34 20 962 http://s3.amazonaws.com/sc-lib-ds-bl1969/original/2c716430aba0787ff69c4e927dd83d91.jpg 9423dc5035b3a905b2c1c711310685f0 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Courtney Smith Papers Description An account of the resource Correspondence, reports, recommendations, statements, and news clippings from students, administrators, board members, and alums. All of these documents passed through the Swarthmore President's Office during Courtney Smith's time there. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Friends Historical Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource [Joseph Shane's Statement, 01/09/1969] Description An account of the resource Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Joseph Shane Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 01/09/1969 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG 1969 sit-in Black admissions Faculty President's Office SASS http://s3.amazonaws.com/sc-lib-ds-bl1969/original/102dc3b224f7d76363b422e8a658939d.jpg be0ede7b5a7023aea008dffb3aa1d14a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Courtney Smith Papers Description An account of the resource Correspondence, reports, recommendations, statements, and news clippings from students, administrators, board members, and alums. All of these documents passed through the Swarthmore President's Office during Courtney Smith's time there. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Friends Historical Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource [Statement from SASS and Student Council, 01/08/1969] Description An account of the resource Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Swarthmore Afro-American Students' Society Student Council Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource [01/08/1969] Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG 1969 sit-in SASS Student Council http://s3.amazonaws.com/sc-lib-ds-bl1969/original/04bb7f593cf6b30ccf277cf1d9100fb6.jpg ce11c84e927369c1d2553d5ca91da101 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Courtney Smith Papers Description An account of the resource Correspondence, reports, recommendations, statements, and news clippings from students, administrators, board members, and alums. All of these documents passed through the Swarthmore President's Office during Courtney Smith's time there. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Friends Historical Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource [SASS' Statement, 10/18/1968] Description An account of the resource Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Swarthmore Afro-American Students' Society Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 10/18/1968 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG Black admissions Frederick Hargadon SASS http://s3.amazonaws.com/sc-lib-ds-bl1969/original/b0f3ccc0bf91a31aeee8c0ee074cabb4.jpg d98ba598eb1de919e9c93642e5157b55 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Courtney Smith Papers Description An account of the resource Correspondence, reports, recommendations, statements, and news clippings from students, administrators, board members, and alums. All of these documents passed through the Swarthmore President's Office during Courtney Smith's time there. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Friends Historical Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource [Gilmore Stott's Statement, 01/06/1969] Description An account of the resource Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gilmore Stott Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 01/06/1969 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG 1969 sit-in Black admissions Clinton Etheridge President's Office SASS http://s3.amazonaws.com/sc-lib-ds-bl1969/original/620179d9d122c8888c910f095d642af9.pdf fd18df5bb0c1d7b722b81e8c28471724 PDF Text Text Courtney President/Smith's Statement to the Faculty and Stud en ts of Swarthmore Coll ege presented at 1:45 .p .M. on I) January 1969 in Clothier Memorial Hall Let me say just a few words about what I think we have b een doing. In my letter of Dec ember 31st to the Faculty I asked our entire Coll ege community to con'sider conscientiously and imagin ative ly ' the b es t way to achieve what I believed to be '. I the und er lying conc erns of SASS·::- , and of the Admis s ions Policy Committee. I believe that we have been doing that. Certainly the Faculty, for which I can speak as its presiding officer, has responded in a way that has deepened, if that were possible, my pride in Swarthmore. The Faculty met in long sessions -- last Tues day afternoon, Thursday night, Friday afternoon, Frid a y ni ght , Sat~rday morning, Saturday aft ern oon, Sund ay morning from 10:00 A.M. to clos e ~ to to 2:00 P.M., Sunday afternoon from 3:30 P.M./close to 7:00 P.N., and Sunday night from 8:30 P.f1. to around 3:30 A.M. At about One faculty member reports that his youn gest child did not · recogl1ize him Hhen h e got hom e for a quick meal. 3:20 A.M. this morning Profess~r Alburt Ros enberg rose to h~ I . I I I i I I say that from his supply of thre e buttons carries with him for his lap e l he was going to change to a new one with thJ'ee Hords on it. \lIhi Ie he tried to. find th e but ton, the I I ! Heary faculty n at ura lly speculated on the Hords, \-lith "H e Try Ha rder " a leadin g po ss ibility. The button he actually put on had only t'l'JO Horels -- "Escalate Peace." ·::-S'VJartb m ore Afro - Ame rican Stud ents' S.o ci e ty , .! ! �-2I stronely support the actions He have taken as a Faculty, and I will strongly support them to the Board of Mru1agers. I am confident that the Board shares the same values and concerns that have motivated the Faculty in our actions. I feel so sure of the Board's feelings on these matters that I am ready to begin immediately to implement the actions we . have taken. What we have passed is clear to those of us who have passed it, and vJe believe it to be right. to be worked out as we go along, Co m~issiOrt Details will have just as details of our on Educational Policy actions have to .be worked out every day, but I see no probl ems in that if, as I am assuming, \..,e . can work in a spiri t of mutual trust. there Hill riot be any Hho \'li ll seek to SOhT I hope, I pray, distrust. I am SU1'e SASS Hi 11 VJant to work in a spirit of mutual trust, and I call on all of us to seek and work through the good in each oth er. It is possible to use our present problem to esdalate real and fancied differences that exist in any community. But I would ask of all of us never to trade Swarthmor e 's excellente . . and fin enes s and r eadiness to hold itself open to from whatever source it comes , never to for slo gans and h a t e . ne~" light, trad ~ th ese things It took no for'ce to brin g about compre It hensiv e propo sa ls fo r th e development of B l a ck Studies. took no forco to brine about our fund amonta l and compre h ensive ex aminatio~ of ourself in our Co mm ission on Educational POlicy. Stud ents '-lere involv ed , were .Ul7ged to b e involved) in �...... -3~ll of those considerations. I realize that some now sneor at the CEP, but there \Vas no sneering in the Danforth groups and no sneering in the referendum Vlhich students l-lere urged to take in order to express themselves on everyone of the recommendations. We have lost something precious at Swarthmore -the feelin,g that force and disruptiveness 'are just not our way. But maybe He can see to it that this one tinle is only For certainly if there are the exception that proves the rule. any Hha now think that direct action should eventually be used for Black Stud· es, or Student Heek.) or any proposals that i might come out of a Student Week, or the Sex Rule, or Dormitory Autonomy, or the University City Science Center, or the Physical Education requirement, or Beards, or on the question of institutional structure and the gove:rnance of higher education [let me di8ress to say that I am far from convinced that the prevailing system of governance of higher education in America . is right for our times, though I'am convinc e d that it is Vlrong ~lso far from and I am very conscious of the - fact that the abstractions of the description of the govern a... lce Y of our 0'\;'11 particular insti tution al\Jays obscure the basic but hum anity and 'H a rmth vIith "Hhich ",e have tr'iec1 to proceed; these ma tters of governanc e a r e il, elY opinion ones foy- deep "" " from and thou ghtful consideratio,~7 then.J to cQ n:e back AD my di g r e ssion, 1 hav e to s a y th a t I seriously doubt th e ir faith in educatio n , �and the . educational process, and I Hould be saddened to see further accept ance of force as against those qualities of t ru st · an d to I e ran c e an d hum iIi t y an d a.nt i - tot a lit a r ian ism and Hillingn e ss to seek th·e good in others -- those qualities .e specially that hav e made, and can make, Swarthmore E=:,;.~;~::?~ ;~~it~}},~ "fine". ' � Courtney President/Smith's Statement to the Faculty and Stud en ts of Swarthmore Coll ege presented at 1:45 .p .M. on I) January 1969 in Clothier Memorial Hall Let me say just a few words about what I think we have b een doing. In my letter of Dec ember 31st to the Faculty I asked our entire Coll ege community to con'sider conscientiously and imagin ative ly ' the b es t way to achieve what I believed to be '. I the und er lying conc erns of SASS·::- , and of the Admis s ions Policy Committee. I believe that we have been doing that. Certainly the Faculty, for which I can speak as its presiding officer, has responded in a way that has deepened, if that were possible, my pride in Swarthmore. The Faculty met in long sessions -- last Tues day afternoon, Thursday night, Friday afternoon, Frid a y ni ght , Sat~rday morning, Saturday aft ern oon, Sund ay morning from 10:00 A.M. to clos e ~ to to 2:00 P.M., Sunday afternoon from 3:30 P.M./close to 7:00 P.N., and Sunday night from 8:30 P.f1. to around 3:30 A.M. At about One faculty member reports that his youn gest child did not · recogl1ize him Hhen h e got hom e for a quick meal. 3:20 A.M. this morning Profess~r Alburt Ros enberg rose to h~ I . I I I i I I say that from his supply of thre e buttons carries with him for his lap e l he was going to change to a new one with thJ'ee Hords on it. \lIhi Ie he tried to. find th e but ton, the I I ! Heary faculty n at ura lly speculated on the Hords, \-lith "H e Try Ha rder " a leadin g po ss ibility. The button he actually put on had only t'l'JO Horels -- "Escalate Peace." ·::-S'VJartb m ore Afro - Ame rican Stud ents' S.o ci e ty , .! ! �-2I stronely support the actions He have taken as a Faculty, and I will strongly support them to the Board of Mru1agers. I am confident that the Board shares the same values and concerns that have motivated the Faculty in our actions. I feel so sure of the Board's feelings on these matters that I am ready to begin immediately to implement the actions we . have taken. What we have passed is clear to those of us who have passed it, and vJe believe it to be right. to be worked out as we go along, Co m~issiOrt Details will have just as details of our on Educational Policy actions have to .be worked out every day, but I see no probl ems in that if, as I am assuming, \..,e . can work in a spiri t of mutual trust. there Hill riot be any Hho \'li ll seek to SOhT I hope, I pray, distrust. I am SU1'e SASS Hi 11 VJant to work in a spirit of mutual trust, and I call on all of us to seek and work through the good in each oth er. It is possible to use our present problem to esdalate real and fancied differences that exist in any community. But I would ask of all of us never to trade Swarthmor e 's excellente . . and fin enes s and r eadiness to hold itself open to from whatever source it comes , never to for slo gans and h a t e . ne~" light, trad ~ th ese things It took no for'ce to brin g about compre It hensiv e propo sa ls fo r th e development of B l a ck Studies. took no forco to brine about our fund amonta l and compre h ensive ex aminatio~ of ourself in our Co mm ission on Educational POlicy. Stud ents '-lere involv ed , were .Ul7ged to b e involved) in �...... -3~ll of those considerations. I realize that some now sneor at the CEP, but there \Vas no sneering in the Danforth groups and no sneering in the referendum Vlhich students l-lere urged to take in order to express themselves on everyone of the recommendations. We have lost something precious at Swarthmore -the feelin,g that force and disruptiveness 'are just not our way. But maybe He can see to it that this one tinle is only For certainly if there are the exception that proves the rule. any Hha now think that direct action should eventually be used for Black Stud· es, or Student Heek.) or any proposals that i might come out of a Student Week, or the Sex Rule, or Dormitory Autonomy, or the University City Science Center, or the Physical Education requirement, or Beards, or on the question of institutional structure and the gove:rnance of higher education [let me di8ress to say that I am far from convinced that the prevailing system of governance of higher education in America . is right for our times, though I'am convinc e d that it is Vlrong ~lso far from and I am very conscious of the - fact that the abstractions of the description of the govern a... lce Y of our 0'\;'11 particular insti tution al\Jays obscure the basic but hum anity and 'H a rmth vIith "Hhich ",e have tr'iec1 to proceed; these ma tters of governanc e a r e il, elY opinion ones foy- deep "" " from and thou ghtful consideratio,~7 then.J to cQ n:e back AD my di g r e ssion, 1 hav e to s a y th a t I seriously doubt th e ir faith in educatio n , �and the . educational process, and I Hould be saddened to see further accept ance of force as against those qualities of t ru st · an d to I e ran c e an d hum iIi t y an d a.nt i - tot a lit a r ian ism and Hillingn e ss to seek th·e good in others -- those qualities .e specially that hav e made, and can make, Swarthmore E=:,;.~;~::?~ ;~~it~}},~ "fine". ' � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Courtney Smith Papers Description An account of the resource Correspondence, reports, recommendations, statements, and news clippings from students, administrators, board members, and alums. All of these documents passed through the Swarthmore President's Office during Courtney Smith's time there. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Friends Historical Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource President Courtney Smith's Statement to the Faculty and Students of Swarthmore College presented at 1:45 P.M. on 13 January 1969 in Clothier Memorial Hall Description An account of the resource Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Courtney Smith Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 01/13/1969 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF 1969 sit-in Faculty President's Office SASS http://s3.amazonaws.com/sc-lib-ds-bl1969/original/2ae9cd2515ba62979e459159d237da7e.jpg d4841c6c05368129dbf1d98c24bd46df Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Courtney Smith Papers Description An account of the resource Correspondence, reports, recommendations, statements, and news clippings from students, administrators, board members, and alums. All of these documents passed through the Swarthmore President's Office during Courtney Smith's time there. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Friends Historical Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource [Courtney Smith's statement regarding Drew Pearson's article] Description An account of the resource Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Courtney Smith Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 01/12/1969 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG 1969 sit-in President's Office SASS http://s3.amazonaws.com/sc-lib-ds-bl1969/original/91f0b314e68575dab58a458c3f385687.pdf 106638e2504ea0fbccab585cac87d2b7 PDF Text Text / S\rJARTHl'10RE COIJ.,EGE Swarthmore, Pennsylvania January 10, 1969 To: From: Students, Faculty and Staff Frank C. Pierson, Chairman Black Studies Curriculum Committee The faculty members of the Black Studies Curriculum Commi ttee think it would be useful if every member of the College community could see the enclosed report, dated December 17, 1968, and signed by every member of the Committee. The plan proposed is analogous to that of the concentration in International Relations in that Black Studies would be recognized as part of a student's major field, but would not form a separate discipline itself . �Report of the E1ack Studies Curricult'.IIl Committee The Black Studies Curriculum Corrunittee was a.ppointed by Courtney Smith in May, 1968 as an outgrowth of discus sions with members of the Swarthmore Afro-American Students Societyo Spokesmen for this group emphasized that little 'WOrk is being done in the Black Studies area at Swarthmol'e and that the resulting gap in the curriculum should be filled as soon as possibleo* In his lett.3r of May 17, 1968 President Smith said: iiI will continue to encourage departments to be considering What stUdies can appropriatelY and effectively be made a part of their offering at the earliest opportunity but it is my hope that your committee will give focus to all of our efforts a..'1d see how indiv:tdual additions to our program may build into some l arger and more coherent program. I i This report is addressed to the latter issue. General Plan i~TIile some important questions remain unresolved, the Committee agre es that Black Studies should be made a part of the S'warthmore curriculum at this time. As citizens, our students will need to develop greater understanding of Many ~d Afro-American and African experiences. bear directly or indirectly on the urban ",Jill pursue careers Which will racial crisis. Scholarly work in Black Studies has alt'eady achieved significant results and major gains can be expected in the near future. will have increasing expertise. ne~d This is an area in which members of our faculty for general familiarity and, in some cases, special The beginnings of a program already exist at the College and the addition of further ",ork would fit in well ",Jith present offerings in a number of departments. For these r easons we conclude that Black Studies should be curricullli~ ~ given a distinctive place in the Swarthmore *Black Studi es may be defined as the r ole of blacks in society consi dered from cultural, historical and social poi nt s of vi ew~ �.. 2 - More serious differences arise over precisely What this place should be. Should Black Studies be treated as a separate major or as a scattering of courses along present lines, as a minor which could be attached to certain existing majors or as different groupings of courses among Which a student --could choose a particular rubric depending on his individual academic interests? Initially, the Committee feels a broad and rather flexible approach should be followed with respect to these questions. still in the planning stage. Some of the courses are The Faculty appointments are still to be made. direction of student interests in this area is still unclear. The precise ways in which the different aspects of Black Studies can best be related to various academic disciplines are still to be determinedo should not preclude major readjustments later on. The Committee accordingly concludes that students majoring in any subject bearing on Black Studies should be permitted to concentrate in this area as an aspect of the work in their major. Tentatively, the subjects falling in this Thus, any step taken now category are Art History, Economics, English, History, Music, Political Science, and Sociology-Anthropology, but others might be added at a later date. Recommendation I. Students majoring in subjects of Which Black Studies are a part will be permitted to concentrate in the latter area as an aspect of the work in their major under conditions approved by the departments involved. Specific Elements Since the approach to Black Studies will differ among departments, it will not be possible to spell out in detail the requirements for the different concentrations in this area at this time. If' general approval for the differ- ent concentrations in this area is given to the Committee proposal, individual departments will be invited to establish such requirements as they deem appropriate . Cert ain overall provisions, however, call for general faculty action. �- 3 One such question i s ""hether the minimum requirement for a concent ration in Black Studies should be set as 10", as two or t hree coure,es or as high as six or seven . If 1-:2 limit the question of minimtnn requirements to courses that will be primarily concerned with Black Studi es alone, i t seems unlikely that students could take more than six courses in this area in addition to the ""~rk in their major. On the other hand, anything below four courses ""Quld It therefore seems appropri ~­ hardly be enough to qualify as a concentration. ate, at least for the immediate future, to set the minimum at approximately five courses. Another question is whether the work in Black Studies should be limited to the standard course form or ",hether consi derable diversity should be allowed. Two quite different considerations need to be kept in mind in this connection : 1. In a relatively new area of this s ')rt a certain amount of flexibility 1 !,ill need to be exercised just to get the program off the ground. 2. If the approaches taken by individual departments are not carefully planned and closely moni tored, the '~rk in this area wi ll prove of little lasting significance. The CorrillUttee therefore feels that experimentation with thesis projects, special reading courses, off-campus work-study arrangements and the like should be permitted in this area only "T here there is assurance the "Jork ""rill meet customary standards of the departments involvedo Still another question is whether there should be one or two basic courses which would be required of all students concentrating in Black Studies. Eventually, this might be des irable but it is too early to say whether, for example, a particular course in history or sociology would fill this need. the other hand, since introductory course 'work in a number of departments is or can be limited to one s emester, basi ~ On courses in Black Studies could be rr.ade available to students in t hese dC':partments in the follo"Jing semester of �- 4 - the same year. Black Studies The specific courses which st.':,dents wishing to concentrate i n ~~ll take ~~ll have to be wor ked out by the individual depart- ments concerned. Recommendation II. Students concentrating in Black Studies will take Departments at least five semester courses or their equivalent in tl::.i s area. in f i elds bearing on this subject ",ill be encouraged to offer a basic course i n Black St udies which could be taken after the first semester of the i ntroductory course has been completed. St aff Recruitment If students at Swarthmore are to gain a full and balanced under standregul<~ ing of the Black Studies area, it is important that they have access to authorities and observers with black as ~~ll as white perspectives. Since both our students and faculty are predominantly "i'J nite, the Committee believes that black teachers ~Qth black perspective should be given top priority in the staffing of personnel for the Black Studie s program. The problem is that many other ins titutions are planning or have already taken similar steps and the number of qualified black scholars does not even approach the extent of the demand. Swarthmore aggressively compete for these Some argue that if institutions like teachers~ the Negro colleges and other less well endowed schools will be seriously undercut, the net gain of all our efforts comL~ to less than zero. ~~uld The view of the Committee is that a black scholar who decides he be most effective at S"Iarthmore should be permitted to make this choice himself~ and that~ in the long run at least., it ~!()uld be c.dvantageous for all conAt the cerned if the options open to such scholars were many I'ather than few. same time, the scarcity of supply obviously poses a formidable problem and we �- 5 will have to resort to a variety of arrangements in order to attract qualified personnel. pointments Some of the possibilities are pa.rt-time appointments, joint ap~Qth Haverford and Bryn ¥ ~~T, exchange professorships with Lincoln and Cheyney State, and visiting scholars from such institutions as Howard and the New Sdlool for Afro-American Thought in Fashington, Do C. 'V ithout impair- ing essential academic standards, the College will probably have to consider persons for appointments in this area who do not possess some of the more usu,?,.l. aeademic credentials. The members of the Swarthmore Afro-American Student Society, majors in the departments concerned and other interested students should participate actively in finding qualified personneL RecoIm,lendation 1110 Recognizing the acute interest which the black students as represented by their organiZation, the Swarthmore Afro-American Student Society, majors and other interested students have in the successful development of this program, the faculty recommends that such students have an active partici pating voice in both the recruitment and evaluation of potential personneL In order to correct the imbalance in its total curricular offer- ings, Swarthmore should emphasize the black perspective in its Black Studies offerings by making a special effort to recruit black teachers Who will also meet the college 9 s high academic standards. Part-time appointments and shar- ing arrangements will have to be - considered because of the severe scarcity of qualified personnel. Black Studies Curriculum Co~ttee: Decamber 16, 1968 Marilyn C. Allman Allen J. Diotri ch Clinton A. Etheridge Marilyn J. Holifield Don A.. Mizell Asmarom Legesse John S. Shackford Jon Van Til Harrison M. Wright Frarck C. Pierson, Chairman �! Swarthmore College CUrriculum Offerings in Black Studies 1968-69 Economics Social Economics course (Marcus Alexis): the economics of race, discrimination and. poverty; comparative educational, housing, and health patterns, consumption patterns in center city areas, programs for dealing with urban poverty. Dr. Alexis, a nationally known Negro economist, is Professor of Economics, Scheol of Business Administration, University of Rochester. Labor course (Frank Pierson): sections of course deal with employment and unemployment in urban centers, movement of labor from rural to urban areas, dis .. crimination in hiring and promotion policies, black worker career patterns, private and public manpower development programs. Labor and Social Economics seminar (Frank Pierson and Frederic Pryor): several weeks on the foregoing topics. Histog African History course and seminar (Harrison wright): American History courses and seminars (Robert Bannister and James Field) : The general courses in American history and the American history seminar deal with selected issues in this area. Colloquium on special area (Harrison Wright): e.g., last year's colloquium on South Africa. Political Science Politics of Urban Ghetto course (Paul Lutzker and Alvin Echols): According to Mr. Lutzker, "The course is conceived of as a confrontation of the general concepts and theoretical approaches of the discipline with the concerns of people involved in community organization. In what ways can confrontation with concrete problems clarify the ambiguities of the discipline's formulations of general principles? In what ways can the work of academics aid community action organizations in understanding the nature of the decision-making process they are trying to influence or alter?!! Nt'. Echols, an active leader in the Philadelphia Black Community, is head of the North City Congress. Politics of Africa course (Raymond Hopkins) other courses and seminars, such as Political Development, Political Sociology, and Politics and Legislation, bear on this general area. Psychology A number of courses, including Psychology of Attitudes, Social Psychology of Social Issues, and Problems in Urban Education, bear on this general area. Sociology and Anthropology COurses; Societies and. Cultures of Africa (Asmarom Legesse) Race and Ethnic Relations in the U.S. (Jon Van Til) Social Change (Robert Mitchell): in studyir...g theories and case studies of social change, special attention is giv€u in t his course to the modernization process in Africa. Cities and Society (Jon Van Til) Seminars: Race and Culture (Jon Van Til) urban Sociology (Jon Van Til) � / S\rJARTHl'10RE COIJ.,EGE Swarthmore, Pennsylvania January 10, 1969 To: From: Students, Faculty and Staff Frank C. Pierson, Chairman Black Studies Curriculum Committee The faculty members of the Black Studies Curriculum Commi ttee think it would be useful if every member of the College community could see the enclosed report, dated December 17, 1968, and signed by every member of the Committee. The plan proposed is analogous to that of the concentration in International Relations in that Black Studies would be recognized as part of a student's major field, but would not form a separate discipline itself . �Report of the E1ack Studies Curricult'.IIl Committee The Black Studies Curriculum Corrunittee was a.ppointed by Courtney Smith in May, 1968 as an outgrowth of discus sions with members of the Swarthmore Afro-American Students Societyo Spokesmen for this group emphasized that little 'WOrk is being done in the Black Studies area at Swarthmol'e and that the resulting gap in the curriculum should be filled as soon as possibleo* In his lett.3r of May 17, 1968 President Smith said: iiI will continue to encourage departments to be considering What stUdies can appropriatelY and effectively be made a part of their offering at the earliest opportunity but it is my hope that your committee will give focus to all of our efforts a..'1d see how indiv:tdual additions to our program may build into some l arger and more coherent program. I i This report is addressed to the latter issue. General Plan i~TIile some important questions remain unresolved, the Committee agre es that Black Studies should be made a part of the S'warthmore curriculum at this time. As citizens, our students will need to develop greater understanding of Many ~d Afro-American and African experiences. bear directly or indirectly on the urban ",Jill pursue careers Which will racial crisis. Scholarly work in Black Studies has alt'eady achieved significant results and major gains can be expected in the near future. will have increasing expertise. ne~d This is an area in which members of our faculty for general familiarity and, in some cases, special The beginnings of a program already exist at the College and the addition of further ",ork would fit in well ",Jith present offerings in a number of departments. For these r easons we conclude that Black Studies should be curricullli~ ~ given a distinctive place in the Swarthmore *Black Studi es may be defined as the r ole of blacks in society consi dered from cultural, historical and social poi nt s of vi ew~ �.. 2 - More serious differences arise over precisely What this place should be. Should Black Studies be treated as a separate major or as a scattering of courses along present lines, as a minor which could be attached to certain existing majors or as different groupings of courses among Which a student --could choose a particular rubric depending on his individual academic interests? Initially, the Committee feels a broad and rather flexible approach should be followed with respect to these questions. still in the planning stage. Some of the courses are The Faculty appointments are still to be made. direction of student interests in this area is still unclear. The precise ways in which the different aspects of Black Studies can best be related to various academic disciplines are still to be determinedo should not preclude major readjustments later on. The Committee accordingly concludes that students majoring in any subject bearing on Black Studies should be permitted to concentrate in this area as an aspect of the work in their major. Tentatively, the subjects falling in this Thus, any step taken now category are Art History, Economics, English, History, Music, Political Science, and Sociology-Anthropology, but others might be added at a later date. Recommendation I. Students majoring in subjects of Which Black Studies are a part will be permitted to concentrate in the latter area as an aspect of the work in their major under conditions approved by the departments involved. Specific Elements Since the approach to Black Studies will differ among departments, it will not be possible to spell out in detail the requirements for the different concentrations in this area at this time. If' general approval for the differ- ent concentrations in this area is given to the Committee proposal, individual departments will be invited to establish such requirements as they deem appropriate . Cert ain overall provisions, however, call for general faculty action. �- 3 One such question i s ""hether the minimum requirement for a concent ration in Black Studies should be set as 10", as two or t hree coure,es or as high as six or seven . If 1-:2 limit the question of minimtnn requirements to courses that will be primarily concerned with Black Studi es alone, i t seems unlikely that students could take more than six courses in this area in addition to the ""~rk in their major. On the other hand, anything below four courses ""Quld It therefore seems appropri ~­ hardly be enough to qualify as a concentration. ate, at least for the immediate future, to set the minimum at approximately five courses. Another question is whether the work in Black Studies should be limited to the standard course form or ",hether consi derable diversity should be allowed. Two quite different considerations need to be kept in mind in this connection : 1. In a relatively new area of this s ')rt a certain amount of flexibility 1 !,ill need to be exercised just to get the program off the ground. 2. If the approaches taken by individual departments are not carefully planned and closely moni tored, the '~rk in this area wi ll prove of little lasting significance. The CorrillUttee therefore feels that experimentation with thesis projects, special reading courses, off-campus work-study arrangements and the like should be permitted in this area only "T here there is assurance the "Jork ""rill meet customary standards of the departments involvedo Still another question is whether there should be one or two basic courses which would be required of all students concentrating in Black Studies. Eventually, this might be des irable but it is too early to say whether, for example, a particular course in history or sociology would fill this need. the other hand, since introductory course 'work in a number of departments is or can be limited to one s emester, basi ~ On courses in Black Studies could be rr.ade available to students in t hese dC':partments in the follo"Jing semester of �- 4 - the same year. Black Studies The specific courses which st.':,dents wishing to concentrate i n ~~ll take ~~ll have to be wor ked out by the individual depart- ments concerned. Recommendation II. Students concentrating in Black Studies will take Departments at least five semester courses or their equivalent in tl::.i s area. in f i elds bearing on this subject ",ill be encouraged to offer a basic course i n Black St udies which could be taken after the first semester of the i ntroductory course has been completed. St aff Recruitment If students at Swarthmore are to gain a full and balanced under standregul<~ ing of the Black Studies area, it is important that they have access to authorities and observers with black as ~~ll as white perspectives. Since both our students and faculty are predominantly "i'J nite, the Committee believes that black teachers ~Qth black perspective should be given top priority in the staffing of personnel for the Black Studie s program. The problem is that many other ins titutions are planning or have already taken similar steps and the number of qualified black scholars does not even approach the extent of the demand. Swarthmore aggressively compete for these Some argue that if institutions like teachers~ the Negro colleges and other less well endowed schools will be seriously undercut, the net gain of all our efforts comL~ to less than zero. ~~uld The view of the Committee is that a black scholar who decides he be most effective at S"Iarthmore should be permitted to make this choice himself~ and that~ in the long run at least., it ~!()uld be c.dvantageous for all conAt the cerned if the options open to such scholars were many I'ather than few. same time, the scarcity of supply obviously poses a formidable problem and we �- 5 will have to resort to a variety of arrangements in order to attract qualified personnel. pointments Some of the possibilities are pa.rt-time appointments, joint ap~Qth Haverford and Bryn ¥ ~~T, exchange professorships with Lincoln and Cheyney State, and visiting scholars from such institutions as Howard and the New Sdlool for Afro-American Thought in Fashington, Do C. 'V ithout impair- ing essential academic standards, the College will probably have to consider persons for appointments in this area who do not possess some of the more usu,?,.l. aeademic credentials. The members of the Swarthmore Afro-American Student Society, majors in the departments concerned and other interested students should participate actively in finding qualified personneL RecoIm,lendation 1110 Recognizing the acute interest which the black students as represented by their organiZation, the Swarthmore Afro-American Student Society, majors and other interested students have in the successful development of this program, the faculty recommends that such students have an active partici pating voice in both the recruitment and evaluation of potential personneL In order to correct the imbalance in its total curricular offer- ings, Swarthmore should emphasize the black perspective in its Black Studies offerings by making a special effort to recruit black teachers Who will also meet the college 9 s high academic standards. Part-time appointments and shar- ing arrangements will have to be - considered because of the severe scarcity of qualified personnel. Black Studies Curriculum Co~ttee: Decamber 16, 1968 Marilyn C. Allman Allen J. Diotri ch Clinton A. Etheridge Marilyn J. Holifield Don A.. Mizell Asmarom Legesse John S. Shackford Jon Van Til Harrison M. Wright Frarck C. Pierson, Chairman �! Swarthmore College CUrriculum Offerings in Black Studies 1968-69 Economics Social Economics course (Marcus Alexis): the economics of race, discrimination and. poverty; comparative educational, housing, and health patterns, consumption patterns in center city areas, programs for dealing with urban poverty. Dr. Alexis, a nationally known Negro economist, is Professor of Economics, Scheol of Business Administration, University of Rochester. Labor course (Frank Pierson): sections of course deal with employment and unemployment in urban centers, movement of labor from rural to urban areas, dis .. crimination in hiring and promotion policies, black worker career patterns, private and public manpower development programs. Labor and Social Economics seminar (Frank Pierson and Frederic Pryor): several weeks on the foregoing topics. Histog African History course and seminar (Harrison wright): American History courses and seminars (Robert Bannister and James Field) : The general courses in American history and the American history seminar deal with selected issues in this area. Colloquium on special area (Harrison Wright): e.g., last year's colloquium on South Africa. Political Science Politics of Urban Ghetto course (Paul Lutzker and Alvin Echols): According to Mr. Lutzker, "The course is conceived of as a confrontation of the general concepts and theoretical approaches of the discipline with the concerns of people involved in community organization. In what ways can confrontation with concrete problems clarify the ambiguities of the discipline's formulations of general principles? In what ways can the work of academics aid community action organizations in understanding the nature of the decision-making process they are trying to influence or alter?!! Nt'. Echols, an active leader in the Philadelphia Black Community, is head of the North City Congress. Politics of Africa course (Raymond Hopkins) other courses and seminars, such as Political Development, Political Sociology, and Politics and Legislation, bear on this general area. Psychology A number of courses, including Psychology of Attitudes, Social Psychology of Social Issues, and Problems in Urban Education, bear on this general area. Sociology and Anthropology COurses; Societies and. Cultures of Africa (Asmarom Legesse) Race and Ethnic Relations in the U.S. (Jon Van Til) Social Change (Robert Mitchell): in studyir...g theories and case studies of social change, special attention is giv€u in t his course to the modernization process in Africa. Cities and Society (Jon Van Til) Seminars: Race and Culture (Jon Van Til) urban Sociology (Jon Van Til) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Courtney Smith Papers Description An account of the resource Correspondence, reports, recommendations, statements, and news clippings from students, administrators, board members, and alums. All of these documents passed through the Swarthmore President's Office during Courtney Smith's time there. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Friends Historical Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Report of the Black Studies Curriculum Committee Description An account of the resource Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Black Studies Curriculum Committee Black Studies Curriculum Committee Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 01/10/1969 01/10/1969 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF PDF Black Studies Clinton Etheridge Don Mizell Faculty Marilyn Allman (Maye) SASS http://s3.amazonaws.com/sc-lib-ds-bl1969/original/32a515444f591604d1ae4376049640ec.jpg eb604f3aad3a5d9cddb93ecfbbd351bc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Courtney Smith Papers Description An account of the resource Correspondence, reports, recommendations, statements, and news clippings from students, administrators, board members, and alums. All of these documents passed through the Swarthmore President's Office during Courtney Smith's time there. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Friends Historical Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource [To all those of moderate persuasion] Description An account of the resource Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bob Goodman Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource [01/1969] Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG 1969 sit-in Student Body http://s3.amazonaws.com/sc-lib-ds-bl1969/original/0ebc8dc851ac3082e4e7550a93723558.pdf 89a181edd7ecbb1bfcdb5e9561efbb68 PDF Text Text Swarthmore College Swarthmore, Pennsylvania January ." 15, 1969 T. all Students, Faculty and Administration From Raymond F. Hopkins, Assistant Professor As a faculty member in the political science department, I would like to express my views relevant to the crisis at Swarthmore precipitated by the direct action of SASS's occupation of the Admissions Office. 1. Swarthmore College is governed by a set of rules which define the decision-making process. Some of these are written, many are unwritten, and together they constitute the constitution of the College's political system. I lookfurward to President Smith's early public statement describing our constitution since some aspects of it are unclear to me. 2. At this point I favor changes in the Swarthmore constitution including increased participation by students in areas of concern to them, as a minimum along lines suggested by the EX-SAC report, and by the faculty in areas where they may desire greater participation. This week has reinforced my judgment on several matters. First, it would be wise to identify the interests of different members at Swarthmore and to distribute power accordingly. For instance, students should decide the question of black integration or separatism among students. This decision should include consultation with other constituencies. Please read a statement by Christian Bay on "Academic Citizenship" which I am circulating. Many of his comments I agree with. Emotional action can be unwise and large decision-making groups are unwieldly. The student plenary sessions amply demonstrate this point. Needed changes should be made orderly, thoughtfully and soon. 3. Changes in the political system of Swarthmore can occur in two ways: first, by changes according to the procedures provided by the constitution, and second, by changes based on methods not among the rules. The latter process is revolution or non-constitutional change. Threats, demands and the use of force, including direct action, are, I believe, not methods provided by the Swarthmore constitution. Any member in the Swarthmore political system who would like to change the decision-making structure could act in one of these two ways. 4. A dissatisfied member of a political s y stem who judges that reforms he deems important cann'ot be made within the rules of the constitution has two alternatives--emigration or non-constitutional action. When the political system is corrupt, both alternatives are commendable and the latter is courageous in many instances. In my judgment, in spite of my discontent with some aspects of the wayfuings are done, Swarthmore is not corrupt--it is a healthy and vital organization. Non-constitutional actions are not justified. 5. The action of SASS has been interpreted by some as a use of direct action which has brought changes which could ~nt otherwise have occurred. Except for certain questions of wording and immediate responses to the action of SASS, this is not true. The faculty has moved with urgency and speed, the need for which is evident from the short time remaining before next year's admissions acceptances are decided, and was communicated effectively by SASS's action. The faculty's substantive action to recommend changes at Swarthmore was not based on coercion or threat. Once fue need for change was made evident, I believe the faculty would have come to some a-imilar conclusions, though surely over a longer period--p f time. Since I do not believe the faculty has acted substantively in response to duress, a non-constitutional change has not yet occurred. �6. In conclusion, I wish to say that I am unalterably opposed to change by revolution at Swarthmore. Its preservation as a viable college is more important than the speed or substance of needed change. If anyone-the administration, the faculty or students--should attempt to make or have made decisions by force or fiat, I will oppose it with all my vigor. � Swarthmore College Swarthmore, Pennsylvania January ." 15, 1969 T. all Students, Faculty and Administration From Raymond F. Hopkins, Assistant Professor As a faculty member in the political science department, I would like to express my views relevant to the crisis at Swarthmore precipitated by the direct action of SASS's occupation of the Admissions Office. 1. Swarthmore College is governed by a set of rules which define the decision-making process. Some of these are written, many are unwritten, and together they constitute the constitution of the College's political system. I lookfurward to President Smith's early public statement describing our constitution since some aspects of it are unclear to me. 2. At this point I favor changes in the Swarthmore constitution including increased participation by students in areas of concern to them, as a minimum along lines suggested by the EX-SAC report, and by the faculty in areas where they may desire greater participation. This week has reinforced my judgment on several matters. First, it would be wise to identify the interests of different members at Swarthmore and to distribute power accordingly. For instance, students should decide the question of black integration or separatism among students. This decision should include consultation with other constituencies. Please read a statement by Christian Bay on "Academic Citizenship" which I am circulating. Many of his comments I agree with. Emotional action can be unwise and large decision-making groups are unwieldly. The student plenary sessions amply demonstrate this point. Needed changes should be made orderly, thoughtfully and soon. 3. Changes in the political system of Swarthmore can occur in two ways: first, by changes according to the procedures provided by the constitution, and second, by changes based on methods not among the rules. The latter process is revolution or non-constitutional change. Threats, demands and the use of force, including direct action, are, I believe, not methods provided by the Swarthmore constitution. Any member in the Swarthmore political system who would like to change the decision-making structure could act in one of these two ways. 4. A dissatisfied member of a political s y stem who judges that reforms he deems important cann'ot be made within the rules of the constitution has two alternatives--emigration or non-constitutional action. When the political system is corrupt, both alternatives are commendable and the latter is courageous in many instances. In my judgment, in spite of my discontent with some aspects of the wayfuings are done, Swarthmore is not corrupt--it is a healthy and vital organization. Non-constitutional actions are not justified. 5. The action of SASS has been interpreted by some as a use of direct action which has brought changes which could ~nt otherwise have occurred. Except for certain questions of wording and immediate responses to the action of SASS, this is not true. The faculty has moved with urgency and speed, the need for which is evident from the short time remaining before next year's admissions acceptances are decided, and was communicated effectively by SASS's action. The faculty's substantive action to recommend changes at Swarthmore was not based on coercion or threat. Once fue need for change was made evident, I believe the faculty would have come to some a-imilar conclusions, though surely over a longer period--p f time. Since I do not believe the faculty has acted substantively in response to duress, a non-constitutional change has not yet occurred. �6. In conclusion, I wish to say that I am unalterably opposed to change by revolution at Swarthmore. Its preservation as a viable college is more important than the speed or substance of needed change. If anyone-the administration, the faculty or students--should attempt to make or have made decisions by force or fiat, I will oppose it with all my vigor. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Courtney Smith Papers Description An account of the resource Correspondence, reports, recommendations, statements, and news clippings from students, administrators, board members, and alums. All of these documents passed through the Swarthmore President's Office during Courtney Smith's time there. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Friends Historical Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource [Open Letter from Raymond Hopkins] Description An account of the resource Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Raymond Hopkins Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 01/15/1969 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF 1969 sit-in Black admissions Faculty http://s3.amazonaws.com/sc-lib-ds-bl1969/original/521b112fe166e25097cbbf5074eb5807.jpg 1919d74c4f7383177f59a54dddf486d7 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Courtney Smith Papers Description An account of the resource Correspondence, reports, recommendations, statements, and news clippings from students, administrators, board members, and alums. All of these documents passed through the Swarthmore President's Office during Courtney Smith's time there. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Friends Historical Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource [Open Letter from Student Council] Description An account of the resource Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Student Council Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 01/08/1969 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG 1969 sit-in Black admissions Student Council http://s3.amazonaws.com/sc-lib-ds-bl1969/original/df75c8501bc3bdab26504fc40a3ccf0d.jpg 938eab5a1819595ad9e8cf7cc2c5937f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Courtney Smith Papers Description An account of the resource Correspondence, reports, recommendations, statements, and news clippings from students, administrators, board members, and alums. All of these documents passed through the Swarthmore President's Office during Courtney Smith's time there. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Friends Historical Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource SASS' Statement, 01/09/1969 Description An account of the resource Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Swarthmore Afro-American Students' Society Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 01/09/1969 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG 1969 sit-in Black admissions SASS http://s3.amazonaws.com/sc-lib-ds-bl1969/original/48edf276449dd13c23870f5ed6f3b982.pdf bda562c1a8e24438bfca8d9ae13d94e0 PDF Text Text /~ 502 Woodland Terrace Philadelphia, Pennsylvania January 9, 1969 To the Faculty and AChninistration of Slvarthmore College: Since everyone in the vicinity, from. Fa1 to Lincoln students, has seen fit to express himsel~ on Swarthmore's "racist admissions l)olicy," I see no reason why a selfrespecting black alumnus should not add his opinion. I consider myself relatively competent in the matter, as I have been close~ associated. with ~varthmore, both the student bod;y- and the college, thrcugh various friends and in various positions since my graduation in 1966 . I was one of two black alumni who attended the first meeting of the Admissions Committee with the black students, when SASS walked out. I have waited to speak because I wanted to see just hO't1 far this matter would be taken. HOlv is no longer the time for silence. First of all, I have enclosed a letter sent by SASS to a small, select group of "Negro" stUdents l-.Tho do not affiliate themselves with SASS. It is well worth reading, for it proves that SASS's position is not so monolithic or all-encompassing as might be believed. More important, it exarrplifies the pressures exerted on the black stUdent to conform to SASS's ideas for the sake of black unity. Under such circmnstances, is a decent education -- which must baSically be an individual affair -- possible for the black stUdent '? SASS must be recognized for what it is -- a group of dissatisfied, insecure, and egoistic black students aj:.tempting exactly what their letter says they are not, a power play for notoriety. I ivould assert that this uhole matter of black admissions policy could have been solved peacefully, reasonab~, and much faster had SASS not made its grandstand play. The suggestions made in the original meeting by those blacks who stayed and in the Harg~don report are basically no different than the SASS report except for tone and the lack of demand that Dean Hargadon be relieved of his duties. Action was advancing then, and in a much less emotion-charged atmosphere. Considering this, t.he only conceivable reason SASS could have had for their subs8quent moves was to blow the matter up so that they could t ake credit in a public fashion for the progress made in black admissions policy. With regard to the substance and ideology of admissions pOlicy, I think that SASS's self-centered am bitions become even more evident in thei r proposals for ad~itting relatively large numbers of "risk" studonts merely because they are black. The admissi on of a :::::J.demically unqualified students �- 2 - would demonstrate a singular lack of regard for the welfare of the incoming "risk Ii student. If SASS were less myopic, they would see it would be better for the welfare of the black man were he able to secure an education at an institution commensurate with his abilities. That is the critical matter, not that a certain number of high r~sk students be admitted to a particular institution (e.g., Swarthmore). It is difficult enough for most qualified students to get through Swarthmore. Imagine the problems for a risk student, particularly a black student. The chances that he will succeed academically are slight, and there is no other real measure of success at ~varthmore. This student becomes dissatisfied, immediately a prey for SASS, which feeds on the dissatisfaction of those who are having either academic or social problems and blows them up into matters of lIracism ll and lldiscrimination." This is not to say that racism and discrimination never occur, but that SASS bandies about these terms so much as to make them meaningless. In the end, Swarthmore will have a black ghetto; an incipient one exists now. Is this educational, for black or white? There is also the question of Swarthmore's standards. SA~S simultaneously says that the standards should be disregarded fo:r black student, yet that Swarthmore's high standards make it a potential training ground for black leaders and scholars. Granted that the college could lower its educational standards for blacks; yet I would ask why. There are black nonrisk students capable of making the grade here. The untapped areas where they live have already been suggested to the Admissions Committee. There are thousands of colleges and universities, both black and integrated, which are open to those .-rho do not measure up to SWarthmore's standards. Swarthmore's main attraction is its high intellectual and academic standard; lower this and it has little to differentiate it from a number of small., coeducational colleges. Ideologically, SASS openly says it is separatist. !\Tor does it hide its condemnation of those who believe in the Illiberal" integrationist ethic as the viable solution to America's race problem. No one definitively knows what the welfare of the black man is, much less how to achieve it. And this is the advantage of a liberal society -- it is open to many different approaches, and able to choose one or a number of them. The radicals, black or \vhite, feel that only their approach is the correct and virtuous one. You, the faculty and administration, are white and thus in a tenuous posi tj_on. It would be most tempting to say that SASS knows what is right for the black man because they are black and vocal. Yet the separatism advocated by SASS is not viable. The black man cannot exist in the long or short run in separate islands surrounded by a white sea. Integration will take longer, but is ultimately probably the only viable solution to America's racial problems. �"tl o \ ~~l [1 ~'") ~r ' ~""c1 L .... ' r:~I L ·-G , . J __ +0' u - r:C:'U 1C:;~ .J ~ .J J~; c . -'';' . " ~C"'C'- '_ ~"""C'~ J. loO Ci.~cl C! ).J.:}o --!O l .... 1 "'-~Jr~ r. .. -"-"'lc. I... ...... . ! :' (·:-[Jl ~J , J.! . J. L., 1' ", • u r c:.. co:cElOn T.' 1 :: C8 "'... tC1D. t .:.; J ~',UC C2: : S __ .. VOU1" •• :.-- 'C·". ~ l l"l' D <:-·C 0 ·".,c· (:', ....... I ~ ... ,J ,,- • incl-cc:,~')c;;; one 1 S cu(J['S.cJ s~:ce . '.0 - - _.';,, '. "v l.-c"~ o"cc .""C, ...c:· 0 r~::: J..... ... ;'I ) '. } L ' 1. ....., ... u v '·'nl) c .. y ;:..,..!.. . • c: . . . . ~ __ .) • _ .' L",,_ .... ... Thu:,; , i.!_ ...,,\, c;'" r r r~[, r_,p .... .... _ .r '-" YOU l ' P ,;l"' t to furthe:c '[ ,1::: c1: IJ::·icl.8 cl(Jc] b e a:\i ol]"" tic VF.t ~;UCCe~jfJ :i.n 2: L;r·Sl) ~_ t. ro C' <, C v",-,u pl"'O :JC (:~2.• It C' l.J s~-:ol) lc1 2~ o c: ls , JUl , '" 8,1~,o ,- '" ', ', "" ' 6 :'-<. J' _,~,--;lOJ tj. 11U,ecl ." l ' e c· 'l" i 0"" h ~ r, .! ........ c. c1h.c Y'· cn c e to tt~ 2~-;2 b8J.~ ef· S U· c i 'n ~ " 0 ..... '~l' t....) , _ • -~c. of'· t hi:' \-,ron..:: cd'·l' 0 " " '" "1 ' -'/'., - ,. r, E: v v _, 0 . 0 , c..[_ CO \",' J.:-l. bt.' Yo' r-, ":C., oj,'" C 0 I' ....', J suc- 2 .1 10 r ~~(=: t~! l O ·~B e If you 1 s t the j, n HarS~don tr~:~f.', it. bc ~:no'\'m tll ~, t you r j,r:t Crl t. is to L:p1er::ent report , and that SASS 1 s p r essures hsve meant nottin3 you 'I n.ll h evs don<:' t\;O e.Ll~~_ j.n i stl~c.tto~ j i ~'T ls :: ,Ci~tE:.tio'C!. , 2~-\ tLi.~ss . ',:L Oll t·:~ ·s ~, ~ '.-.' ill \·!j.s·~ r1c.l\r e ._ SL!. o":;·;n t. L t, 'lG. 2.C t,. • ~ "oJ ...... " :f:'D.CUJ.t,y G.:"! :.:-: ~r(J:~; n" loJ • ... you h(:; cJ c· ') ~) lo I do ~~~ -'GO ~ ....... ,b 1 l) u :__ ~ (l n T ~ C ", -', V ictC E:'. f.) l} Ust '~Je SeconcJ J.y, 0 " C' c, .J.... n ". 'I "" • .. .'...... \':111 '-' C C -, ...... 1" 1 • .,' . _ ("") :;:\r6 ''J . "J C" . _ "n' l ShO ·l'!(J. -'I r. '; "" •1 i .... 1. _ - '-, ~J ..1. . S . .··~S· .:) t rl::~ t <:. n"' V V -L[18j.r _ . ..... L'(_A. '; ' ' ,0 __ C 1 ' ...... J ' ~,t,~ =-~~[~. ~: .:; .", "' ........'... .'"... I "" -r" \! j~ se o ~-: e r1 to U1 1~.:· r· Ss::: ur· :;cl} r· [; [;.;:-: Ot1 s:1 ce l)e,t, 8 to tr ~<Ly, You r's �SASS Swarthmore Afro-American Students' Society Swarthmore College Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081 January 8, 1968 Dear Brothers and Sisters, SASS is very desirous of showing a close black unity in this operation. To insure the greatest possible effectiveness in this action, there are a few important points upon which we must ask your cooperation: first, that there be no individual conversation with the press - all press should be referred to the SASS chairman, Clinton Etheridge. It would also be unwise to engage in spec- ulation with other students, faculty, or administration concerning SASS's possible future plans of action, since this would probably lead to greater confusion in the college community at large. In carrying through this action, SASS is trying to make a gain for black people, not a power play for notoriety. You may not agree with our radical methods, but you must admit the progress we as a black students' group have made, e.g., recent faculty meeting. This progress has been made as a unified group and any further progress must also be accomplished through black unity. SASS is not asking for your participation in this action, only that you not harm the operation ina.dvertently. Sincerely, Swarthmore Afro -American Students Society THIS IS THE LE'f'l'ER WHICH WAS ENCIDSED TO THE FACULTY AND ADMINISTRATION FROM JOHN H. MORROW, JR. � /~ 502 Woodland Terrace Philadelphia, Pennsylvania January 9, 1969 To the Faculty and AChninistration of Slvarthmore College: Since everyone in the vicinity, from. Fa1 to Lincoln students, has seen fit to express himsel~ on Swarthmore's "racist admissions l)olicy," I see no reason why a selfrespecting black alumnus should not add his opinion. I consider myself relatively competent in the matter, as I have been close~ associated. with ~varthmore, both the student bod;y- and the college, thrcugh various friends and in various positions since my graduation in 1966 . I was one of two black alumni who attended the first meeting of the Admissions Committee with the black students, when SASS walked out. I have waited to speak because I wanted to see just hO't1 far this matter would be taken. HOlv is no longer the time for silence. First of all, I have enclosed a letter sent by SASS to a small, select group of "Negro" stUdents l-.Tho do not affiliate themselves with SASS. It is well worth reading, for it proves that SASS's position is not so monolithic or all-encompassing as might be believed. More important, it exarrplifies the pressures exerted on the black stUdent to conform to SASS's ideas for the sake of black unity. Under such circmnstances, is a decent education -- which must baSically be an individual affair -- possible for the black stUdent '? SASS must be recognized for what it is -- a group of dissatisfied, insecure, and egoistic black students aj:.tempting exactly what their letter says they are not, a power play for notoriety. I ivould assert that this uhole matter of black admissions policy could have been solved peacefully, reasonab~, and much faster had SASS not made its grandstand play. The suggestions made in the original meeting by those blacks who stayed and in the Harg~don report are basically no different than the SASS report except for tone and the lack of demand that Dean Hargadon be relieved of his duties. Action was advancing then, and in a much less emotion-charged atmosphere. Considering this, t.he only conceivable reason SASS could have had for their subs8quent moves was to blow the matter up so that they could t ake credit in a public fashion for the progress made in black admissions policy. With regard to the substance and ideology of admissions pOlicy, I think that SASS's self-centered am bitions become even more evident in thei r proposals for ad~itting relatively large numbers of "risk" studonts merely because they are black. The admissi on of a :::::J.demically unqualified students �- 2 - would demonstrate a singular lack of regard for the welfare of the incoming "risk Ii student. If SASS were less myopic, they would see it would be better for the welfare of the black man were he able to secure an education at an institution commensurate with his abilities. That is the critical matter, not that a certain number of high r~sk students be admitted to a particular institution (e.g., Swarthmore). It is difficult enough for most qualified students to get through Swarthmore. Imagine the problems for a risk student, particularly a black student. The chances that he will succeed academically are slight, and there is no other real measure of success at ~varthmore. This student becomes dissatisfied, immediately a prey for SASS, which feeds on the dissatisfaction of those who are having either academic or social problems and blows them up into matters of lIracism ll and lldiscrimination." This is not to say that racism and discrimination never occur, but that SASS bandies about these terms so much as to make them meaningless. In the end, Swarthmore will have a black ghetto; an incipient one exists now. Is this educational, for black or white? There is also the question of Swarthmore's standards. SA~S simultaneously says that the standards should be disregarded fo:r black student, yet that Swarthmore's high standards make it a potential training ground for black leaders and scholars. Granted that the college could lower its educational standards for blacks; yet I would ask why. There are black nonrisk students capable of making the grade here. The untapped areas where they live have already been suggested to the Admissions Committee. There are thousands of colleges and universities, both black and integrated, which are open to those .-rho do not measure up to SWarthmore's standards. Swarthmore's main attraction is its high intellectual and academic standard; lower this and it has little to differentiate it from a number of small., coeducational colleges. Ideologically, SASS openly says it is separatist. !\Tor does it hide its condemnation of those who believe in the Illiberal" integrationist ethic as the viable solution to America's race problem. No one definitively knows what the welfare of the black man is, much less how to achieve it. And this is the advantage of a liberal society -- it is open to many different approaches, and able to choose one or a number of them. The radicals, black or \vhite, feel that only their approach is the correct and virtuous one. You, the faculty and administration, are white and thus in a tenuous posi tj_on. It would be most tempting to say that SASS knows what is right for the black man because they are black and vocal. Yet the separatism advocated by SASS is not viable. The black man cannot exist in the long or short run in separate islands surrounded by a white sea. Integration will take longer, but is ultimately probably the only viable solution to America's racial problems. �"tl o \ ~~l [1 ~'") ~r ' ~""c1 L .... ' r:~I L ·-G , . J __ +0' u - r:C:'U 1C:;~ .J ~ .J J~; c . -'';' . " ~C"'C'- '_ ~"""C'~ J. loO Ci.~cl C! ).J.:}o --!O l .... 1 "'-~Jr~ r. .. -"-"'lc. I... ...... . ! :' (·:-[Jl ~J , J.! . J. L., 1' ", • u r c:.. co:cElOn T.' 1 :: C8 "'... tC1D. t .:.; J ~',UC C2: : S __ .. VOU1" •• :.-- 'C·". ~ l l"l' D <:-·C 0 ·".,c· (:', ....... I ~ ... ,J ,,- • incl-cc:,~')c;;; one 1 S cu(J['S.cJ s~:ce . '.0 - - _.';,, '. "v l.-c"~ o"cc .""C, ...c:· 0 r~::: J..... ... ;'I ) '. } L ' 1. ....., ... u v '·'nl) c .. y ;:..,..!.. . • c: . . . . ~ __ .) • _ .' L",,_ .... ... Thu:,; , i.!_ ...,,\, c;'" r r r~[, r_,p .... .... _ .r '-" YOU l ' P ,;l"' t to furthe:c '[ ,1::: c1: IJ::·icl.8 cl(Jc] b e a:\i ol]"" tic VF.t ~;UCCe~jfJ :i.n 2: L;r·Sl) ~_ t. ro C' <, C v",-,u pl"'O :JC (:~2.• It C' l.J s~-:ol) lc1 2~ o c: ls , JUl , '" 8,1~,o ,- '" ', ', "" ' 6 :'-<. J' _,~,--;lOJ tj. 11U,ecl ." l ' e c· 'l" i 0"" h ~ r, .! ........ c. c1h.c Y'· cn c e to tt~ 2~-;2 b8J.~ ef· S U· c i 'n ~ " 0 ..... '~l' t....) , _ • -~c. of'· t hi:' \-,ron..:: cd'·l' 0 " " '" "1 ' -'/'., - ,. r, E: v v _, 0 . 0 , c..[_ CO \",' J.:-l. bt.' Yo' r-, ":C., oj,'" C 0 I' ....', J suc- 2 .1 10 r ~~(=: t~! l O ·~B e If you 1 s t the j, n HarS~don tr~:~f.', it. bc ~:no'\'m tll ~, t you r j,r:t Crl t. is to L:p1er::ent report , and that SASS 1 s p r essures hsve meant nottin3 you 'I n.ll h evs don<:' t\;O e.Ll~~_ j.n i stl~c.tto~ j i ~'T ls :: ,Ci~tE:.tio'C!. , 2~-\ tLi.~ss . ',:L Oll t·:~ ·s ~, ~ '.-.' ill \·!j.s·~ r1c.l\r e ._ SL!. o":;·;n t. L t, 'lG. 2.C t,. • ~ "oJ ...... " :f:'D.CUJ.t,y G.:"! :.:-: ~r(J:~; n" loJ • ... you h(:; cJ c· ') ~) lo I do ~~~ -'GO ~ ....... ,b 1 l) u :__ ~ (l n T ~ C ", -', V ictC E:'. f.) l} Ust '~Je SeconcJ J.y, 0 " C' c, .J.... n ". 'I "" • .. .'...... \':111 '-' C C -, ...... 1" 1 • .,' . _ ("") :;:\r6 ''J . "J C" . _ "n' l ShO ·l'!(J. -'I r. '; "" •1 i .... 1. _ - '-, ~J ..1. . S . .··~S· .:) t rl::~ t <:. n"' V V -L[18j.r _ . ..... L'(_A. '; ' ' ,0 __ C 1 ' ...... J ' ~,t,~ =-~~[~. ~: .:; .", "' ........'... .'"... I "" -r" \! j~ se o ~-: e r1 to U1 1~.:· r· Ss::: ur· :;cl} r· [; [;.;:-: Ot1 s:1 ce l)e,t, 8 to tr ~<Ly, You r's �SASS Swarthmore Afro-American Students' Society Swarthmore College Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081 January 8, 1968 Dear Brothers and Sisters, SASS is very desirous of showing a close black unity in this operation. To insure the greatest possible effectiveness in this action, there are a few important points upon which we must ask your cooperation: first, that there be no individual conversation with the press - all press should be referred to the SASS chairman, Clinton Etheridge. It would also be unwise to engage in spec- ulation with other students, faculty, or administration concerning SASS's possible future plans of action, since this would probably lead to greater confusion in the college community at large. In carrying through this action, SASS is trying to make a gain for black people, not a power play for notoriety. You may not agree with our radical methods, but you must admit the progress we as a black students' group have made, e.g., recent faculty meeting. This progress has been made as a unified group and any further progress must also be accomplished through black unity. SASS is not asking for your participation in this action, only that you not harm the operation ina.dvertently. Sincerely, Swarthmore Afro -American Students Society THIS IS THE LE'f'l'ER WHICH WAS ENCIDSED TO THE FACULTY AND ADMINISTRATION FROM JOHN H. MORROW, JR. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Courtney Smith Papers Description An account of the resource Correspondence, reports, recommendations, statements, and news clippings from students, administrators, board members, and alums. All of these documents passed through the Swarthmore President's Office during Courtney Smith's time there. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Friends Historical Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource [Letter from John Morrow] Description An account of the resource Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource John Morrow Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 01/09/1969 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF 1969 sit-in Black admissions John Morrow SASS http://s3.amazonaws.com/sc-lib-ds-bl1969/original/dc7977817233331719f75487ef262783.pdf dab28f974e9c42744f7b6d60cae4df83 PDF Text Text J ~MARTH MO R E CO LLEGE Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 8 January 1969 To the Faculty, Staff, and Students: Opening a meeting of the Faculty of Swarthmore College on Tues day afternoon, 7 "Janua.ry 1969, President Smith announced that the faculty will meet weekly throughout January, and as long as is necessary thereafter, to discuss four important topic.s in the following order: 1) black admissions policy, 2) the proposed Black Studies program, 3) the proposed Student Week, and 4) the reports of the Student Life Committee and the ExpandAd Student Affairs Committee. President Smith, after briefly reviewing the history of the continuing efforts of Swarthmore College to recruit and enroll black students, reported to the faculty on his meeting with SASS on Monday, 6 January 1969, in which he discussed with them their demands made 23 December 1968, and explained more fully his response which was set forth in a memorandum to the faculty on 31 December 19680 He said that SASS had insisted that the President ma.ke a strong statement to the Faculty calling for the College to accept and implement SASS1s demands. ' In the general discussion that followed, a number of faculty members urged that lines of direct communication be opened between the faculty and SASS in order that members of SASS, as well as the student body at large, be made aware of the deep concern felt by the entire faculty over the problem of black admissions at Swarthmore and in order that SASS could discuss these problems with the faculty. It was suggested that members of SASS be invited to a meeting of the faculty ~o participate in the discussion, or, alternatively, that SASS be invited to hold a forum open to the faculty and members of the student body for such discussion. When it was pointed out that only ten members of the faculty had attended the meeting sponsored by SASS and the Student Council at 1~:30 this afternoon (7 January), many members of the faculty indicated that they had not yet received notice of this meeting. Several members of the faculty, noting the substantial areas of agreement between the demands of SASS and the proposals of the Admissions Policy Committee (30 December 68), suggested that the faculty take immediate action on those proposals on which there was SUbstantial agreement. Others, however, felt that this would represent only token action on the part of the faculty, and that the overall implications of all proposals deserved careful and serious discussion and consideration in the meetings now scheduled. �-2- President Smith said that h e felt almost everyone in this community wished to achieve the goals that determine the major thrust of the report of the Admissions Policy Committee and the demands of SASS. He said he W8.S sure there was no disagreement about increasing the number of black students, faculty members, and administrators. A judgment about nV.mbers of high risk students does involve a basic issue to be resolved by the faculty_ Swarthmore College has historically defined itself as a college with a highly selected student body 2nd a challenging academic program ., In the light of current social urgencies, should the College redefine itself, and if so, to what extent and in what direction? The faculty decided first to consider the proposals of SASS and of the Admissions Policy Committee, and voted to base it A discussion on the SASS demands. In the ensuing lengthy and compl ex discussion, however, it became apparent ttat the SASS demands entai led comp lications and imp lications that "Were not immediately apparent and could not be resolved in this first meeting on the sub ject. The faculty, however, unanimously passed the following resolution, based upon the memorandum from the Student Council: Ii\rve favor a sUbstantial increase in the number of black students. We favor immediate interim steps t o increase the number of black stUdents in the class of 1973 (inc.luding the admission of I!risk li students). \~Je recognize the need for a more viable life for black stUdents here (including the appointment of black administrators and counselors).11 In conclusion, the faculty passed the following motion by a unanimous vote: IlThat the faculty invite SASS to a meeting with the faculty next Friday between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m., or at their convenience bet'ore Friday." David Cowden Secretary to the Faculty � J ~MARTH MO R E CO LLEGE Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 8 January 1969 To the Faculty, Staff, and Students: Opening a meeting of the Faculty of Swarthmore College on Tues day afternoon, 7 "Janua.ry 1969, President Smith announced that the faculty will meet weekly throughout January, and as long as is necessary thereafter, to discuss four important topic.s in the following order: 1) black admissions policy, 2) the proposed Black Studies program, 3) the proposed Student Week, and 4) the reports of the Student Life Committee and the ExpandAd Student Affairs Committee. President Smith, after briefly reviewing the history of the continuing efforts of Swarthmore College to recruit and enroll black students, reported to the faculty on his meeting with SASS on Monday, 6 January 1969, in which he discussed with them their demands made 23 December 1968, and explained more fully his response which was set forth in a memorandum to the faculty on 31 December 19680 He said that SASS had insisted that the President ma.ke a strong statement to the Faculty calling for the College to accept and implement SASS1s demands. ' In the general discussion that followed, a number of faculty members urged that lines of direct communication be opened between the faculty and SASS in order that members of SASS, as well as the student body at large, be made aware of the deep concern felt by the entire faculty over the problem of black admissions at Swarthmore and in order that SASS could discuss these problems with the faculty. It was suggested that members of SASS be invited to a meeting of the faculty ~o participate in the discussion, or, alternatively, that SASS be invited to hold a forum open to the faculty and members of the student body for such discussion. When it was pointed out that only ten members of the faculty had attended the meeting sponsored by SASS and the Student Council at 1~:30 this afternoon (7 January), many members of the faculty indicated that they had not yet received notice of this meeting. Several members of the faculty, noting the substantial areas of agreement between the demands of SASS and the proposals of the Admissions Policy Committee (30 December 68), suggested that the faculty take immediate action on those proposals on which there was SUbstantial agreement. Others, however, felt that this would represent only token action on the part of the faculty, and that the overall implications of all proposals deserved careful and serious discussion and consideration in the meetings now scheduled. �-2- President Smith said that h e felt almost everyone in this community wished to achieve the goals that determine the major thrust of the report of the Admissions Policy Committee and the demands of SASS. He said he W8.S sure there was no disagreement about increasing the number of black students, faculty members, and administrators. A judgment about nV.mbers of high risk students does involve a basic issue to be resolved by the faculty_ Swarthmore College has historically defined itself as a college with a highly selected student body 2nd a challenging academic program ., In the light of current social urgencies, should the College redefine itself, and if so, to what extent and in what direction? The faculty decided first to consider the proposals of SASS and of the Admissions Policy Committee, and voted to base it A discussion on the SASS demands. In the ensuing lengthy and compl ex discussion, however, it became apparent ttat the SASS demands entai led comp lications and imp lications that "Were not immediately apparent and could not be resolved in this first meeting on the sub ject. The faculty, however, unanimously passed the following resolution, based upon the memorandum from the Student Council: Ii\rve favor a sUbstantial increase in the number of black students. We favor immediate interim steps t o increase the number of black stUdents in the class of 1973 (inc.luding the admission of I!risk li students). \~Je recognize the need for a more viable life for black stUdents here (including the appointment of black administrators and counselors).11 In conclusion, the faculty passed the following motion by a unanimous vote: IlThat the faculty invite SASS to a meeting with the faculty next Friday between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m., or at their convenience bet'ore Friday." David Cowden Secretary to the Faculty � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Courtney Smith Papers Description An account of the resource Correspondence, reports, recommendations, statements, and news clippings from students, administrators, board members, and alums. All of these documents passed through the Swarthmore President's Office during Courtney Smith's time there. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Friends Historical Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource [Open Letter from David Cowden, 01/08/1969] Description An account of the resource Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource David Cowden Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 01/08/1969 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF 1969 sit-in Faculty http://s3.amazonaws.com/sc-lib-ds-bl1969/original/70cd7ae83ce94eee278ee3c5d23e29b9.pdf ae17304e45df853ee2b65644fe5a4a36 PDF Text Text / Swarthmcre College Swarthmore, Pennsylvania orrice or the President 3 January 1969 To All Swarthmore Students: I think you should know or a development that occurred during the vacation period and or the report I have made to the Faculty on it. Courtn e y Smit h �./" Swarthmore College Swarthmore, Pennsylvania Office of the President 31 December 1968 To Members of the Faculty: I f eel that I should let you know about the enclosed communication that came to me on December 23rd from Clinton A. Etheridge, Jr., Chairman of the Swarthmore Afro-American Students' Society. As you will remember, several new problems in recruiting and enrolling able Negro students, after several years of considerable success in comparison with other selective colleges and universities, were identified by Dean Hargadon last spring. He spoke to the Faculty about the matter on April 19th, and again on June 6th. On M 9th, in a conversation with Sam Shepherd, ay then chairman of SASS, and Don Mizell I proposed that the Admissions Policy Committee and students to be designated jointly bJ the chairman of SASS and the president of Student Council begin early this fall to study the matter in depth and make recommendations to the Faculty and the Board of M anagers. In preparation for this joint activity Dean Hargadon wor~ ed during the summer on a factual report of our experience and problems and prospects in regard to Negro recruitment and enrollment, in order to give us a solid basis for our policy discussions. W hat followed has been a frustrating sequence of events that delayed us in getting to the important policy questions that face us. It is instructive to compare these delays with the quickness with which we were permitted to move forward in a constructive way on substantive proposals made last April 26th for increasing black studies. It is quite inaccurate and unjust to say that SASS's four earlier IIdemands," sent in mid October to members of the Admissions Policy Committee, "have lain on the table for two months." The two of those "demands " that bore on admissions have had the constant attention of the Admissions Policy Committee all fall. For the other two (the creation of a Black Interest Committee an d the recruitment, subject to SASS's review, of a high-level Blac k administrator) the chairman of SASS was told b y the Dean of Admissions in Octobe r that they were not the province of the Admissions Policy Committee and should be redirected. They never were, except to Student Council for endo r sement. Indeed through one student who had written an open letter about the administration's apparent failure to respond, and throu gt the president of Student Council, I have been undertaking to fin d out exactly what members of SASS had in mi nd in their "demandS." The first sentence in Clinton Etheridge's cover ing letter reveals an awareness of this fact. �-2On December 26th I telephoned Clinton Etheridge in New York, told him that I had received his letter and wished to talk to him about it. I asked him to come to my office on December 27th or, if that were not possible, December 28th. He was unwilling to come without knowing what I was going to say to him, and reluctant to come without other members of SASS for whom he was as chairman the signer of the letter. I said that he could bring any number of others with him. He asked if I was seeking amplification of some of the demands or wanted to discuss the whole concept of the letter; I said the latter. I said that I wanted us as two human beings to discuss a human problem in the search for a human solution to it. He said that he would call me back on December 27th. On December 27th he phoned to say that he would discuss the content of the letter, toward its implementation, but only with other members of SAS3 present, who · would not be available until after vacation. He asked, therefore, for an appointment for SASS members to meet with me on Monday, January 6th, at 11:00 A.M. I said that this was too late in relation to the January 7th deadline and implied threat made during the vacation period b y SASS, but he Hould not agree to an earlier meeting and I said I would in any ca3e be glad to meet with the SASS members at the time he asked. I then told Clinton that I had wanted to explain that while I was sympathetic with many of their underlying concerns and was open minded on proposals for implementation, I simply could not act alone upon their demands since these involve basic policy matters for the Faculty and the Board of Managers, with, hopefully, student expression as well. The College, I said, never accedes to anyone's demands, but I said that in the early meeting I sought with him I was going to request him to recast the SASS letter and accompanying document in the form of proposals which would then go to the Faculty and the Board of Managers for full and unprejudiced conSideration, along with the recommendations of the Admissions Policy Committee which I understand are to be released in a few days. I said that in view of his unwillingness to meet with me until January 6th, the day before the deadline and threat set by SASS in connection with a IIpublic ll acceptance, I wanted him to know that I might have no choice but to write, before then, the public response called for in his letter, making public at the same time his letter to which I was replying. I want the Faculty to know, therefore, that I shall meet with members of SASS on Monday, January 6th, at 11:00 A.M., meet with them as an educator, and President of a c.cllege concerned for their welfare, not as a combatant anticipating siege. I expect to limit myself to making the following points: 1. I have great sympathy for the underlying concerns of SASS in seeking an increase in the number r ef Negro students, in seeking to create a viable healthy black student population, and in recognizing the importance of self definition. I want our entire College commill~ity to consider cDnscien- �-3tiously and imaginatively the best way to achieve these goals. In making non-negotiable demands SASS members are separating themselves from all who share so many of their concerns and wish to work toward them. They are saying in effect that other students and the Faculty and the Board of l'-1anagers have nothing to say about these goals and the ways and means to achieve them. 2. This College has never and must never be governed by demands or moved by threats. I cannot believe it is the best in individual SASS members that speaks of non-ne gotiable demands and threatens force, and I know that the best for the College has never been achieved in this way. As I sai d in my first Collection talk this fall, referring then to quite a different problem, Ii It has never been Swarthmore's way to be shaped by demands -- whether demands of trustees, faculty, administration, students, alumni, or the public. Nor will it be shaped by anyone who thinks only as a trustee, a faculty member, an administrator, or a student. It will be shaped by what its faculty, administration, trustees, and students choose that it will be, and we, like Professor Pinley, are thinking of choice as a rational and considerate process, not a cold process but a very warm and human process that realizes and responds to the felt needs of individuals. if 3. In the case of the present demands the President does not have the authori ty to act alone on basic policy matters on which student views are welcomed and on which an eventual judgment must be made by the Faculty and then the Board of l'-1anagers. SASS predicates a power in the presidency -- a power to circumvent the role of the Faculty and the Board of Managers in the formulation of major policy -- which the President does not have and would not seek, a power it would in fact ill-serve the community for him to have. I shall ask SASS members to recast their letter and accompanying document in the form of proposals which can be discussed by all students and go to the Faculty and Board of M anagers for full and unprejudiced consideration, along with the report of the Admissions Policy Committee which, on the request of the Student Council, is to be sent as soon as possible to all students as well as to the Faculty and the Board. 4. �-4The notice of the Faculty meeting for Tuesday, January 7th, at 4:15 P.M. said that we will continue our discussion of the reports of the Student Life Committee and the Expanded Student Affairs Committee. Subsequent to that notice, Professor Frank Pierson has asked, as chairman of the Black Studies Curriculum Committee, that we have a preliminary discussion of that committee's report at the meeting. Subsequent to that request, the president of Student Council has asked that we give the highest priority at that meeting to the proposal for "Student Week." Subseq~ent to that request, the SASS communication of which I have written was presented and should, it now appears, be our first order of business on the 7th. Courtney Smith � / Swarthmcre College Swarthmore, Pennsylvania orrice or the President 3 January 1969 To All Swarthmore Students: I think you should know or a development that occurred during the vacation period and or the report I have made to the Faculty on it. Courtn e y Smit h �./" Swarthmore College Swarthmore, Pennsylvania Office of the President 31 December 1968 To Members of the Faculty: I f eel that I should let you know about the enclosed communication that came to me on December 23rd from Clinton A. Etheridge, Jr., Chairman of the Swarthmore Afro-American Students' Society. As you will remember, several new problems in recruiting and enrolling able Negro students, after several years of considerable success in comparison with other selective colleges and universities, were identified by Dean Hargadon last spring. He spoke to the Faculty about the matter on April 19th, and again on June 6th. On M 9th, in a conversation with Sam Shepherd, ay then chairman of SASS, and Don Mizell I proposed that the Admissions Policy Committee and students to be designated jointly bJ the chairman of SASS and the president of Student Council begin early this fall to study the matter in depth and make recommendations to the Faculty and the Board of M anagers. In preparation for this joint activity Dean Hargadon wor~ ed during the summer on a factual report of our experience and problems and prospects in regard to Negro recruitment and enrollment, in order to give us a solid basis for our policy discussions. W hat followed has been a frustrating sequence of events that delayed us in getting to the important policy questions that face us. It is instructive to compare these delays with the quickness with which we were permitted to move forward in a constructive way on substantive proposals made last April 26th for increasing black studies. It is quite inaccurate and unjust to say that SASS's four earlier IIdemands," sent in mid October to members of the Admissions Policy Committee, "have lain on the table for two months." The two of those "demands " that bore on admissions have had the constant attention of the Admissions Policy Committee all fall. For the other two (the creation of a Black Interest Committee an d the recruitment, subject to SASS's review, of a high-level Blac k administrator) the chairman of SASS was told b y the Dean of Admissions in Octobe r that they were not the province of the Admissions Policy Committee and should be redirected. They never were, except to Student Council for endo r sement. Indeed through one student who had written an open letter about the administration's apparent failure to respond, and throu gt the president of Student Council, I have been undertaking to fin d out exactly what members of SASS had in mi nd in their "demandS." The first sentence in Clinton Etheridge's cover ing letter reveals an awareness of this fact. �-2On December 26th I telephoned Clinton Etheridge in New York, told him that I had received his letter and wished to talk to him about it. I asked him to come to my office on December 27th or, if that were not possible, December 28th. He was unwilling to come without knowing what I was going to say to him, and reluctant to come without other members of SASS for whom he was as chairman the signer of the letter. I said that he could bring any number of others with him. He asked if I was seeking amplification of some of the demands or wanted to discuss the whole concept of the letter; I said the latter. I said that I wanted us as two human beings to discuss a human problem in the search for a human solution to it. He said that he would call me back on December 27th. On December 27th he phoned to say that he would discuss the content of the letter, toward its implementation, but only with other members of SAS3 present, who · would not be available until after vacation. He asked, therefore, for an appointment for SASS members to meet with me on Monday, January 6th, at 11:00 A.M. I said that this was too late in relation to the January 7th deadline and implied threat made during the vacation period b y SASS, but he Hould not agree to an earlier meeting and I said I would in any ca3e be glad to meet with the SASS members at the time he asked. I then told Clinton that I had wanted to explain that while I was sympathetic with many of their underlying concerns and was open minded on proposals for implementation, I simply could not act alone upon their demands since these involve basic policy matters for the Faculty and the Board of Managers, with, hopefully, student expression as well. The College, I said, never accedes to anyone's demands, but I said that in the early meeting I sought with him I was going to request him to recast the SASS letter and accompanying document in the form of proposals which would then go to the Faculty and the Board of Managers for full and unprejudiced conSideration, along with the recommendations of the Admissions Policy Committee which I understand are to be released in a few days. I said that in view of his unwillingness to meet with me until January 6th, the day before the deadline and threat set by SASS in connection with a IIpublic ll acceptance, I wanted him to know that I might have no choice but to write, before then, the public response called for in his letter, making public at the same time his letter to which I was replying. I want the Faculty to know, therefore, that I shall meet with members of SASS on Monday, January 6th, at 11:00 A.M., meet with them as an educator, and President of a c.cllege concerned for their welfare, not as a combatant anticipating siege. I expect to limit myself to making the following points: 1. I have great sympathy for the underlying concerns of SASS in seeking an increase in the number r ef Negro students, in seeking to create a viable healthy black student population, and in recognizing the importance of self definition. I want our entire College commill~ity to consider cDnscien- �-3tiously and imaginatively the best way to achieve these goals. In making non-negotiable demands SASS members are separating themselves from all who share so many of their concerns and wish to work toward them. They are saying in effect that other students and the Faculty and the Board of l'-1anagers have nothing to say about these goals and the ways and means to achieve them. 2. This College has never and must never be governed by demands or moved by threats. I cannot believe it is the best in individual SASS members that speaks of non-ne gotiable demands and threatens force, and I know that the best for the College has never been achieved in this way. As I sai d in my first Collection talk this fall, referring then to quite a different problem, Ii It has never been Swarthmore's way to be shaped by demands -- whether demands of trustees, faculty, administration, students, alumni, or the public. Nor will it be shaped by anyone who thinks only as a trustee, a faculty member, an administrator, or a student. It will be shaped by what its faculty, administration, trustees, and students choose that it will be, and we, like Professor Pinley, are thinking of choice as a rational and considerate process, not a cold process but a very warm and human process that realizes and responds to the felt needs of individuals. if 3. In the case of the present demands the President does not have the authori ty to act alone on basic policy matters on which student views are welcomed and on which an eventual judgment must be made by the Faculty and then the Board of l'-1anagers. SASS predicates a power in the presidency -- a power to circumvent the role of the Faculty and the Board of Managers in the formulation of major policy -- which the President does not have and would not seek, a power it would in fact ill-serve the community for him to have. I shall ask SASS members to recast their letter and accompanying document in the form of proposals which can be discussed by all students and go to the Faculty and Board of M anagers for full and unprejudiced consideration, along with the report of the Admissions Policy Committee which, on the request of the Student Council, is to be sent as soon as possible to all students as well as to the Faculty and the Board. 4. �-4The notice of the Faculty meeting for Tuesday, January 7th, at 4:15 P.M. said that we will continue our discussion of the reports of the Student Life Committee and the Expanded Student Affairs Committee. Subsequent to that notice, Professor Frank Pierson has asked, as chairman of the Black Studies Curriculum Committee, that we have a preliminary discussion of that committee's report at the meeting. Subsequent to that request, the president of Student Council has asked that we give the highest priority at that meeting to the proposal for "Student Week." Subseq~ent to that request, the SASS communication of which I have written was presented and should, it now appears, be our first order of business on the 7th. Courtney Smith � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Courtney Smith Papers Description An account of the resource Correspondence, reports, recommendations, statements, and news clippings from students, administrators, board members, and alums. All of these documents passed through the Swarthmore President's Office during Courtney Smith's time there. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Friends Historical Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource [Memorandum from Courtney Smith to students and faculty, 01/03/1969 Description An account of the resource Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Courtney Smith Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 01/03/1969 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF 1969 sit-in Black admissions Clinton Etheridge President's Office http://s3.amazonaws.com/sc-lib-ds-bl1969/original/069e1d773209c18e9ad6a78cc343e8c4.pdf b2b7eaacdca88cac243835dcac2ec9cb PDF Text Text SWARTHMORE COLLEGE SWARTHMORE . PENNS Y L V A N I A 190 81 BUSINE S S OFFICE January 10, 1969 Memorandum to Courtney Smith From Lewis To Cook, JroJ '7L/' About 9 a.m. on January 8, 1969 Harold Buchanan and two other students came to see me in my office. I was asked if I had had meetings with employees concerning the SASS situation. I replied that all employees had been given the 4 written documents and that we had asked them to read the information if they wished to form their own opinion. I also stated that it was our feeling that all members of the college community, students, faculty and staff should have the same basic informationo I was asked if I would invite employees, particularly employees from Food Service, House Director and Superintendent's department to attend a meeting at 1:30 porn. in Sharples. I asked if all college employees would be welcome and was told they would be, but that they were particularly concerned that the personnel from the three operating departments have the opportunity to hear from SASS and to ask questions if they wished. All · ef!gGr ' 'l~j"t:~ employees and others were informed . pera ~n of the meet~ngo At 1:30 p.m. or shortly thereafter as I stood in the West Dining Room Where several employees were assembled, I was asked by a black student to step outside. At this time I was informed there had been a misunderstanding and that the meeting was for black employees only. I stated I had been asked to invite employees and this I had done and that everyone assembled was an employee, including myself. Again I was told they were sorry but that regardless of what Iid been told, they wanted a black meeting so that no one would feel inhibited. I stated that I would like to make a statement of my understanding of the request for a meeting and SASS members agreed. I explained to the assembled group, both black and white, that I'd been asked to invite employees to attend a meeting at 1:30 p.m. at Which SASS would be available to explain their position and answer questions. I further stated that SASS now wished this to be an all black meeting and that I was sorry that I had asked all employees to attend a meeting at Which they .were not now welcomed by SASSo I then stated that I was leaving Jio" C/.5 �Page 2 Memoran dum to Cou rtney Smith continued and t hat it was up to the employ ees t h ere to do as the y wished o All whites left since SASS was not prepared to talk until it was an all black meeting. I n retrospect, it might have been better for me to ask that the request Harold Buchanan made be reduced to writing, informing me just what t h ey wanted me to do, but at t h e time I felt the more re laxed atmosphere of stating t hat I was perfectl y a greeable ~ to SASS having an opportunity to explain their position to emplo y ees Collectively, partic ularly those who se sch edu l e woul d have precluded their attending the 12:30 Commons meeting on Tu esday, was more in keeping with o u r basic policy of makin g all information available to all members of the communit y. ' cc: Edward K. Cratsley William Santon t � SWARTHMORE COLLEGE SWARTHMORE . PENNS Y L V A N I A 190 81 BUSINE S S OFFICE January 10, 1969 Memorandum to Courtney Smith From Lewis To Cook, JroJ '7L/' About 9 a.m. on January 8, 1969 Harold Buchanan and two other students came to see me in my office. I was asked if I had had meetings with employees concerning the SASS situation. I replied that all employees had been given the 4 written documents and that we had asked them to read the information if they wished to form their own opinion. I also stated that it was our feeling that all members of the college community, students, faculty and staff should have the same basic informationo I was asked if I would invite employees, particularly employees from Food Service, House Director and Superintendent's department to attend a meeting at 1:30 porn. in Sharples. I asked if all college employees would be welcome and was told they would be, but that they were particularly concerned that the personnel from the three operating departments have the opportunity to hear from SASS and to ask questions if they wished. All · ef!gGr ' 'l~j"t:~ employees and others were informed . pera ~n of the meet~ngo At 1:30 p.m. or shortly thereafter as I stood in the West Dining Room Where several employees were assembled, I was asked by a black student to step outside. At this time I was informed there had been a misunderstanding and that the meeting was for black employees only. I stated I had been asked to invite employees and this I had done and that everyone assembled was an employee, including myself. Again I was told they were sorry but that regardless of what Iid been told, they wanted a black meeting so that no one would feel inhibited. I stated that I would like to make a statement of my understanding of the request for a meeting and SASS members agreed. I explained to the assembled group, both black and white, that I'd been asked to invite employees to attend a meeting at 1:30 p.m. at Which SASS would be available to explain their position and answer questions. I further stated that SASS now wished this to be an all black meeting and that I was sorry that I had asked all employees to attend a meeting at Which they .were not now welcomed by SASSo I then stated that I was leaving Jio" C/.5 �Page 2 Memoran dum to Cou rtney Smith continued and t hat it was up to the employ ees t h ere to do as the y wished o All whites left since SASS was not prepared to talk until it was an all black meeting. I n retrospect, it might have been better for me to ask that the request Harold Buchanan made be reduced to writing, informing me just what t h ey wanted me to do, but at t h e time I felt the more re laxed atmosphere of stating t hat I was perfectl y a greeable ~ to SASS having an opportunity to explain their position to emplo y ees Collectively, partic ularly those who se sch edu l e woul d have precluded their attending the 12:30 Commons meeting on Tu esday, was more in keeping with o u r basic policy of makin g all information available to all members of the communit y. ' cc: Edward K. Cratsley William Santon t � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Courtney Smith Papers Description An account of the resource Correspondence, reports, recommendations, statements, and news clippings from students, administrators, board members, and alums. All of these documents passed through the Swarthmore President's Office during Courtney Smith's time there. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Friends Historical Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource [Memorandum from Lewis Cook to Courtney Smith] Description An account of the resource Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lewis Cook Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 01/10/1969 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF 1969 sit-in http://s3.amazonaws.com/sc-lib-ds-bl1969/original/c23a57855d29545fc00b5cee17c34f5f.pdf f0fc39e36107c856d24527dbe85e0ea9 PDF Text Text SWARTHMORE COLLEGE Swarthmore, Pennsylvania January 3, 1969 MEMORANDUM To: From: All Swarthmore Students Faculty Members of the Council You may be interested in the accompanying memorandum concerning the demands by SASS which was recently sent to members of the faculty. �S1"larthmore College Swa,::".'shmore, Pennsylvania . January 3, 1969 To our fellow faculty members: The following memorandum is offered in the hope of contributing to a constructive response to the SASS ultimatum, though SASS's demands are presented in terms that are incompatible with acceptable procedures . The F~~emptory ~tyle of the SASS proposals should not obsc.ure either the real merits of some of them or the necessity of giYing careful and thoughtful cons~_deration to the important issues of College policy which they rais~. It is regrettable that the SASS leaders have acted (while the College is on vacation) as though the President of Swarthmore College is in a position--or would be willing--to make these decisions by himself. It is also regrettable that SASS has resorted to vilification and even to threaWas the means of gaining its ends; and that SASS has made no effort to call its concerns directly to the attention of the whole faculty, vuthout whose strong support its proposals could not be adopted and carried through successfully. Nevertheless, the faculty should be prepared to consider them salmly and objectively, having regard both to the deep and deeply-felt needs that have prompted them and to the values embodied in the educational :L deals and achievement s of Swarthmore College. It is important to bear in mind that the SASS statement comes at a time when the two reports--on black admissions and on black studies--are ready for submission to the faculty, and also that sympathy for action on these matt err is virtually unanimous. The SASS statement can serve a useful purpose in br~g­ ing home to us the urgency of the special problems that black students have in obtaining an opportunity to prepare adequately for college study, and in maintaining their sense of selfhood within largely white environments while living and working at ' college. But we should not be tempted to set aside rational and democratic methods in our concern to reach a solution of these problems. We have good ways of dealing with our problems, through study, discussion amop~ students, faculty members, and administrative officers; and recommendations to the Board of Managers. The current crisis has not ari'sen out of faculty indifference to students' needs and interests, or administrative aloofness and refusal to communicate with students or student groups. The best way of mSElting it--and of making futUre crises as healthy and constructive as possible-is to continue to adhere to democratic and rational methods. Monroe C. Beardsley Nark A. Heald Helen F. North J. Roland Pennock Frank C. Pierson Peter T. Thompson � SWARTHMORE COLLEGE Swarthmore, Pennsylvania January 3, 1969 MEMORANDUM To: From: All Swarthmore Students Faculty Members of the Council You may be interested in the accompanying memorandum concerning the demands by SASS which was recently sent to members of the faculty. �S1"larthmore College Swa,::".'shmore, Pennsylvania . January 3, 1969 To our fellow faculty members: The following memorandum is offered in the hope of contributing to a constructive response to the SASS ultimatum, though SASS's demands are presented in terms that are incompatible with acceptable procedures . The F~~emptory ~tyle of the SASS proposals should not obsc.ure either the real merits of some of them or the necessity of giYing careful and thoughtful cons~_deration to the important issues of College policy which they rais~. It is regrettable that the SASS leaders have acted (while the College is on vacation) as though the President of Swarthmore College is in a position--or would be willing--to make these decisions by himself. It is also regrettable that SASS has resorted to vilification and even to threaWas the means of gaining its ends; and that SASS has made no effort to call its concerns directly to the attention of the whole faculty, vuthout whose strong support its proposals could not be adopted and carried through successfully. Nevertheless, the faculty should be prepared to consider them salmly and objectively, having regard both to the deep and deeply-felt needs that have prompted them and to the values embodied in the educational :L deals and achievement s of Swarthmore College. It is important to bear in mind that the SASS statement comes at a time when the two reports--on black admissions and on black studies--are ready for submission to the faculty, and also that sympathy for action on these matt err is virtually unanimous. The SASS statement can serve a useful purpose in br~g­ ing home to us the urgency of the special problems that black students have in obtaining an opportunity to prepare adequately for college study, and in maintaining their sense of selfhood within largely white environments while living and working at ' college. But we should not be tempted to set aside rational and democratic methods in our concern to reach a solution of these problems. We have good ways of dealing with our problems, through study, discussion amop~ students, faculty members, and administrative officers; and recommendations to the Board of Managers. The current crisis has not ari'sen out of faculty indifference to students' needs and interests, or administrative aloofness and refusal to communicate with students or student groups. The best way of mSElting it--and of making futUre crises as healthy and constructive as possible-is to continue to adhere to democratic and rational methods. Monroe C. Beardsley Nark A. Heald Helen F. North J. Roland Pennock Frank C. Pierson Peter T. Thompson � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Courtney Smith Papers Description An account of the resource Correspondence, reports, recommendations, statements, and news clippings from students, administrators, board members, and alums. All of these documents passed through the Swarthmore President's Office during Courtney Smith's time there. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Friends Historical Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource [Memorandum from Faculty Members of the Council, 01/03/1969] Description An account of the resource Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Monroe Beardsley Mark Heald Helen North J. Roland Pennock Frank Pierson Peter Thompson Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 01/03/1969 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF 1969 sit-in Faculty http://s3.amazonaws.com/sc-lib-ds-bl1969/original/ad94a0f6549b6241ee53c82e3fb99e77.jpg 559c97e639e4f687cfe6f075e6953755 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Courtney Smith Papers Description An account of the resource Correspondence, reports, recommendations, statements, and news clippings from students, administrators, board members, and alums. All of these documents passed through the Swarthmore President's Office during Courtney Smith's time there. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Friends Historical Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource [Letter - Courtney Smith to Faculty, 01/14/1969] Description An account of the resource Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Courtney Smith Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 01/14/1969 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG 1969 sit-in Faculty President's Office http://s3.amazonaws.com/sc-lib-ds-bl1969/original/9f7a8ce0c1e062bc3fdc90aab2c9ce72.pdf 40d8c9bdbb4135e7ec1972c2a26cdf66 PDF Text Text � � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Courtney Smith Papers Description An account of the resource Correspondence, reports, recommendations, statements, and news clippings from students, administrators, board members, and alums. All of these documents passed through the Swarthmore President's Office during Courtney Smith's time there. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Friends Historical Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource [Letter - Courtney Smith to Fred Hargadon,01/02/1969] Description An account of the resource Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Courtney Smith Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 01/02/1969 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG Black admissions Frederick Hargadon President's Office http://s3.amazonaws.com/sc-lib-ds-bl1969/original/ba07c8c28f0dd62f10df9400e78db0e4.pdf 137997ce0065ae891befdb3616b761d6 PDF Text Text / SWARTHMORE COLLEGE Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081 December 30, 1968 TO: FROM: students, Faculty, Administration and Board Managers o~ Swarthmore College Fred A. Hargadon, Chairman Committee o~ o~ the Admissions Policy The Admissions Policy Committee, at its meeting o~ December 18, proposed to ~orward the attached policy recommendations on Negro student recruitment and enrollment to the Faculty ~or their preliminary consideration at the earliest possible date in January. Comments d suggestions regarding these policy recommendations may be ~orwarded to members o~ the Committee. �! S'''arthmore College Swarthmore, Penna. Negro Student Recruitment and Enrollment I. Since the beginning of the Fall Semester, the Admissions Policy Committee has been studying the various aspects of the problem of recruitment and enrollment of Negro students at Swarthmore. The College r s efforts in re cruiting Negro students over the past five years were reviewed in a report, drawn up over the summer, by the Dean of Admissions. The report discussed the problems and pros- pects to be faced by the College in its efforts to recruit Negro students in the future, and suggested various policy alternatives to be considered. The Committee adopted the report as its working paper and proceeded immediately to seek additional information on the problem from a variety of sources. Those Negro students presently enrolled at Swarthmore were asked by the Committee to present, either in person or by letter, their views of the problem. quested from them the following: Specifically, we re- (1) their critique of the ivorldng paper, (2) their thoughts on the matter of policy alternatives for the College, (3) their thoughts on various programs and/or supportive measures by which students of lesser preparation could be incorporated into, and pursue successfUlly, Swarthnlore's academic program, and (4) those comments on their own experience at Swarthmore which they believe to be relevant to the discussion of recruitment and enrollment of Negro students, either lI r isk" or "non-risk, " for Swarthmore. Other colleges and universities were solicited for information concerning their respective accomplishments in this area, and the Committee familiarized itself with special programs (e.g., Transitional Year Programs and A Better Chance Programs) aimed at increasing the pool of Negro high school graduates qualified to go on to College. Were the pool of such qualified candidates sufficiently large, the recruitment of Negro students would present less of a problem. In order to enroll any �-2- significant number of Negro students, many institutions have accepted students who do not meet their entrance requirements and who, in many cases, require remedial work. Few of these institutions have as yet fully evaluated their exThe large majority of them are still in the periences ,'lith such programs. formative or beginning stages, and little in the way of comparative data (especially from institutions similar in nature to Swarthmore) can be expected before two or three more years have passed. Our inquiries have revealed only that as of yet there are no patents pending on either the means by which it is possible to accurately determine in which cases a student's performance on standardized tests reflects considerably less than his true academic abilities (while we knovT this happens, we discover it more by accident than by design), or the means by which colleges can successfully provide ways through which they can absorb students of inadequate preparation into their regular academic programs. To the extent that the Committee anticipated acquiring the cessary hard data by which it could chart a future course based on acknowledged wisdom, it was disappointed. One thing does seem clear, however: the definition of "risk" remains a relative obe, and whatever progress is achieved in the area of "risk student " edUcation, it is unlikely that anyone device or method will work equally well for all institutions, given the great differences which characterize the curricula of colleges and universities in this country. In trying to arrive at policy recommendations on this matter, it was necessary for the Committee to seek anS~Jers to questions, many of which could be phrased only in the abstract and none of which seemed to have absolutely "righttl or "wrong" answers. Some of these questions are suggested below. We caution that we do not feel completely enlightened regarding all of the complexities of the problem of increasing the number of Negro students enrolled at Swarthmore or at similar institutions, nor are w'e pretending to dispense wisdom on that subject. Our thinking on the subject has been an ad.m.iA'ture of experience, �-3intuition, social consciousness, and hope. Our policy recommendations are meant to be suggested approaches for the immediate future, subject to periodic review, rather than tightly reasoned dicta handed down for the decade ahead. II. Despite the fact that Swarthmore ha$ in recent years been relatively success- ful in enrolling more Negro students, the conditions under which such recruitment took place have changed tremendously in the past two years. Whereas our recruit- ing of Negro students to date has been essentially "non_risk" in nature, and whereas the last two years have seen perhaps a two-hundred-fold increase in the number of colleges and universities actively seeking to enroll greater numbers of Negro students, and vlhereas the size of the pool of qualified Negro secondary school graduates remains relatively very small, we have found it increasingly difficult to maintain the success which characterized our earlier efforts in this area. The prospect of continually declining numbers of N eg!ro students enrolled at Why do we want Swarthmore has forced us to ask ourselves some hard questions. more Negro students enrolled here? Is it simply because we want to be able to Is it because they represent the say that we have x-number in the student body? kind (or a kind) of well-qualified student whom we seek anyway ? Or, is it because we feel a social obligation to meet a particularly pressing need of contemporary society? Is it because t"e believe that ''Ie have something special in the way of And, if in order to enroll more Negro an educational program to offer them? students, we find it necessary to admit students with inadequate preparation, would the necessary modifications in the educational program be such that we would thereby lose some of those qualities which distinguish our program from those of many other colleges? Is it because of the educational benefits which are normally thought to occur as the result of bringing together students of varied socio-economic backgrounds and life experiences? And do these benefits persist if a large number of Negro or other students adopt a largely separatist life-style within the community? �-4Questions of a slightly different sort also presented themselves to us, JllOstly having to do with the possibility of enrolling students with less than the nOl~lly required level of academic preparation. How adaptable is the Swarthmore educational program (in terms of its size, the quality and nature of its students, its other comnitments, etc.) when it comes to considering th& enrollment of urisk R students? Even if we could accurately measure the gap between the level of preparation of ''risk tl· students and that; required to pursue our curriculum successfully, how reasonable or vali d is it to expect that Swarthmore's present faculty and other personnel are qualified to help such students overcome that gap, and in what amount of time ? l{hat are the non-academic conditions of student life within the College which would require development should such students be enrolled? What number of "risk" students is it feasible to talk about when discussing their possible enrollment? When we asked ourselves and each other questions such s these, it was not because we expected to arrive at definitive answers upon which all would agree. Rather, the mulling over of a variety of answers to each of the questions provided us with a kind of backdrop against which we could highlight and contrast one possible course of action or another, seeking to determine the implications or Shadowy areas of each. What may be said to have emerged from our collective thinking can be summarized as folloy,s : Neither by its size, the nature of its academic program, or the quality of its faculty and student body is Swarthmore representative of insti. tutions of higher education in this country. It has deliberately chosen to remain small, to offer a rigorous curriCulum, and to seek in both its faculty and its students the very highest quality. Believing in the desirability of pluralism among our colleges and universities, it has opted for offering a particular l~nd and quality of educational experience. It has neither the desire - nor, if it had, the resources - to be all things to all men. Among those things it might do well, it haS set certain priorities and chosen to do well what it best knows how to do. Hmvever, once having agreed upon the type and quality of education to be offered, the College has sought Idthin those limits to gain as much variety within its student body - in terms of socio-economic background, life experiences, career interests - as the standards necessary to assure �-5reasonable success with our academic program would allmv. We have, therefore, never sought to educate only those students whose academic credentials place them at the very top of their class. Rather we have established an acceptable range of academic achievement within which the College is able to enroll a sufficiently diverse student body which is capable of undertaking our academic program with reasonable success. ~fuatever the benefits thereby derived from a diverse student body, however, the small size of the College dictates that they result more from the qualities of individuals and from the closeness of the community than from the representation of anyone kind of student in large numbers. Only by emphasizing quality over numbers can a ~ollege of this size hope to maintain the considerable diversity "1hich presently characterizes it. With this in mind, the Committee sought to find those "'ayS in which the College would be able to: (1) assure an increased enrollment of Negro students at Swarthmore; (2) use its resources to make whatever appropriate contributions it might toward increasing the number of Negro students able to go on to college in general throughout the country ; and (3) more satisfactorily respond to those particular needs, both academic and social, deemed to be uniquely theirs by the Negro stUdents already enrolled in the College. grouped under these three areas. Our reco~endations are then III. 1. ~gro student recruitment and enrollment at Swarthmore. A. The College should continue to recruit vigorously the best qualified Negro secondary school graduates. , While it is recognized by the Committee that a number of factors (e.g., increasing competition from other colleges for qualified Negro students, and S'varthmore's rather forbidding academic reputation) preclude setting unreasonably high eJ~ectations of success in this area, it is suggested nevertheless that the Admissions Office be provided with the necessary additional resources to enable it to make initial contacts with greater numbers of Negro high school students. More available travel time to visit secondary schools, the necessary funds to enable more visits by Negro students to the Swarthmore campus, and more effective use of alumni and students and student organizations, such as the Swarthmore �-6Afro-American Student Society, would undoubtedly enhance the chances for makdng our recruitment efforts more effective in the fUture. The term "vigorous recruit- ment" implies making strenuous efforts to get as many of the best qualified Negro students as possible to look into the Swarthmore program, so that they may determine if Swarthmore offers the education they seek. B. The fact that an applicant for admission is a Negro will obviously be one consideration in the admissions process, but no applicant should be admitted without regard to his other qualifications and solely on the grounds that he is a Negro. The admissions process for all applicants to Swarthmore includes appraisals of factors other than academic credentials. Judgments are made not only of factors such as intellectual achievement and curiosity, but also concerning a candidate's maturity, sense of purpose, capacity for growth, character and special abilities. Under no circumstances should the Admissions Office encourage aca~mic unrealistic applications from students whose level of them clearly outside our acceptable range. preparation places Such applications would serve neither the College nor the individual applicant, and would too often result in creating expectations on the part of the applicant; which could not reasonably be expected to be fulfilled. The Committee realizes that the Admissions Office must then walk a thin line in seeking those students who have not had the opportunity to achieve to their potential while at the same time avoiding the encouragement of unrealistic applications, and it suggests that no student who has not applied on his own should be encouraged by the Admissions Office to make application without some evidence of his academic record to date. C. The College should not adopt a quota system for enrolling Negro stUdents. Given the fact that the Swarthmore student body is not itself representative of college students throughout the country, no particular enrollment figure for Negro students thereby suggests itself as the most appropriate or just one. Rather, the College is urged to strive for a minimum of twenty Negro stUdents in each freshman class, >-lith a slight margin of men over women. �-7The suggestion of a minimum number is not meant to imply any notion that such a number is either ideal or satisfactory. It simply reflects that number i'rhich the Conuni ttee believes represents a challenging but realistic target for the College to aim at in the immediate future. o~timistic The Committee is not, however, concerning the chances of achieving that number for next year's freshRecruiting efforts tend to payoff, if at all, in the years following Reinforced efforts to recruit both qualified man class. that in i'l hich they were undertaken. Negro stUdents and a small number of academically less ivell qualified students (described below') should make it possible to enroll a greater number of Negro students in the freshman class entering in the Fall of 1970. The Committee suggests that the situation of Negro student enrollment be review'ed every two years, thereby incorporating new information and new developments to that time. D. The College should, as an experiment, undertake to enroll a small number of students (somewhere between five and ten, and including some students 1"ho are not Negro) ~o, i"'hile they fall just below our, normal admissions standards, are believed to possess other qualities which will enable them to " close the gap" in their academic preparation through individually tailored programs during their freshman year, or longer if necessary. In looking at other colleges and universities which have enrolled stUdents who had not met their normal admissions requirements, we found (not surprisingly) that most of them have only just recently inaugurated remedial programs of various types, largely innovative and experimental in nature. If Swarthmore itself embarks on such a program, it seems both desirable and appropriate that it develop an approach which is best suited to its o~m purposes, and one which takes into consideration the particular strengths and limitations of a college of our size and particular academic ethos. that ~re The Committee therefore recommends seek to enroll a given number of students who, while not meeting our general admissions requirements across the board, nevertheless reveal certain academic strengths and achievements. A freshman academic program would be �-8devised for each such student ."hich \-Tould do b"o things : first, it would be built largely around his demonstrated academic strengths ; and secondly, an appropriate course offering (probably introductory in nature) would be designated as the one t~xough which he would work to reduce past deficiencies in his academic preparatio~ The faculty member teaching that course and a senior major in that department w·ould have the responsibility of working with the student and devising a particular variation of the course which ,,,ould satisfy the standards of that department and at the same time enable the student to use the course as an instrument by which he can improve his academic capabilities. For instance, for a student weak in the ability to thiruc abstractly, a beginning course in Philosophy nrlght serve the dual pur~ ose of learning a new field at the same time as using the course to improve Or the introductory Economics course might adopt his ability to reason abstractly. slightly different readings and course problems to teach the same principles to a stUdent who might otherwise find it impossible to understan presently taught. the course as it is The specific examples given here are meant only to illustrate the principle of using our regular course offerings in a manner vThich, while not reducing the level of information and understanding of the field necessary to achieve a paSSing grade, nevertheless is adapted to suit a particular student's need to use that course for improving certain academic s1(ills in general. The Committee suggests that interested faculty and students in their departments meet to flesh out this proposal. The Crnmnittee further suggests that in those depart- ments vThich find themselves able and willing to work with one or two students in this fashion that some method of keeping track of what works and what does not work be established. It is hoped that some students could be admitted under the conditions described above in the freshman class to enter the College in the Fall of 1969. Implicit in this recommendation, of course, is the need to establish the necessary counselling support (both social and academic) for those students '''ho would desire and/or require it. �-92. Enhancing opportunities for all Negro students to attend college. A. The College should continue to support and maintain an Upward Bound Program. The College should, in considering the use of its facilities during the summer, consider the establishment of a program similar in nature to the ABC Program. The College should establish a committee of interested faculty and students to explore the possibility of establishing a oneevening-a-week seminar program on campus for able, socioeconomically deprived 11th and/or 12th grade students from local secondary schools. The College should continue its participation in programs, e.g., the College Bound Corporation of Philadelphia, whose efforts are expended on behalf of increasing the number of secondary school graduates in the area who go on to college. B. C. D. In discussing the entire matter of Negro student recruitment and enrollment t·broughout the past semester, it occurred to many of us that Swarthmore may not be well suited to deal directly, as an institution, with those problems in society which our education makes us best suited to recognize. In all probability, the greatest impact which Swarthmore may have on social problems, such as the education of Negro students, will be the result of the individual efforts and achievements of our graduates, in contrast to those efforts which the College can hope to undertake on its own campus and in addition to its academic program. While our small projects (Upward Bound, the experimental program, Chester tutoria~ etc.) may produce only quantitatively small results, when compared with the dimensions of the problem as a whole, the experiences thereby gained by those students of the College who participate in such programs are likely to have an enduring quality which will ultimately result in much greater benefit when those same students graduate and enter into responsible positions in society. It was with such thoughts as these that the Committee recommended that the College con. tinue its old commitments in such programs as Upward Bound and consider seriously initiating new ones with programs such as ABC. �-10. 3. Negro student life at Swarthmore. While it is not within the province of the Admissions Policy Committee to deal with issues covering aspects of student life on campus, the Committee recognizes that the quality of Negro student life here is and will continue to be interrelated with efforts to recruit and enroll more Negro students. Therefore, without our having been able to gather any significant data on the matter, we would nevertheless like to make some recommendatio,s concerning Negro student life simply as encouragement to other parts of the College, in whose bailiwicks these matters ultimately rest, to bring their attention to bear on such problems. It is antici- pated that both the Black Studies Committee and the Committee on Counselling will ultimately make relevant contributions touching on the recommendations listed helm" • A. Without specii'ying the position within the faculty or administration, the Committee believes the College ought to have Negro adults within the College community Hith whom the Negro st ents could consult on a wide variety of matters which usually come under the heading of "counselling." Whatever the position of such persons, however, they ought to stand in the same relation to all students as they do with Negro students, although the latter ,,,ould undoubtedly find them useful in unique wayS. The Committee recognizes that the College is making efforts to seek qualified Negroes for available or expected fUture openings in both the faculty and administration, and it recognizes the difficulties involved. record as recognizing this urgent need. B. The Committee recommends t hat some informal process be organized whereby those "felt needs ti deemed by Negro students to be uniquely theirs can find expression and support ltrithin the College. It hereby simply goes on The Committee does not think itself particularly qualified to suggest the form such a link between the Negro students and the various component parts of the College conmnmity should take, but perhaps a group of Negro students and interested faculty, ultimately chaired by a Negro faculty or administration member, would be an appropriate starting point. Tt would be necessary to .find ways to �-11 .. relate both to individual Negro students and to organizations such as the Swarthmore Afro-American Society. C. The Committee urges the Student Council and other organizations, e.g., the Cooper Committee, to be constantly aware of the need to provide support for activities, ,.,hich "7hUe "open to the entire student body," would be largely Negro in orientation. IV. It is much easier to recommend that new commitments be undertaken by the College than to divine exactly how the necessary funds for so doing can be acquired. Fortunately, the Committee's task is simply that of recommending ~QOds. policy and not that of raising But it would be irresponsible on our part not to recognize that what may appear to be fairly limited extensions of our pres ent commitments in Negro student recruitment and enrollment will nevert beless require hundreds of thousands of dollars to put into effect. The College's original grant from the Rockefeller Foundation is almost exhausted, and there is little prospect of renewing it, given their recent decision to distribute their funds in other kinds of projects. Foundation grants are nor- mally of the "seed" or ttstarterit type anY'\t'ay, followed by a withdrawal and accompanied by urgings to seek Federal support for continuation of such programs. Therefore, Swarthmore must begin anew, if the recommendations herein are adopted, to seek to establish the funds necessary to carry them out. It is well to remind ourselves that it requires $15,000 to support one student without any financ i al resources through a four-year Swarthmore education. It is not diffi- cult to figure out the additional cost in financial aid which thereby would be incurred by taking only ten such students (in addition to the average number of scholarship students we enroll) each year. sideration additional expenses for And this does not take into concounselling and other facilities. eJ~anded N does it include the additional expenses which would be incurred by the or Admissions O fice :i.n stepping up i t s r .:!cr uitment program fm' such students, or f �-12- the co ~ ts which the College ~rould also have to meet if it were to undertake a summer program such as ABC. Therefore, the Committee urges the College immediate- ly to undertake the search for the required financial support necessary to carry out those policy recommendations ultimately established as formal policy, and at the same time cautions that any optimism over the possibilit0J of "instant success :' with such policies must be tempered by our realistic concern over the anticipated difficulty in acquiring such funding. Admissions Polic1 Committee December 1968 � / SWARTHMORE COLLEGE Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081 December 30, 1968 TO: FROM: students, Faculty, Administration and Board Managers o~ Swarthmore College Fred A. Hargadon, Chairman Committee o~ o~ the Admissions Policy The Admissions Policy Committee, at its meeting o~ December 18, proposed to ~orward the attached policy recommendations on Negro student recruitment and enrollment to the Faculty ~or their preliminary consideration at the earliest possible date in January. Comments d suggestions regarding these policy recommendations may be ~orwarded to members o~ the Committee. �! S'''arthmore College Swarthmore, Penna. Negro Student Recruitment and Enrollment I. Since the beginning of the Fall Semester, the Admissions Policy Committee has been studying the various aspects of the problem of recruitment and enrollment of Negro students at Swarthmore. The College r s efforts in re cruiting Negro students over the past five years were reviewed in a report, drawn up over the summer, by the Dean of Admissions. The report discussed the problems and pros- pects to be faced by the College in its efforts to recruit Negro students in the future, and suggested various policy alternatives to be considered. The Committee adopted the report as its working paper and proceeded immediately to seek additional information on the problem from a variety of sources. Those Negro students presently enrolled at Swarthmore were asked by the Committee to present, either in person or by letter, their views of the problem. quested from them the following: Specifically, we re- (1) their critique of the ivorldng paper, (2) their thoughts on the matter of policy alternatives for the College, (3) their thoughts on various programs and/or supportive measures by which students of lesser preparation could be incorporated into, and pursue successfUlly, Swarthnlore's academic program, and (4) those comments on their own experience at Swarthmore which they believe to be relevant to the discussion of recruitment and enrollment of Negro students, either lI r isk" or "non-risk, " for Swarthmore. Other colleges and universities were solicited for information concerning their respective accomplishments in this area, and the Committee familiarized itself with special programs (e.g., Transitional Year Programs and A Better Chance Programs) aimed at increasing the pool of Negro high school graduates qualified to go on to College. Were the pool of such qualified candidates sufficiently large, the recruitment of Negro students would present less of a problem. In order to enroll any �-2- significant number of Negro students, many institutions have accepted students who do not meet their entrance requirements and who, in many cases, require remedial work. Few of these institutions have as yet fully evaluated their exThe large majority of them are still in the periences ,'lith such programs. formative or beginning stages, and little in the way of comparative data (especially from institutions similar in nature to Swarthmore) can be expected before two or three more years have passed. Our inquiries have revealed only that as of yet there are no patents pending on either the means by which it is possible to accurately determine in which cases a student's performance on standardized tests reflects considerably less than his true academic abilities (while we knovT this happens, we discover it more by accident than by design), or the means by which colleges can successfully provide ways through which they can absorb students of inadequate preparation into their regular academic programs. To the extent that the Committee anticipated acquiring the cessary hard data by which it could chart a future course based on acknowledged wisdom, it was disappointed. One thing does seem clear, however: the definition of "risk" remains a relative obe, and whatever progress is achieved in the area of "risk student " edUcation, it is unlikely that anyone device or method will work equally well for all institutions, given the great differences which characterize the curricula of colleges and universities in this country. In trying to arrive at policy recommendations on this matter, it was necessary for the Committee to seek anS~Jers to questions, many of which could be phrased only in the abstract and none of which seemed to have absolutely "righttl or "wrong" answers. Some of these questions are suggested below. We caution that we do not feel completely enlightened regarding all of the complexities of the problem of increasing the number of Negro students enrolled at Swarthmore or at similar institutions, nor are w'e pretending to dispense wisdom on that subject. Our thinking on the subject has been an ad.m.iA'ture of experience, �-3intuition, social consciousness, and hope. Our policy recommendations are meant to be suggested approaches for the immediate future, subject to periodic review, rather than tightly reasoned dicta handed down for the decade ahead. II. Despite the fact that Swarthmore ha$ in recent years been relatively success- ful in enrolling more Negro students, the conditions under which such recruitment took place have changed tremendously in the past two years. Whereas our recruit- ing of Negro students to date has been essentially "non_risk" in nature, and whereas the last two years have seen perhaps a two-hundred-fold increase in the number of colleges and universities actively seeking to enroll greater numbers of Negro students, and vlhereas the size of the pool of qualified Negro secondary school graduates remains relatively very small, we have found it increasingly difficult to maintain the success which characterized our earlier efforts in this area. The prospect of continually declining numbers of N eg!ro students enrolled at Why do we want Swarthmore has forced us to ask ourselves some hard questions. more Negro students enrolled here? Is it simply because we want to be able to Is it because they represent the say that we have x-number in the student body? kind (or a kind) of well-qualified student whom we seek anyway ? Or, is it because we feel a social obligation to meet a particularly pressing need of contemporary society? Is it because t"e believe that ''Ie have something special in the way of And, if in order to enroll more Negro an educational program to offer them? students, we find it necessary to admit students with inadequate preparation, would the necessary modifications in the educational program be such that we would thereby lose some of those qualities which distinguish our program from those of many other colleges? Is it because of the educational benefits which are normally thought to occur as the result of bringing together students of varied socio-economic backgrounds and life experiences? And do these benefits persist if a large number of Negro or other students adopt a largely separatist life-style within the community? �-4Questions of a slightly different sort also presented themselves to us, JllOstly having to do with the possibility of enrolling students with less than the nOl~lly required level of academic preparation. How adaptable is the Swarthmore educational program (in terms of its size, the quality and nature of its students, its other comnitments, etc.) when it comes to considering th& enrollment of urisk R students? Even if we could accurately measure the gap between the level of preparation of ''risk tl· students and that; required to pursue our curriculum successfully, how reasonable or vali d is it to expect that Swarthmore's present faculty and other personnel are qualified to help such students overcome that gap, and in what amount of time ? l{hat are the non-academic conditions of student life within the College which would require development should such students be enrolled? What number of "risk" students is it feasible to talk about when discussing their possible enrollment? When we asked ourselves and each other questions such s these, it was not because we expected to arrive at definitive answers upon which all would agree. Rather, the mulling over of a variety of answers to each of the questions provided us with a kind of backdrop against which we could highlight and contrast one possible course of action or another, seeking to determine the implications or Shadowy areas of each. What may be said to have emerged from our collective thinking can be summarized as folloy,s : Neither by its size, the nature of its academic program, or the quality of its faculty and student body is Swarthmore representative of insti. tutions of higher education in this country. It has deliberately chosen to remain small, to offer a rigorous curriCulum, and to seek in both its faculty and its students the very highest quality. Believing in the desirability of pluralism among our colleges and universities, it has opted for offering a particular l~nd and quality of educational experience. It has neither the desire - nor, if it had, the resources - to be all things to all men. Among those things it might do well, it haS set certain priorities and chosen to do well what it best knows how to do. Hmvever, once having agreed upon the type and quality of education to be offered, the College has sought Idthin those limits to gain as much variety within its student body - in terms of socio-economic background, life experiences, career interests - as the standards necessary to assure �-5reasonable success with our academic program would allmv. We have, therefore, never sought to educate only those students whose academic credentials place them at the very top of their class. Rather we have established an acceptable range of academic achievement within which the College is able to enroll a sufficiently diverse student body which is capable of undertaking our academic program with reasonable success. ~fuatever the benefits thereby derived from a diverse student body, however, the small size of the College dictates that they result more from the qualities of individuals and from the closeness of the community than from the representation of anyone kind of student in large numbers. Only by emphasizing quality over numbers can a ~ollege of this size hope to maintain the considerable diversity "1hich presently characterizes it. With this in mind, the Committee sought to find those "'ayS in which the College would be able to: (1) assure an increased enrollment of Negro students at Swarthmore; (2) use its resources to make whatever appropriate contributions it might toward increasing the number of Negro students able to go on to college in general throughout the country ; and (3) more satisfactorily respond to those particular needs, both academic and social, deemed to be uniquely theirs by the Negro stUdents already enrolled in the College. grouped under these three areas. Our reco~endations are then III. 1. ~gro student recruitment and enrollment at Swarthmore. A. The College should continue to recruit vigorously the best qualified Negro secondary school graduates. , While it is recognized by the Committee that a number of factors (e.g., increasing competition from other colleges for qualified Negro students, and S'varthmore's rather forbidding academic reputation) preclude setting unreasonably high eJ~ectations of success in this area, it is suggested nevertheless that the Admissions Office be provided with the necessary additional resources to enable it to make initial contacts with greater numbers of Negro high school students. More available travel time to visit secondary schools, the necessary funds to enable more visits by Negro students to the Swarthmore campus, and more effective use of alumni and students and student organizations, such as the Swarthmore �-6Afro-American Student Society, would undoubtedly enhance the chances for makdng our recruitment efforts more effective in the fUture. The term "vigorous recruit- ment" implies making strenuous efforts to get as many of the best qualified Negro students as possible to look into the Swarthmore program, so that they may determine if Swarthmore offers the education they seek. B. The fact that an applicant for admission is a Negro will obviously be one consideration in the admissions process, but no applicant should be admitted without regard to his other qualifications and solely on the grounds that he is a Negro. The admissions process for all applicants to Swarthmore includes appraisals of factors other than academic credentials. Judgments are made not only of factors such as intellectual achievement and curiosity, but also concerning a candidate's maturity, sense of purpose, capacity for growth, character and special abilities. Under no circumstances should the Admissions Office encourage aca~mic unrealistic applications from students whose level of them clearly outside our acceptable range. preparation places Such applications would serve neither the College nor the individual applicant, and would too often result in creating expectations on the part of the applicant; which could not reasonably be expected to be fulfilled. The Committee realizes that the Admissions Office must then walk a thin line in seeking those students who have not had the opportunity to achieve to their potential while at the same time avoiding the encouragement of unrealistic applications, and it suggests that no student who has not applied on his own should be encouraged by the Admissions Office to make application without some evidence of his academic record to date. C. The College should not adopt a quota system for enrolling Negro stUdents. Given the fact that the Swarthmore student body is not itself representative of college students throughout the country, no particular enrollment figure for Negro students thereby suggests itself as the most appropriate or just one. Rather, the College is urged to strive for a minimum of twenty Negro stUdents in each freshman class, >-lith a slight margin of men over women. �-7The suggestion of a minimum number is not meant to imply any notion that such a number is either ideal or satisfactory. It simply reflects that number i'rhich the Conuni ttee believes represents a challenging but realistic target for the College to aim at in the immediate future. o~timistic The Committee is not, however, concerning the chances of achieving that number for next year's freshRecruiting efforts tend to payoff, if at all, in the years following Reinforced efforts to recruit both qualified man class. that in i'l hich they were undertaken. Negro stUdents and a small number of academically less ivell qualified students (described below') should make it possible to enroll a greater number of Negro students in the freshman class entering in the Fall of 1970. The Committee suggests that the situation of Negro student enrollment be review'ed every two years, thereby incorporating new information and new developments to that time. D. The College should, as an experiment, undertake to enroll a small number of students (somewhere between five and ten, and including some students 1"ho are not Negro) ~o, i"'hile they fall just below our, normal admissions standards, are believed to possess other qualities which will enable them to " close the gap" in their academic preparation through individually tailored programs during their freshman year, or longer if necessary. In looking at other colleges and universities which have enrolled stUdents who had not met their normal admissions requirements, we found (not surprisingly) that most of them have only just recently inaugurated remedial programs of various types, largely innovative and experimental in nature. If Swarthmore itself embarks on such a program, it seems both desirable and appropriate that it develop an approach which is best suited to its o~m purposes, and one which takes into consideration the particular strengths and limitations of a college of our size and particular academic ethos. that ~re The Committee therefore recommends seek to enroll a given number of students who, while not meeting our general admissions requirements across the board, nevertheless reveal certain academic strengths and achievements. A freshman academic program would be �-8devised for each such student ."hich \-Tould do b"o things : first, it would be built largely around his demonstrated academic strengths ; and secondly, an appropriate course offering (probably introductory in nature) would be designated as the one t~xough which he would work to reduce past deficiencies in his academic preparatio~ The faculty member teaching that course and a senior major in that department w·ould have the responsibility of working with the student and devising a particular variation of the course which ,,,ould satisfy the standards of that department and at the same time enable the student to use the course as an instrument by which he can improve his academic capabilities. For instance, for a student weak in the ability to thiruc abstractly, a beginning course in Philosophy nrlght serve the dual pur~ ose of learning a new field at the same time as using the course to improve Or the introductory Economics course might adopt his ability to reason abstractly. slightly different readings and course problems to teach the same principles to a stUdent who might otherwise find it impossible to understan presently taught. the course as it is The specific examples given here are meant only to illustrate the principle of using our regular course offerings in a manner vThich, while not reducing the level of information and understanding of the field necessary to achieve a paSSing grade, nevertheless is adapted to suit a particular student's need to use that course for improving certain academic s1(ills in general. The Committee suggests that interested faculty and students in their departments meet to flesh out this proposal. The Crnmnittee further suggests that in those depart- ments vThich find themselves able and willing to work with one or two students in this fashion that some method of keeping track of what works and what does not work be established. It is hoped that some students could be admitted under the conditions described above in the freshman class to enter the College in the Fall of 1969. Implicit in this recommendation, of course, is the need to establish the necessary counselling support (both social and academic) for those students '''ho would desire and/or require it. �-92. Enhancing opportunities for all Negro students to attend college. A. The College should continue to support and maintain an Upward Bound Program. The College should, in considering the use of its facilities during the summer, consider the establishment of a program similar in nature to the ABC Program. The College should establish a committee of interested faculty and students to explore the possibility of establishing a oneevening-a-week seminar program on campus for able, socioeconomically deprived 11th and/or 12th grade students from local secondary schools. The College should continue its participation in programs, e.g., the College Bound Corporation of Philadelphia, whose efforts are expended on behalf of increasing the number of secondary school graduates in the area who go on to college. B. C. D. In discussing the entire matter of Negro student recruitment and enrollment t·broughout the past semester, it occurred to many of us that Swarthmore may not be well suited to deal directly, as an institution, with those problems in society which our education makes us best suited to recognize. In all probability, the greatest impact which Swarthmore may have on social problems, such as the education of Negro students, will be the result of the individual efforts and achievements of our graduates, in contrast to those efforts which the College can hope to undertake on its own campus and in addition to its academic program. While our small projects (Upward Bound, the experimental program, Chester tutoria~ etc.) may produce only quantitatively small results, when compared with the dimensions of the problem as a whole, the experiences thereby gained by those students of the College who participate in such programs are likely to have an enduring quality which will ultimately result in much greater benefit when those same students graduate and enter into responsible positions in society. It was with such thoughts as these that the Committee recommended that the College con. tinue its old commitments in such programs as Upward Bound and consider seriously initiating new ones with programs such as ABC. �-10. 3. Negro student life at Swarthmore. While it is not within the province of the Admissions Policy Committee to deal with issues covering aspects of student life on campus, the Committee recognizes that the quality of Negro student life here is and will continue to be interrelated with efforts to recruit and enroll more Negro students. Therefore, without our having been able to gather any significant data on the matter, we would nevertheless like to make some recommendatio,s concerning Negro student life simply as encouragement to other parts of the College, in whose bailiwicks these matters ultimately rest, to bring their attention to bear on such problems. It is antici- pated that both the Black Studies Committee and the Committee on Counselling will ultimately make relevant contributions touching on the recommendations listed helm" • A. Without specii'ying the position within the faculty or administration, the Committee believes the College ought to have Negro adults within the College community Hith whom the Negro st ents could consult on a wide variety of matters which usually come under the heading of "counselling." Whatever the position of such persons, however, they ought to stand in the same relation to all students as they do with Negro students, although the latter ,,,ould undoubtedly find them useful in unique wayS. The Committee recognizes that the College is making efforts to seek qualified Negroes for available or expected fUture openings in both the faculty and administration, and it recognizes the difficulties involved. record as recognizing this urgent need. B. The Committee recommends t hat some informal process be organized whereby those "felt needs ti deemed by Negro students to be uniquely theirs can find expression and support ltrithin the College. It hereby simply goes on The Committee does not think itself particularly qualified to suggest the form such a link between the Negro students and the various component parts of the College conmnmity should take, but perhaps a group of Negro students and interested faculty, ultimately chaired by a Negro faculty or administration member, would be an appropriate starting point. Tt would be necessary to .find ways to �-11 .. relate both to individual Negro students and to organizations such as the Swarthmore Afro-American Society. C. The Committee urges the Student Council and other organizations, e.g., the Cooper Committee, to be constantly aware of the need to provide support for activities, ,.,hich "7hUe "open to the entire student body," would be largely Negro in orientation. IV. It is much easier to recommend that new commitments be undertaken by the College than to divine exactly how the necessary funds for so doing can be acquired. Fortunately, the Committee's task is simply that of recommending ~QOds. policy and not that of raising But it would be irresponsible on our part not to recognize that what may appear to be fairly limited extensions of our pres ent commitments in Negro student recruitment and enrollment will nevert beless require hundreds of thousands of dollars to put into effect. The College's original grant from the Rockefeller Foundation is almost exhausted, and there is little prospect of renewing it, given their recent decision to distribute their funds in other kinds of projects. Foundation grants are nor- mally of the "seed" or ttstarterit type anY'\t'ay, followed by a withdrawal and accompanied by urgings to seek Federal support for continuation of such programs. Therefore, Swarthmore must begin anew, if the recommendations herein are adopted, to seek to establish the funds necessary to carry them out. It is well to remind ourselves that it requires $15,000 to support one student without any financ i al resources through a four-year Swarthmore education. It is not diffi- cult to figure out the additional cost in financial aid which thereby would be incurred by taking only ten such students (in addition to the average number of scholarship students we enroll) each year. sideration additional expenses for And this does not take into concounselling and other facilities. eJ~anded N does it include the additional expenses which would be incurred by the or Admissions O fice :i.n stepping up i t s r .:!cr uitment program fm' such students, or f �-12- the co ~ ts which the College ~rould also have to meet if it were to undertake a summer program such as ABC. Therefore, the Committee urges the College immediate- ly to undertake the search for the required financial support necessary to carry out those policy recommendations ultimately established as formal policy, and at the same time cautions that any optimism over the possibilit0J of "instant success :' with such policies must be tempered by our realistic concern over the anticipated difficulty in acquiring such funding. Admissions Polic1 Committee December 1968 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Courtney Smith Papers Description An account of the resource Correspondence, reports, recommendations, statements, and news clippings from students, administrators, board members, and alums. All of these documents passed through the Swarthmore President's Office during Courtney Smith's time there. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Friends Historical Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Negro Student Recruitment and Enrollment Description An account of the resource Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Admissions Policy Committee Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 12/30/1968 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Black admissions Frederick Hargadon http://s3.amazonaws.com/sc-lib-ds-bl1969/original/0721b2aa7e4f7dd7dcf4fa3d76fdeabf.jpg 6014c6190618e6c3f7ff6bdb0c6cbb73 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Courtney Smith Papers Description An account of the resource Correspondence, reports, recommendations, statements, and news clippings from students, administrators, board members, and alums. All of these documents passed through the Swarthmore President's Office during Courtney Smith's time there. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Friends Historical Library Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource [Faculty resolution 01/10/1969] Description An account of the resource Box 67, SASS 1968-January 1969 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource David Cowden Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 01/10/1969 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource JPG 1969 sit-in Black admissions Black Studies Faculty