Black Students Protest Enrollment Practices at Brown University

Black students enrolled at the Brown University walked out of their classes on Wednesday against the callous attitude of school in addressing various issues.

The protest was held to mark the 50^th anniversary of a similar protest by black students on Brown campus in 1968 to press the school to enroll and provide more support to black students.

“We are not here because somebody was beaten by a police officer or a victim of a hate crime,” student Jai Chavis told the crowd. “We’re not here because of a moment of explicit racism. We are here because we love each other and because we want to celebrate the work and legacy of the students of 1968.”

NEO, the coalition of black students, issued a list of demands over the weekend seeking more transparency, representation, and power. The coalition has demanded the release of all the meeting notes from the Brown University Corporation and its subcommittees and admission and rejection statistics, the inclusion of additional categories of analysis.

“Progress will be reported on each of the demands in a semesterly report given by the University administration. The labor of implementing the demands will not fall on NEO or other Black student organizations,” the NEO said.

The coalition has also demanded an increase in enrollment of black students in various undergraduate, graduate and medical course offered by the university.

Other demands include making the university a test-optional institution in undergraduate admission, increase in underrepresented students, increase in the proportion of black faculty, hire the staff of color in Financial Aid and Admissions, permanent funding of a space dedicated specifically to Black people on campus among others.