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Sarah Frey 5 February 2012 Duke Students Call for Better Climates for Blacks

At Duke University, a group of two dozen students advised administrators to initiate a better atmosphere and offer more financial support programs to benefit black students. Recommendations included starting an endowment to have a sustainable funding source for cultural events and academic programs that include black students. The group recommends a special university working committee to study whether blacks feel a welcoming environment at Duke. One major concern is the future location of the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture. Another concern is the administration’s lack of support for the annual Black Student Alliance invitational weekend. An urgent complaint is the soon to be published study by Duke Researchers that says black students match the GPA of white students by taking easier course loads. In response, the university officials have stated that they will welcome their recommendations and will discuss the issues with the students. The subject of a cultural climate for the minority population at a prominent, private southern campus is relevant as an example of change in society. College campuses played a role in race relations in the 1960’s era of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The culture of American Society was changed by the civil rights movement. The change was so profound that there is a national holiday in honor of Dr. King because of his dream to create a more diverse culture in America. Today, there are cultural diversity programs at most colleges. At college career nights, it is evident that most colleges have between 10-30 percent of minorities in their population and would deal with the same issues of creating a fair culture on campus. Race relations played an important role in America’s society when college athletes were integrated to play on intercollegiate sports teams. The Central York School District holds an annual Diversity Day to celebrate various cultures and customs. The cultural climate for minority students at colleges and high schools remains a relevant topic in today’s society.
 * Summary **
 * Relevance **

The educational culture at Duke University is being questioned. The collective culture of the African American students is being discussed. Students’ sight concerns about the location of the cultural center and a special invitational weekend. Located in Durham, North Carolina, Duke University has about 6,500 undergraduate students. Approximately 47 percent are white, 21 percent are Asian-American, and 10 percent are black. Therefore, the black population is a minority on campus and desires to have a say in cultural events on campus. The President of the Black Student Alliance, Nana Asante, a senior psychology major, led the procession on Tuesday in which they unsuccessfully sought a meeting with the University President, Richard Brodhead. A university spokesperson, Mike Schoenfeld, said “These are not new issues at Duke”; “Many people have been working for a long time to create a positive environment for the African-American students at Duke (Duke2).” Administrators plan to discuss the issues with the students. With the issue of cultural support from the African-American minority of the Duke campus, the administration is being forced to discuss these issues and there is likely to be ongoing improvements to the college culture.
 * Evaluation **


 * Questions **
 * 1) Ms. Asante said that the students will await the university’s response to their call to action to decide what the next step will be. This raises the question if the students are causing unesesary disturbance to the university or if they should be focusing on their classwork?
 * 2) One observation that was ironic was that a school in the southern state still has racial issues continuing. Why hasn’t the school administration come to a conclusion to prevent racial conflicts?

**Bibliography **

"Duke Students Call For Better Climate For Blacks | Fox News." //Fox News - Breaking News Updates | Latest News Headlines | Photos & News Videos//. Associated Press, 24 Jan. 2012. Web. 3 Feb. 2012.