After more than 30 years and black students' repeated large-scale protests for improved treatment, has anything really changed?
Quite a lot, according to a report released yesterday by President Nan Keohane focusing on the progress made on black students' demands in several protests between 1969 to 1997.
Black student leaders had not yet read the report last night, but they pushed the University to tackle all the old demands, not just some of them.
The report is the direct result of a demand made by the Duke Student Movement to the administration last week and discusses each of 13 demands made by protesters in 1997. According to the report, significant progress has been made toward meeting almost every demand, particularly in areas such as financial aid, funding for black student organizations and black faculty and student recruitment. The report does acknowledge, however, that in these and other areas, more efforts are necessary.
"The statistics we have provided show that the University has made progress in all areas," states the report, "although the progress has been uneven and in some areas disappointingly slow."
The 24-page document notes that certain demands, such as the creation of a black student dormitory or a black student union, have deliberately been sidestepped, as University leadership wanted to avoid dividing students.
Although the tone of the report was optimistic across the board, some issues were singled out as more relevant in today's environment. "By 1997," it states, "[Duke's] focus had narrowed to a few major issues. These include the recruitment and retention of black faculty, students and administrators; improvement of the climate for minority students and faculty members on campus; and support for black student organizations."
Some black student leaders feel the narrowing of focus is undesirable. "I would not want to settle on just one thing," said senior Denis Antoine, president of the Black Student Alliance. "Yes, those are important issues, but you should never just focus on those."
Kelly Black, president of the Duke chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, agreed that the University must continue focusing on all the demands, not just a few. "I think the most important thing... is that all 13 are important and that the University has done a poor job of at least working with and for African-American students to make sure that those demands are met," she said. "I think we can get into trouble by trying to rank them in a hierarchy."
In the highlighted areas, the report described administrative progress as laudable. In the hiring of black faculty, for example, the Committee on Black Faculty recommended in 1993 that the number be doubled over the next decade. However, with only two years to go, progress is closer to a 50 percent increase.
Nonetheless, administrators feel that given the difficulties of recruiting black faculty, this increase is sizable.
"We're clearly making progress toward that goal," said John Burness, senior vice president for public affairs and government relations. "Duke is not alone in wanting to increase the number of black faculty. There are a lot of other places trying to do the same thing." Burness added that black professors are very much in demand and that the market for them is very competitive.
In other areas, the report claimed great success. Leon Dunkley was hired as director of the Mary Lou Williams Center in 1998, satisfying the demand for a full-time head of the center.
The demand that BSA be given adequate space was addressed when it became one of the few campus organizations granted "permanent" space in the Bryan Center and not subject to an annual review.
And the demand to establish a department of black studies has manifested itself as the Department of African and African-American Studies, which currently boasts 69 majors or minors and 958 students enrolled its courses.
Even in these areas, however, leaders are not content to declare the matters closed. "I would not just take the numbers at face values," said Antoine. "Statistically, the numbers don't speak the full story. It's not the fault of the [AAAS] department but there's definitely room for growth."
He noted that only six of the 69 students cited in the report listed AAAS as their first major.
Burness said he believes the report could change administrative policy, but added that most of the focus since the protest has been on compiling the report, not dealing with its consequences.
Next week, senior administrators will release another statement in which they will suggest steps that can be taken to remedy black students' concerns.
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