“This is something we deplore.”īSU members, though, expressed disappointment that Dirks did not address each individual demand and that his response came a few days after the deadline they set, according to a press release. “Too many students have told us about being excluded from study groups, ignored during class discussions … and feeling, in a general sense, vulnerable, isolated, and invisible,” Dirks wrote in the letter.
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In a letter to the union’s co-chair of political affairs, Dirks addressed both meetings, noting that the campus is hiring a full-time position to coordinate bridges - a coalition of student-run recruitment and retention centers - in addition to hiring a student-athlete development adviser who works mostly with black athletes.
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They discussed the issues again with Steele and Gibor Basri, the vice chancellor for equity and inclusion, in March. Members of the union met with Dirks and Claude Steele, the executive vice chancellor and provost, Feb. The demands are tied to dialogue initiated between Dirks and the union after the hanging of effigies depicting apparent lynchings on campus in December, according to BSU member Cori McGowens. These proposals come amid various efforts to improve campus climate, including an initiative to increase the numbers of black students, faculty and senior staff, among other goals, which is currently under development by campus administrators. The demands consist of 10 proposals to improve both the recruitment and retention of black students at UC Berkeley, such as the creation of a resource center for black student development and the hiring of two full-time, black admissions staff members.
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UC Berkeley’s Black Student Union released a list of demands Wednesday, directed at Chancellor Nicholas Dirks, in an effort to effect institutional change and improve the condition of black students on campus.