What Marist Wants: Students, Faculty, and Alumni Share Hopes for Future Action for Racial Climate
Over 1100 Marist community members sent emails to President Dennis J. Murray, and more than 850 signed an open letter demanding recognition of nationwide protests. Student organizations, from the Student Programming Council to Marist Theatre affirmed their solidarity with the Black community. The History and Music Departments similarly shared formalized statements, and on June 14, the Student Government Association proposed five specific demands, including cutting ties with the Poughkeepsie Police.
The Marist community has called for action. So what’s next?
The Black Lives Matter movement activated support with astounding velocity. A New York Times article from June 10 reported that in the two weeks prior, “support for Black Lives Matter increased by nearly as much as it had over the previous two years.”
Marist’s history, marked by both activism and apathy, might not have predicted the clamor of its constituents in the days following George Floyd’s killing. Nevertheless, a reckoning sparked, drawing passion from community members past and present as well as acknowledgement from the college’s highest office.
In his address to the college community on June 3, Murray heralded further communication and action in the coming month. His subsequent memorandum on June 12 delivered more specific commitments, namely the formation of a Board-level committee.
“And we’d like to hear from the Marist community on what specific topics you think the committee should address,” Murray said.
The Marist Circle spoke with students, alumni and faculty to discover what Marist wants. From Aliyah Wilson ‘21, president of the Black Student Union, to the co-chairs of the college’s Diversity Council to the professors of Race in America, the respondents both identified common issues and posed distinctive solutions.
Illustration: Sydney Kysar
The Issues: Lack of Diversity Looms, Hindering Effective Communication
Diversity presented one of the most pressing concerns for respondents, and one that Murray acknowledged in his second memorandum: “Some of the most obvious are hiring practices for faculty and staff, curriculum, training, and campus climate, but there may be others.”
Indeed, the co-chairs of the college’s Diversity Council, Patricia Ferrer and Christine Mulvey, said that the 2019 Climate Survey revealed a lack of belonging felt by many students, faculty and staff. Marist’s full-time, undergraduate population includes 4 percent Black students.
“One of the most jarring moments during my time at Marist was being in a club board meeting with a few board members from my club, faculty members, and two individuals who were leading a diversity and inclusivity meeting. All of us were white,” a 2018 Marist alumnus, who preferred to remain anonymous, told the Circle. “It was wild to me that a group of eight white people were sitting in a room trying to figure out how to encourage and promote diversity.”
The alumnus added that during their four years at Marist, they had no Black professors, and they “wonder how important diversity really is beyond statistics on an admissions booklet.”
Wilson and her fellow Black Student Union (BSU) members have discussed diversity issues at length, and she said that while Marist’s marketing materials display a diverse population, a look around the campus tells a different story.
“It’s not that we don’t want people to come to Marist. It’s that we want them to come to Marist and feel comfortable at Marist, to feel safe at Marist, to feel seen, to feel included,” Wilson said.
Members from the BSU and Appreciating Races & Creating Opportunities (ARCO) student organizations were invited to a virtual town hall meeting on June 2, where Murray would deliver opening remarks. Wilson hoped the event would enable valuable discussion between administration and students, but she said that Murray left the call promptly after his introduction.
“People were really upset about that because they were like, ‘I thought that you were going to at least take the time out to hear what it is that we have to say or what our expectations were as people of color on campus,’ and he just had left,” Wilson said.
Strategist for R/GA, former Marist student body president and alumnus Brandon Lee Heard ‘17 said that as a student, he realized that the college’s traditional communication tools and behaviors hindered inclusivity on campus.
“The college is incapable of effectively taking guidance from diverse students, faculty and alumni, and applying it into effective business-driving and community-oriented solutions,” Heard said. “They need to assess their current organizational structure and dismantle any barriers that get in the way of this.”
As student body president, Heard assisted in designing the college’s strategic plan. He pointed to the plan’s core commitments, including “advancing the social good,” but said that college’s outdated forms of communication have stumped this progress. Murray’s June 12 memorandum, however, presented to Heard the first step away from these out-of-date methods.
This statement acknowledged the college's shortcomings and pledged improvement, unlike the June 3 memorandum, which incurred the ire of some community members. Anonymous alumni behind the @redfoxes_againstracism account said Murray’s first communication, nine days after George Floyd’s killing, “failed to take a firm stance against anti-black racism and left many of Marist’s BIPOC [Black, Indigenous and People of Color] students feeling isolated, alone, and unsupported.” As of June 18, more than 1,800 users followed the account.
“It’s not that we don’t want people to come to Marist. It’s that we want them to come to Marist and feel comfortable at Marist, to feel safe at Marist, to feel seen, to feel included.”
Dr. Jennifer Robinette, a crisis communication professional and School of Communication & the Arts professor, stressed the damaging effects of slow, ineffective communication, particularly in response to a public crisis.
“Silence from an organization is perceived even more negatively in a crisis, and today, a delayed response often amounts to perceived silence in the realm of social media. When a complete, compelling message is finally delivered, it can seem like the organization is only responding because it was forced to do so,” Robinette said.
Silence from administration can communicate indifference, but silence from constituents poses another daunting challenge, according to respondents.
Dr. Robyn L. Rosen, a Marist history professor, teaches Race in America on campus, among other history courses. She said the desensitization of the primarily white student body to racial issues, past and present, impedes progress.
“We have a small group of activists, a larger group of people who are sympathetic and curious, and a very large group that is apathetic. Of course, as we know, apathy about injustice is one element of privilege,” Rosen said.
This perception of Marist students as apathetic permeated a number of respondents’ answers. An alumnus, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that they realized a “very strong apathy” on the Marist campus, and recalled watching the returns of the 2012 election in their dorm alone.
“While that’s not connected to race necessarily, I think it paints a broader picture of the privilege of Marist students,” they said.
The Solutions: Respondents Suggest a Diversity Requirement, Inclusivity in the Classroom
After examining what they perceived to be the most pressing issues concerning Marist’s racial climate, respondents posed a number of solutions. The inclusion of a diversity requirement resounded in answers from students, alumni, and faculty alike. According to Rosen, a diversity requirement existed in the college’s academic core until seven years ago when it was abandoned.
“I believe if Marist wants to get students ready to have ‘enlightened, ethical, and productive lives in the global community’ then their education should require them to take at least one class where their worldview might be challenged and their horizons broadened,” Rosen said, referencing the Marist College Mission Statement.
Katherine Murnane ‘20 took Race in America, taught by Rosen and Dr. Steven Garabedian, and believes the course should become required.
“It was the first time in my life where I was introduced to the concept of race being a social construct. It was also the most diverse class I ever took at Marist and I believe that led to really constructive conversations that were informed by very diverse life experiences with race,” Murnane said.
Fred Dever ‘87 –– an alumnus, alumni board member and founder of the Dever Family Swim Scholarship –– suggested a “universal course on Diversity” that would reach beyond just the student body. Students, he posited, could take the mandatory diversity and inclusion course, while faculty, staff and alumni on boards complete it for a non-credit certification.
While perhaps positive in theory, some respondents worried a mandatory requirement would only motivate students to “check off boxes,” per Dr. JoAnne Myers, associate professor of political science. Myers said the better alternative would be to incorporate concepts of diversity in classes across the board. Wilson echoed this sentiment.
“We don’t want to just have a list of requirements. It’s more so like our whole entire campus culture would almost have to change,” Wilson said.
Dr. Shantel George leads the African Diaspora Studies Program, which will be renamed Africana Studies, and hopes to see the future growth of the program. In addition to academic programs, respondents hoped to see increased support directed to campus resources. Garabedian, who teaches Race in America with Rosen, said large-scale improvements to hiring and resources may be improbable in light of the pandemic, so he highlighted more specific areas for increased resources.
“I would suggest we increase the staff at the Center for Multicultural Affairs, the Center for Advising and Academic Services, and Counseling Services. These offices provide essential support to students of color who might be feeling disoriented, misunderstood, and alone on the Marist Campus,” Garabedian said. According to Wilson, who also supported expanding the Center for Multicultural Affairs, some students mistakenly believe that this program caters exclusively to Latinx students, when in fact it’s reach is more expansive.
More than hiring diverse faculty, Garabedian said the college should strive to attract individuals who are “activist-oriented” as well as “staff of color committed to social justice.” Once diverse faculty enters, Myers said that students must treat them fairly and equally.
“Research across the board has shown that students mark down faculty who are women, who are not heterosexual, who are not like them, who are persons of color as not being intellectually rigorous. Or if they’re intellectually rigorous, which most of my colleagues are … they’re treated as if they’re encroaching on white privilege,” Myers said.
Dever attested that on issues of diversity and inclusion, Marist has historically been slow on the uptake.
“As a Gay Alum, it has been a long slow process to even establish gay groups, march in parades, fly a rainbow flag and or acknowledge gay icons. The same holds true for other minority groups,” Dever said, adding that “Marist needs to show not tell when it comes to building a culture of outward Diversity. Just having clubs available for minorities is not enough.”
The increasing presence of minority students could expedite these realizations. Heard referenced a 2018 Pew Research Center analysis, which reports that “nearly half of post-Millennials are racial or ethnic minorities.”
“Gen Z and Gen Alpha are the most racially and ethnically diverse generation to date,” Heard said. “These are the faces of modern day campus life. If the college seeks to evolve it needs to have diverse representation across every department, school and leadership position.”
Diversity and inclusion are interrelated, but by no means synonymous, and respondents shared specific intentions for making Marist more inclusive as well as more diverse. For the Diversity Council (DC) co-chairs, a crucial component will be diversity training to breed more inclusive learning environments.
“For faculty, the DC encourages the creation of teaching toolkits for developing inclusive classrooms, including pedagogical approaches that are culturally responsive and ability minded would benefit faculty and students. For staff and administrators, the DC recommends cultural and racial sensitivity training specific to their positions on campus,” the co-chairs said.
The committee itself, composed of volunteer faculty, staff, students and a few administrators, has advised Marist to increase African American hires and offer “a more diverse support system.” This may include diversity and inclusion training as well as increased opportunities for dialogue and connection.
In addition to increased representation, Wilson espoused the importance of physical places to find support. She said the BSU’s demands included housing for students of color. While this may elicit images of segregation, she sees the value in providing Black students with safe spaces.
An alumnus emphasized the power of student voices, and said students should tell professors about the topics they want to see addressed; for instance, if a professor is currently preparing an English literature class, students can ask to learn more about Black writers of the 18th century.
“Things like that, students have the power to ask for, but sometimes in a campus environment the power structures don’t really seem like that’s possible,” they said.
George provided a real-life example of students at the forefront of change: in 2018, Columbia University announced its first African American and African Diaspora studies department after students and faculty pushed for action. This, she said, exhibits the power of students working with faculty.
Myers found inspiration in the motto from the Black women’s political caucus in the 1980s, which she’s since adopted as her own: “one hand up, one hand down.” She said embracing all students, faculty and staff should be a regular component of campus life.
The Progress: Strides Taken in the Long Journey
The calls for change range from rudimentary to utterly transformative. On a number of fronts, progress is already in motion. When a recent alumnus attended Marist, they said the Center for Civic Engagement did not exist, calling its existence “huge progress on the campus’s part.”
Founded in 2014, the center, with Dr. Melissa Gaeke at the helm, facilitates student engagement with the community and promotes community-based learning.
Two years earlier, the Diversity Council formed. The council has since developed a wide array of programming, including faculty and staff workshops, and sponsored participation in events, like the Black Student-Athlete Summit, as well as diversity-related research projects.
The council’s Teaching and Training Subcommittee joined forces with the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences Creating Inclusive Communities group to create the Marist College Diversity Leadership Institute. The event, originally scheduled for June 15 and cancelled due to COVID-19, will be delayed until 2021 and is expected to recur annually. Rosen, who was supposed to participate in the event, said that despite its cancellation, she believes the institute represents a positive step forward.
“It shows that people are already doing good work and we need to be thinking about ways to support it and help them to scale up,” Rosen said.
Despite strides, ample room for progress remains, which Murray affirmed in his June 12 memorandum.
“Marist has not always been the college community we have aspired to be. A strong sense of community is one of our core values, but quite simply, not everyone has felt included. We must do better, and we will do better,” Murray said.
“There is something happening, something new and different, on this campus and in this country.”
Following the memorandum, the Marist College Instagram account shared a post from @redfoxes_againstracism racism, saying “Thank you @redfoxes_againstracism for holding us accountable. #MaristWillDoMore”
The account coordinators told the Circle that they would be happy to discuss ideas with the college only after “they state publicly and unequivocally that Black Lives Matter.”
“President Murray’s lukewarm concession that BLM [Black Lives Matter] is ‘legitimate’ is purposefully not the same. Until then, they can expect to see more of us on social media,” the account coordinators said.
Both Heard and Robinette emphasized the importance of seeking input from the bottom-up, and engaging with these communities on social media could be the start.
“In other words, the people protesting must be involved in crafting the solutions from their inception,” Robinette said. “Solutions an organization develops from a traditional top-down management structure may not successfully address all of the concerns underlying the unrest.”
Hard conversations are already happening, and Robinette believes that Marist is working toward becoming more available through media, town-hall style meetings, etc. Skyler Van Valkenburgh ‘17 suggested an open forum, inviting Black students past and present. She urged that tough conversations can breed creative solutions.
Rosen said that within the School of Social and Behavioral Science and the School of Liberal Arts, in particular, Marist community members have already started engaging in these discussions, working in small groups and reading books like “Waking Up White” by Debby Irving. She said that just the very awareness of the issues, or “consciousness raising,” could foster more social change in the community.
From Garabedian’s point of view, shifts are already underway.
“I've never seen a politicization of the campus at Marist like I've seen since the election of Donald Trump, and particularly the murder of George Floyd and the mass protests that have followed in America and abroad,” Garabedian said.
“There is something happening, something new and different, on this campus and in this country.”