Dr. Carson Carr, Jr., a 1958 graduate of West Chester, adds that the event aided in healing some of the wounds that exist for many past students.
“It provided an opportunity to return to the campus and do some healing because some were not allowed to live on campus at that time and it was a way for the university to do a declaration of regret regarding conditions for these students … and it was a way for the university and past students to come together for some closure,” says Carr, who is currently the associate vice president for academic affairs at the State University of New York-Albany.
Carr says that he and other Black students were required to share dorm rooms with one another during his undergraduate experience at West Chester. This practice, he says, hampered potential friendships between students of color and their White counterparts.
Despite past memories of discrimination, however, many WCU graduates are proud of the strong education they received at the 137-year-old institution, Carr says.
“We got an outstanding quality education there. We had some great teachers who prepared us for our professions … we are really happy with the type of education, in spite of some subtleties (of discrimination) that still existed,” says Carr, who adds that he appreciates West Chester’s continued commitment to advancing diversity and acceptance via various campus programs and institutions such as the school’s Frederick Douglass Institute.
Sheridan adds that WCU’s annual Civility Day is part of the university’s year-round pledge to encourage mutual respect among students and faculty.
“The president sees this as a foundation for success at the institution,” she says. “And part of this success included valuing diversity in experiences and different ideas.”© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
