Black students make up for percent of IU Bloomington’s enrollment. In fact, Black students have made up 4% of the student body since 1975.
To bring awareness to this issue the IU Black Graduate Student Association, the Hudson & Holland Scholars Program, and the Marshall Black Culture Center have teamed together to host a commemoration to resistance in honor of Ms. Rosa Parks, we have also begun collecting donations for our second annual Diversity Toy Drive, and we are in the process of preparing for our first call-a-thon of the year in conjunction with the Office of Admissions. We are committed to not only bring awareness to diversity issues on the campus, but we also intend to be three change we want to see. Others have taken our cause and spread the message to their new jobs, schools, and communities. At this point we’ve spread the message to Ohio, Pennsylvania, and of course Bloomington, Indiana. Our story has been featured on NPR, Bloomington’s Harald-Times, and IU’s student newspaper the IDS. Just this evening alone, December 10, 2012, we were interviewed on Bloomington’s community radio station WFHB and meet with IU’s student governing board, the Indiana University Student Association (IUSA). The bottom line
is that we know all students are not being treated equally, so we want to do something about it. Find out the information for yourself, analyze the results to get an idea of the root of the problem, and actively engage in developing and enacting solutions to the problem.It can be done, and regardless of how alone you may feel, know that you have people on your side. Your ally, your advocate, your brothers & sisters of the 4%. Fist up.