http://digital.lib.buffalo.edu/upimage/VF_I18G_038.pdf

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Part of Students have spoken -- now UB needs to listen, September 28, 2015

Text

Students have spoken

nowUB needs to listen
,

BSU and SA instrumentalin leading UB toward a better
community,
UB needs to assist them
.

The ''White Only" and "Black
Only" signs that appeared on
campus two weeks ago shocked
the -university. Debates have ensued over artistic freedom, race
relations and campus policies.
The Student Association and
Black Student Union (BSU) strove
in the aftermath to provide sup~
port for .those troubled by the
event, like last ·Wednesday's open
forum.
Students at the forum spoke of
everytliing from UB's response to
the signs to race relations on campus.
The .creation of these discussions and the strong reactions
from both BSU and SA provid­
ed some reassurance that student
leadership took this event serious­
ly.
Now·UB needs to do their part.
It's clear UB as a university'
fell gravely short in dealing with
the crisis initially. Barbra Ricot­
ta, associate vice president of stu­
dent affairs, admitted as much at
Wednesday's forum. With reportedly insensitive reactions from
University Police dispatchers, no
alert being
sent out about the
I
signs and President Satish Tripathi
taking more than a week to release
a statement on the issue, there was
failure ori many levels.
UB seems to be· on the path
to righting some of its wrongs.
Tripathi released a statement to
students and Wednesday's forum
included some positive discus­
sion from UB officials, like possible creation of a colored advisory
committee to meet with UPD.
But now the university needs to
I

follow through.
.
'
First, the problems related to
UPD come as systemic and widespread. >
Students said dispatchers downplayed the event when they called
about the
signs. While UB isinvestigating the tapes of the dispatcher calls, which isgood to hear, it's
alarming to hear dispatchers may
not have :taken students' fears seriously.
Another troubling development
was a student's claim an officer
blamed the signs for not allowing
police to respond to an assault on
South Campus. UPD should have
been able to tend to an assault and
what could have·been a hate crime
at the same time.
How many officers are on campus?
Orie black male student also
said a UPD officer once asked
him if he was even a student when
he asked wher.e the library was on
South Campus. The issues there
are obvious.
Another point of criticism
lies with the administrations response. No kind of alert was put
out, which casts judgment of the
administration in doubt. Before it
was revealed to be an art project,
students had legitimate concerns
the signs were hate crime
Adding onto this uncertainty
was Tripathi's delay in releasing a
statement. While .the university
put out several statements quick­
ly regardingthe signs -- which we
appreciate - stucl.ents should have
heard from their president.

a

CONITNUED ON PAGE 6

Students
have spoken
--now UB
needs to
listen
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
'

.

Listening to students at the forum, it was
clear they wanted to hear from their presi­
dent. It should not have taken more than a
week for students to get that.
The delay and confusion makes it seem a
day iate anda dollar short.
•
Finally, the question of Ashley Powell,
the student who hung the signs, must be ad­
dressed. Clearly there needs to be repercus­
sions and public ones at that. The university
has condemned. what happened and stated
that the rules were violated in posting such
signs. Now it heeds to take some action to
back up their words, or students will com­
pletely lose faith in the administration.
While we don't feel Powell's opportuni­
ty to get an education here should be tak­
en away, there has to be some repercussion
for her, her professors or.anyone who had
knowledge of her project.
Black students dearly feel that UB is divided along tacial lines. One stud_ent at the
forum pointed out how most of the attend­
ees were not white. Another student said
he's trying to, reinstate an NAACP chapter
at UB.
The calls for diversity training for faculty,
in addition to the diversity classes planned
for the general education program, seems
much more teasonabie if these kinds of attitudes are prevalent on campus.
The campus needs to move quickly, decisively and publicly in its efforts to reassure
present and future minority students
Otherwise, UB might not be viewed as a
welcome school for minority students anymore.'

'