Milwaukee, WI – 30 students, faculty and others attended a town hall meeting with the new Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Dr. Andrew Daire, at the Fireside Lounge on the campus of UW-Milwaukee (UWM) on October 31. Some of those in attendance were mobilized to the meeting by the UWM chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

The purpose of the talk was to present on the current enrollment situation at the university. Numbers have declined steadily since 2010 with nearly 7000 fewer students attending UWM in 2023 than a decade ago. One of the most glaring enrollment statistics is that UWM’s student body is only 6% Black. For context, Milwaukee has a population that is roughly 40% Black, and Milwaukee Public Schools has a student body which is 50% Black.

“The discrepancy between enrollment numbers of Black students at UWM and the population of Milwaukee and the public schools is despicable. It demonstrates that there is an overall lack of commitment from the administration at this university to live up to their claims of being a diverse and inclusive campus,” said Patricia Fish, a leader in SDS.

SDS members grilled the provost with questions about what he and the administration were going to do to address the situation, but Daire proved skillful in spending a lot of time saying nothing of substance and passing the buck on to others, claiming that he “has no power” to make the changes he wants.

The efforts around holding Daire’s feet to the fire are a part of SDS’s broader campaign to increase Black enrollment at UWM, which also includes demands around increasing the hiring of Black faculty and staff, the targeted recruitment of Black students from Milwaukee Public Schools, an increase in the scholarships and other financial aid offered to incoming students as well as for those students already attending UWM to assist with retention, and defending and expanding the funding for the Black Student Cultural Center.

#MilwaukeeWI #IncreaseBlackEnrollment #SDS

Seattle, WA – On Thursday, October 5, the Progressive Student Union at the University of Washington held a rally to begin a campaign to increase enrollment of Black, Latino and native students at the university. Over 20 students gathered at the steps of Suzzallo Library to demonstrate their support for the demands.

Black, Latino and student from native nations at the University of Washington are drastically underrepresented. Based on the enrollment numbers for the incoming class of 2022, which have not been released in detail publicly, less than 10% of new students in 2022 were Latino, 3.9% were African American or Black, and less than a quarter of a percent were native. Despite this, the university continued to boast of having one of the most diverse incoming classes in its history.

As a result of escalating attacks on diversity nationwide, the Progressive Student Union at the University of Washington, a chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, decided to take up a campaign to increase enrollment of these groups. Israel Vazquez, a member of the Progressive Student Union, spoke to the effect that low enrollment of oppressed peoples has at UW, stating “What message does it send to me when I come to UW, and I have to search for my community? When I’m one of the only Chicanos in my classes? It tells me that I’m alone.”

The administration has paid lip service to similar demands in the past, but students said that they were tired of a lack of action. Milan Suárez, of the Students for Farm Workers, said, “We desperately seek community on campus, and we’re tired of being our own support system.” Jonathan Toledo, a member of the Seattle Alliance against Racist and Political Repression, described the primary reasons for a lack of enrollment as “antagonistic administration” and “the general cost of classes.”

The rally finished with Mathieu Chabaud, another member of the Progressive Student Union, explaining the historical context for the current campaign, saying, “What we have here today at this university, in terms of enrollment, ethnic studies, the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity, was created because students fought for it and made administration implement it.”

In 1968, the Black Student Union held a sit-in that culminated in the university agreeing to create ethnic studies programs and increase Black enrollment, which also had the effect of significantly increasing Latino and native enrollment. Chabaud ended with a call to rebuild the gains of the student movement in the past, and force administration to commit to increasing enrollment of oppressed nationalities again.

#SeattleWA #PSU #SDS #AfricanAmerican #Chicano #Latino #SAARPR #IncreaseBlackEnrollment

Milwaukee, WI – On Thursday, September 14, UW-Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and supporting community organizations rallied together to demand justice for Déjah Welsh. Welsh is a Black former student who attended UWM in 2013. Like many students, she was struggling with mental health issues, and while having a mental health crisis, UWM police officers attacked her and nearly suffocated her to death. They only stopped when she said, “I don’t want to end up like Derek Williams.” Williams was suffocated to death in the back of a Milwaukee police squad car in 2011. Once they stopped, they put her in a mental health facility.

When she tried to return to campus, UWM administration gave her the runaround, and basically prevented her from re-enrolling by forcing her to miss deadlines. Years later, she is trying to enroll at a different university to continue her education, but UWM will not release her transcripts to her.

Unfortunately, Welsh’s experience with campus police is not unique. Many Black students have been targeted, harassed and brutalized by UWM PD. It’s no wonder that Black enrollment is so low.

“It’s important to keep these stories alive because often the Black people that this happens to don’t get to tell their story or more importantly don’t receive the justice they deserve. So often we hear about the Black UWM students who faced similar things in their classrooms, in the dorms and with administration,” Welsh said during the rally.

After the rally, nearly 20 protesters marched through campus to Chancellor Mone’s Fall Address to make their demands known. They protested outside the venue before going inside with signs that read “Justice for Déjah!” and “Increase Black enrollment!”

“When we went inside, there were about five campus cops and a staff person who told us we couldn’t stand up, we had to sit down,” says SDS member Patricia Fish. “It’s clear that Chancellor Mone knows UWM made a huge mistake, and they were doing damage control.”

During the address, Mone showed a video tokenizing a Black student, and spoke about opportunities available to Black students, but he could barely look in the protesters’ direction.

SDS demands that UWM administration and police department apologize to Déjah Welsh for what happened, release her transcripts, forgive her student loans from her time at UWM, and give her a grant to return to school. Welsh should not owe any money to an institution responsible for traumatizing her and barring her from higher education!

“It’s time to come forward and fight back,” says Welsh, “I’m not the first and I'm definitely not the last student this has happened to. I encourage any other Black and brown students at UWM who have faced similar racism to come forward and seek justice.”

People can sign the petition to demand justice for Déjah here.

#MilwaukeeWI #IncreaseBlackEnrollment #SDS #UWMSDS

Tampa Bay SDS wins major victory in their Increase Black Enrollment campaign

By Eithne Silva

Tampa, Fl – On August 4, the president of the University of South Florida (USF) released a statement to the public announcing changes being made to improve Black student life. Some of these changes include demands that Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) brought to USF administration through their Increase Black Enrollment campaign.

In the fall of 2019, after a string of white supremacist activity on campus as well as the lowest proportion of black students at USF in a decade, Tampa Bay SDS launched their Increase Black Enrollment campaign to put pressure on USF administration to make the university more accessible to Black students.

While the campaign was initially met with hostility from USF administration – with claims that USF did not have the funds to start recruitment programs and that it is not the university’s responsibility to deal with racism on campus – they have recently changed their tune.

After a year-long campaign, as well as increasing pressure from Tampa Bay SDS and other organizations such as the Black Student Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, USF administration allocated funds for programs aimed at increasing Black enrollment. The president of USF announced that they are starting an expansive recruitment program and a guaranteed admission program for local, majority-Black high schools in addition to creating more scholarships for Black students – all demands from the Tampa Bay SDS campaign.

“We hope that these changes will make the university more accessible to Black students and will increase the number of Black students at USF. Since the fall semester has not started yet, and there is still a lack of Black faculty and counselors, we will continue to hold the university accountable to eliminate racism on campus,” said a member of Tampa Bay SDS.

#TampaFL #StudentMovement #Antiracism #TampaBaySDS #IncreaseBlackEnrollment #UniversityOfNorthFloridaUSF #USFAdministration

Tampa, FL – On July 2, students gathered at the gates of the on-campus residence for the president of the University of South Florida (USF) to demand that the university take measures to increase Black enrollment. Over the past 10 years, the percentage of Black students at the university has been on a steady decline, from a high of 12% a decade ago to the most recent report of 10%. But even the highest percentage is much lower than the demographics of the Tampa Bay area, in which Black people comprise nearly a quarter of the population.

Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) led the crowd in chants calling for an increase in Black enrollment, as well as Black faculty and counselors. Tampa Bay SDS also drew attention to the fact that they have been met with pushback from administrators in the past when voicing these demands, with representatives of the university implying that an increase in Black enrollment would negatively affect the school’s graduation rates.

Tampa Bay SDS was joined by members of the Black Student Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) who also voiced their frustrations with the lack of equity in the demographics of the university. Jason Berry of the NAACP emphasized, “Often, when we as Black students request something, the request isn’t met or is replaced with general ‘diversity’ rather than resources specifically for Black students.”

Tampa Bay SDS will continue to fight for an increase in Black enrollment at USF until the demand is met.

#TampaFL #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #Antiracism #TampaBaySDS #UniversityOfSouthFloridaUSF #IncreaseBlackEnrollment

Tampa, FL – On February 25, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a Black Students Matter rally on campus to bring attention to the racist admissions practices that the administration at the University of South Florida (USF) engages in.

Enrollment of Black students at USF has been declining for years and the percent of Black students at USF was the lowest it’s been in the past decade last semester (fall 2019), at 9.4%. This is especially alarming considering that in the Tampa Bay area, where USF is located, Black people comprise 24% of the population.

“We understand how schools like USF partake in acts of anti-Blackness that deny an already marginalized group of people an education,” said Gareth Dawkins, member of Tampa Bay SDS.

Tampa Bay SDS has been confronting administration about this problem and has even met with administrators Dean McDonald, Vice President Paul Dosal, and Vice President of Diversity Dr. Haywood Brown to discuss it. Despite Tampa Bay SDS suggesting methods that have been proven to make college more accessible to historically underrepresented groups, like increasing the financial aid available to Black students and automatically accepting top performing students from all local high schools, the administrators were more concerned with accepting students who were guaranteed to graduate within four years to maintain the university’s status.

During the rally, Tampa Bay SDS brought attention to USF administration’s unwillingness to enroll more Black students, the lack of financial aid available to Black students despite USF’s bloated budget, and USF administration’s continued silence and inaction regarding white supremacist activity on campus.

Regarding their campaign to Increase Black enrollment at USF, Dawkins stated that Tampa Bay SDS “hopes to work with other organizations that also want to increase African American student enrollment at USF and will continue to publicize the declining enrollment because it’s a community issue that concerns all of us.”

#TampaFL #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #TampaBayStudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #Antiracism #UniversityOfSouthFloridaUSF #IncreaseBlackEnrollment

This event occurred in anticipation of an upcoming December 4 meeting with administration. SDS will be meeting with the Vice President of Student Success Paul Dosa, VP of Diversity and Inclusion Haywood Brown, Assistant VP of Admissions Glen Besterfield, and Dean of Students Danielle McDonald. The meeting will determine the future of how USF will address Black enrollment on campus, which has continuously declined over the past ten years.

As of 2018, Black enrollment was 10.7% of the student body on the Tampa campus, and has never exceeded 12%. As of November 19, undergraduate Black enrollment stands at 9.9%, an all-time low. This is especially stunning because the community surrounding USF is nearly 27% African American.

This demographic skew occurs at the same time as an increased white supremacist presence at USF. Spray-painted racial slurs and racist propaganda have appeared semi-regularly since 2017.

“It’s up to USF administration whether or not they will truly address the gap that exists between the surrounding community and the bubble of campus. How they choose to move forward will not only determine how many community members will have access to quality education, but also how ‘welcome’ white supremacist forces will feel on campus,” said Tampa Bay SDS member Elizabeth Kramer.

#TampaFL #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #Antiracism #TampaSDS #UniversityOfSouthFloridaUSF #IncreaseBlackEnrollment