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Education Title: Black Harvard students holding a graduation of their own BOSTON (AP) — Black students at Harvard University are organizing a graduation ceremony of their own this year to recognize the achievements of black students and faculty members some say have been overlooked. More than 700 students and guests are registered to attend Harvard's first Black Commencement, which will take place two days before the school's traditional graduation events. It isn't meant to replace the existing ceremony, student organizers say, but rather to add something that was missing. "We really wanted an opportunity to give voice to the voiceless at Harvard," said Michael Huggins, president of the Harvard Black Graduate Student Alliance, a campus group that is planning the ceremony. "So many students identify with the African diaspora but don't necessarily feel welcome as part of the larger community, and they don't feel like their stories are being shared." Harvard joins a growing number of universities that have added graduation events for students of different ethnicities. Some have offered black commencement ceremonies for years, including Stanford University, Marshall University and the University of Washington. Some have added them more recently, and are also adding events for a variety of cultural groups. The May 23 event at Harvard will feature four student speakers discussing the hurdles they faced on the way to graduation. Every student will receive a stole made of traditional African kente cloth, meant to symbolize their shared heritage and to be worn with their cap and gown at the university's graduation. Students have raised $35,000 for the event, mostly from schools within the university. Organizers say some university deans and professors have agreed to attend. A Harvard spokesman declined to comment. "This event is truly open for everyone," said Huggins, who is graduating with a master's in public policy this month. "We really want this to be an open affair where people can learn about some experiences that often go unnoticed." Students at Harvard began an annual Latino graduation ceremony in 2015, and black undergraduates have held similar events. Students say the new event is the first that's open to black students across the university. The University of Delaware held its first ceremony for LGBT students this year, joining dozens of other colleges that have added such "lavender graduation" events in recent years. Along with its traditional commencement, Virginia Commonwealth University last year added new ceremonies for black students, Latinos and military veterans. "They're small affairs, but they're meaningful," said Michael Porter, a spokesman for the university. "It's really a social event, and one more time to get together as you wind down the college career." Cultural graduation events are typically started by students, experts say, and often by those who feel marginalized on their campuses. They can be particularly important for black students, many of whom are the first in their families to graduate from college, said M. Evelyn Fields, president of the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education. "When you're a little speck of pepper in a sea of salt, you can get lost," said Fields, who is also a professor of early childhood education at South Carolina State University. "They don't want to just be lost in the sea. They want the recognition that they believe they deserve, for the work that they've done." Black students at Harvard represent 5 percent of the overall student body, compared with whites, who make up 43 percent, according to federal education data. Campus tensions at the Ivy League school have been heightened over the past two years after a series of racially charged episodes. Harvard police called it a hate crime when framed portraits of several black law professors were defaced in 2015. No suspect was found. Months later, the law school agreed to abandon its official coat of arms after student activists protested the symbol's ties to an 18th-centry slave owner. Organizers of the Black Commencement say it's partly meant to highlight racial disparities on campus. But ultimately it's a celebration of achievement, said Jillian Simons, a law student and president-elect of the Harvard Black Graduate Student Alliance. "We want to acknowledge how far we've come," Simons said. "We want to say that there is a time to be jubilant and to acknowledge something that is positive instead of something that is causing heartache." Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest "Harvard's first Black Commencement, which will take place two days before the school's traditional graduation events. It isn't meant to replace the existing ceremony, student organizers say" Right. They want their own graduation ceremony ... in addition to the regular ceremony. Then how about this? Whites (who comprise 43% of the graduates) also have their own graduation ceremony, and they can choose not to attend the regular ceremony.
#2. To: misterwhite (#0) I shredded any resumes crossing my desk with the word "Studies" in the name of the degree, or "social" and "justice" next to each other. But I'm sure these racists will do just fine in the real world.
#3. To: Hank Rearden (#2) "I shredded any resumes crossing my desk with the word "Studies" in the name of the degree, or "social" and "justice" next to each other." Look at it this way. You're avoiding a lawsuit when you (eventually) fire them. Who needs that headache? Personally, I'd also shred any resume submitted by a "Ms". Same reason. Plus, I don't need the day-to-day drama. Give me a room full of straight white guys and I'll get some work done.
#4. To: misterwhite (#0) " Black students at Harvard University are organizing a graduation ceremony of their own this year " It will look like a tribal ceremony of ZULU's, all carrying zebra shields with short spears, with some white guys tied to posts in the center, while they play knock out with them. Si vis pacem, para bellum
Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.
Never Pick A Fight With An Old Man He Will Just Shoot You He Can't Afford To Get Hurt I am concerned for the security of our great nation; not so much because of any threat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within." -- General Douglas MacArthur #5. To: Stoner (#4) Black students at Harvard University are organizing a graduation ceremony of their own this year And there will be singing, chanting, tribal costumes and, of course, a huge brawl at the end.
#6. To: misterwhite (#0) (Edited) It's only fitting when you consider 95 percent of them only got into Harvard because of their skin color,and damn near all of them would have flunked out if they were not black. Mention the word "Segregation" to them and every damn one of them would say "huh? wat dat means?" You have to feel sorry for the intelligent blacks that got there on and graduated on ability and hard work,and took the hard technical courses like engineering. Can you even begin to imagine how embarrassed they must be? In the entire history of the world,the only nations that had to build walls to keep their own citizens from leaving were those with leftist governments. #7. To: misterwhite (#1) Then how about this? Whites (who comprise 43% of the graduates) also have their own graduation ceremony, and they can choose not to attend the regular ceremony. Dat bees prejiced,cracka! In the entire history of the world,the only nations that had to build walls to keep their own citizens from leaving were those with leftist governments. Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest |
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