(06-23-2020 09:35 AM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  

(06-23-2020 09:18 AM)allerretour Wrote:  I'd be pretty much done with Rice if they change the name or take down the statue (not that they'd miss my paltry contributions). I think I'd become anti-Rice if they put a separate black house on campus.

What is the black house that is part of the discussion? I haven't seen a good explanation floating around (but admittedly, I could have missed it). Is it a dorm/residential college? Or is it more like the Women's Resource Center - a permanent, physical space on campus?

Both. They're demanding a separate off-campus dorm or residential college exclusively for African-Americans as well as a building/center for African-Americans to congregate and discuss issues. Yes, this is going back to segregation, which runs counter to their mission.

I support BLM and agree with many of their requests, however, on several facebook and twitter Rice-related pages they are attacking anyone who doesn't agree with them 100%, or even those who politely raise concerns over one or two of their "demands" or the tone of their letter to the administration. Instead, they're quick to label such supportive alums as "racist" and "sexist" (since the majority of the co-signers are women). They also fail to recognize the very significant progress that has been made over the past 10 years, and the number of recent initiatives put in place to address diversity and promote increased African-American awareness and resources. Certainly, there are areas (e.g., hiring, admissions) in which further improvement is needed, but I'm not sure their aggressive, antagonistic approach is the most effective way of affecting further change. Having said that, they are certainly getting heard, and this is long overdue.