Goals

Today

Institutional Commitments

1.  Approve 3 Point Guide Infographic for Posting & Printing

• Response: CHRIJ approved, Office of the Provost denied.

2. Release 2013 Campus Climate Data, Conclusions & Next Steps (survey completed by 3,300 undergraduates with 6 subsequent focus groups)

• Response: Released to the Graduate Students of Color Association. In a final report, Student Affairs writes, “Boston College does not acknowledge racial tensions on campus and the most common approach is reactive to major volatile incidents on campus.” In the very next paragraph, they write, “[S]ubtle instances of racial tension dominate the Black experience at Boston College.” Read the final report here.

3. Appoint a Diversity Officer at Every College to sit on a University-wide Diversity Council

• Response: None.

4. Include Students in the Hiring Committee for the New Executive Director of the Office of Institutional Diversity, and Include Questions Regarding Systematic Oppression as Part of the Interview Process.

• Response: An Interim Executive Director was announced in November 2015, with no announcement regarding the recruitment plans and hiring process for an Executive Director.  

Interventions

5. Collaboratively Design and Launch the Bias Response Team (BRT) with Students of Color

• Response:  Completed with Dean of Students office; removed after 2 weeks. Protocol for reporting bias incidents has been “under review” since this time. No mechanism now exists to collect data on bias or easily lodge formal complaints.

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6. Require Diversity & Anti-Oppression Training for the BC Community

• Response: In late Spring 2016, the Vice President of Student Affairs’ office announced that incoming students will receive a new training, “Campus of Difference” run by the Anti-Defamation League. Human Resources has added an online module on harassment for faculty and staff. There is little transparency about how either program addresses the concepts of institutional racism and it is unclear whether all faculty and staff will be required to take this new online module.

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7. Reform Pedagogy & Curriculum to Reduce Eurocentric Focus and Address Racism and Diversity in the Classroom

• Response: Asked Provost Quigley in Summer 2015. He said no need for this; the curriculum develops critical thinking. Suggested the supply of classes would follow demand. In Spring 2016 students create a petition to for university to acknowledge eurocentric core.

Accountability

8. Publicize Issues & Progress on Addressing Institutional Racism at Boston College

• Response: In late Spring of 2016 the Vice President of Student Affairs’ office published an action plan to “provide a welcoming and inclusive community for all students at Boston College.”  The office does not publish updates on progress on the points of the plan. The plan fails to address academic areas that perpetuate institutional racism, such as the eurocentric curriculum.

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9. Publicize Statistics on Students, Faculty, Staff & Board of Trustee Members of Color, International Status and Female and/or Gender Nonconforming.

• Response: None.

10. Increase Recruitment & Retention of Students, Faculty, Staff & Board of Trustee Members of Color, International Status, and Female and/or Gender Nonconforming.

• Response: None. A sports article in the Boston Globe mentions that Boston College will add two African American Board of Trustee members in June of 2016, but this has not been confirmed by University officials or the Board.