-Cultural Education in Waterbury. He likened it to “broken windows” policing, which aims to keep peace by cracking down on minor offenses.

The Wilby High dress code calls for boys to wear black or green shirts, with their pants or shorts worn or belted at the waist. Skirts, dresses, pants and shorts for girls are required to be navy blue, black, gray or khaki. Hats, caps and hoodies are forbidden.

Nationwide, about half of public schools have dress codes. Waterbury school officials say theirs is intended to create an environment where students can focus on learning, make it harder to conceal weapons and reduce the cost of school clothing.

School districts around the country have been revising policies to reduce suspensions and expulsions. Federal government studies have shown blacks and Hispanics are far more likely to face such harsh punishments, and as a result of more police involvement with schools, instances more frequently lead to arrests in what is known as the “school-to-prison pipeline.”

Darren Schwartz, the Waterbury district’s chief academic officer, says it has been making progress in curbing suspensions. By working to understand the root causes of behavioral problems and intervening when possible, he said, the district has achieved a 12 percent reduction in suspensions over the past five years. Last year, the district of 18,862 students had 12,810 suspensions.

At the urging of the NAACP, the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities has been looking into faculty hiring practices in Waterbury. The commission has been working with the district on developing best practices, and the findings of its yearlong investigation are expected within a month.

At Wilby High, 84 percent of the students are Hispanic or black, while 83 percent of educators are white. Some critics say the discipline rates reflect a lack of cultural sensitivity among the faculty.

“The NAACP has been fighting tirelessly to get more cultural sensitivity in Waterbury and all throughout the state,” said Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut NAACP. “For them to do this at the end of the school year is totally absurd.”

The district has been putting more emphasis on recruiting minority teachers, Schwartz said, and is developing a long-term strategy to interest more students in teaching.

“We have a long way to go with that,” he said.

A Wilby High junior, Abbie Soto, said that the teachers from Waterbury generally connect well with students but that the same cannot be said for some others.

Brian Collazo, a 16-year-old student, said if it were up to him there would be no dress code. But, he said, “Some people do take it a little too far.”