Article "Black Students Feel 'Prejudice' at Richmond"

Article "Black Students Feel 'Prejudice' at Richmond"

This article -- published on October 23, 1980, in The Collegian -- describes the discontent that black students had toward the way students, faculty, and even parents treated them at the University of Richmond. Students who were interviewed described moments in which they were excluded from the dominant culture on campus, including moments where some were mistaken as staff. In addition, the interviewees described the cultural differences on campus, namely that most of the student population came from private schools, and thus had no previous interactions with black people.The article interviews several black students, none of whom are named, expressing a level of discomfort and strain in their attempts to interact with white students. A Westhampton College sophomore said, “People think you're the janitor in North Court or one of the workers in dining hall just because you're black.” Furthermore, black student athletes -- specifically football players -- felt "double prejudice" as they were seen "first as football player, second as blacks and third as students." The article also describes the newly instated Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, the first black fraternity on campus, when discussing the social life at Richmond. The social life was described as another reason for discontent as there was differences in music and that parties did not typically mix between white and black students. According to the article, every black student interviewed expressed the desire to "'take people for who they are inside - not just at face value.' They said that the University should rise the quota for blacks, increase the ratio of black males to black females and recruit black who are not athletes."

Parks, Mary Alice. "Black Students Feel 'Prejudice' at Richmond." The University of Richmond Collegian 67, no. 8. (October 23, 1980): 2. http://collegian.richmond.edu/cgi-bin/richmond?a=d&d=COL19801023.2.9&srpos=4&e=------198-en-20--1--txt-txIN-

The Collegian, University of Richmond

1980-10-23

English

Collegian67.8.1-19801023.jpg

Richmond (Va.)