The Black Student Union held a charged meeting last night after members were incensed by a series of recently posted Teach For America fliers that some called “insensitive.”
Professor Linda Heywood and her African-American history class first noticed the fliers, which included statistics on minority academic achievement, in the College of Arts of Sciences early yesterday morning. They reported seeing two young, white men who looked like “skinheads” posting the fliers and contacted university officials because they felt threatened and offended.
Patrick O’Donnell, the Teach For America recruiter on BU’s campus, apologized at last night’s meeting for the posters, which did not include any attribution or reference to TFA.
“By fourth grade, African-American students are, on average, 3 to 4 grade levels behind their Caucasian peers in math and science,” one poster reads. Another states: “Less than half of high school students in urban areas graduate, and those who do, often read below basic levels.”
O’Donnell said his organization, which places specially trained teachers in low-income communities, originally planned to post different statistics for three days starting yesterday, followed by two days of a different flier advocating Teach For America as a catalyst for change. He said he is suspending the campaign because of “the negative repercussions” and will re-evaluate the advertisements.
UMOJA, the Black Student Union, already had a meeting scheduled for last night, but changed the agenda to address student concerns. Several members said it was one of the group’s largest meetings in recent memory.
“I feel like it was an attack, like, ‘Why are you here?'” panelist Shameka Gregory, the CAS junior who was first to speak, said of the posters.
But despite students’ frustration, many saw the meeting as a chance to address the significant issues they said the fliers raised.
Although he was upset about the “garbage” posted on the walls, Panelist Akeem Lawrence, a CAS junior, said changing the statistics by reaching out to the community is more effective than simply blaming someone. UMOJA Vice President Josh Clarke said the fliers did not reference black students at BU and said, “I’m not worried about you all.”
“Actions speak louder than words,” the COM sophomore said, noting the impact the nearly 100 students in attendance could have if they volunteered in the community.
Panelist Jonathan Priester, a College of Communication freshman, commended students for attending the meeting but said, “it shouldn’t take something outrageous to [bring us together],” which received widespread applause.
“Hungry people work the hardest,” he said, “and we’ve been too full.”
Although several students condemned O’Donnell for the offensive posters, he said his mission was to rally students and promote discussion about ways to give underprivileged students an equal chance in education.
“I do like a lot of the dialogue happening in this room tonight,” he said.
Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore addressed the audience at the end of the meeting, promoting the university’s community service initiatives and dialogue about race in American society.
“You’ve shown what I think is virtuous patience here tonight,” he said.
However, Elmore said despite the fact that many of those who benefit from university service projects are “people of color,” the volunteers themselves are predominantly white. He said when minorities help other minorities, the effect is greater, and he encouraged members of UMOJA to reach out in the community.
“While you may have had a little distress about this, I hope you walk out of here inspired,” he said.
Like O’Donnell, Elmore said the students at the UMOJA meeting achieved Teach For America’s goal of discussing educational issues in low-income communities despite their disapproval of the method.
“On some levels, it’s ironic, but it worked, if you think about it,” Elmore said after the event. “They were also talking about the issue that Teach For America wants to be talked about . . . The students did indeed have the conversation before they even heard from Patrick.”
Professor Heywood, who was not at the event, said her students had originally thought the fliers were posted by people hoping to promote racism.
She said she and many of her students were bothered by the fliers because they “put things in students’ heads” and that the two young men, who students said they saw put up the fliers, “are attacking [students’] intellectual integrity.”
“We’re not going to stand for it,” Heywood said.
After seeing the two men, Heywood said she called the BU Police Department, The Daily Free Press and President Robert Brown’s office, which contacted the Dean of Students Office.
When Heywood was notified last night that the fliers were posted by Teach For America, she said despite the organization’s good intentions, the statements made are “insensitive” without a provided context.
“I was surprised that it is done by an organization whose ultimate aim is to improve quality of teaching and quality of information,” she said.
“These words . . . can be misinterpreted, even though it has well meaning,” Heywood added. “It can definitely be misinterpreted.”
UMOJA President Francesca Okolie, a CAS junior in Heywood’s history class, said the two students posting the fliers “looked like skinheads.” She said it was unusual to see students slouching in the corridor at a time when most students are either going to or coming from class.
Because CAS is private property, solicitors not affiliated with the university are not allowed inside during class, BU spokesman Colin Riley said.
“They have no right to go into university property,” he said. “They will be escorted off and perhaps cited with a trespass warning.”
Yesterday’s incident was not the first time seemingly racist fliers on campus have alarmed students. In February 2006, representatives from National Vanguard, an organization whose mission statement is to break “through the walls of censorship to be a beacon of hope to White men, women and children around the world,” according to its website, distributed fliers in South Campus vestibules.
“We had them [National Vanguard] over in South Campus last year, and they were putting some materials into the vestibules,” Riley said. “We never saw anyone doing it, so we didn’t cite anyone then.”