{"id":2876,"date":"2012-01-20T23:33:29","date_gmt":"2012-01-20T23:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wpmu.library.oregonstate.edu\/oregon-multicultural-archives\/?p=2876"},"modified":"2012-01-20T23:33:29","modified_gmt":"2012-01-20T23:33:29","slug":"eop_lecture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/oregonmulticulturalarchives\/2012\/01\/20\/eop_lecture\/","title":{"rendered":"“Educational Opportunities Program: History Through Action” Lecture"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

EOP Presentation at the Black Cultural Center - January 18, 2012<\/p><\/div>\n

Who decides what is university policy? Who decides what you can say, wear, listen to on campus? Who decides what is discrimination? Where is the student voice in the answers to these questions?<\/p>\n

These were the questions that the Educational Opportunities Program (EOP) staff posed to the audience at the beginning of their presentation “Educational Opportunities Program: History Through Action” given as part of Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Week.<\/p>\n

At OSU the Black Student Union (BSU) and the Black Cultural Center (BCC) have been especially vocal about discrimination on campus and the need for the university as an institution to recognize the issues and make the necessary changes to support and protect students against racism. Both the BSU and BCC have been very effective by rallying the student population to action to make their voices heard.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the earliest and best examples at OSU of students uniting to bring light to the issue of racism on campus was the 1969 BSU Walk-Out. In early 1969 Football Coach Dee Andros required that Fred Milton, an African-American football player, shave his facial hair to be in accordance with his team policy. Milton refused, Andros threatened to kick Milton off the team, and class boycotts, an underground newspaper, and the walk-out ensued.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

BSU Walk-Out, 1969 - P57:2301 News and Communication Services <\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0Click Here to Read More and View Materials the Document the Walk-Out<\/a><\/p>\n

As a result of the BSU walk-out, OSU recognized the need for institutional support of underrepresented and underserved communities of students and founded the Educational Opportunities Program in 1969.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Educational Opportunities Program (EOP) provides a welcoming environment that supports the full development of the personal and academic potential of students who have traditionally been denied equal access to higher education.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0program was created at Oregon State University in 1969, in result of the BSU walk-out, and provides support to\u00a0students of color, students with disabilities, students who are single parents, low-income students, students who have been rurally isolated, veterans, older-than-average (25+), or 1st generation in college (neither parent\u00a0graduated).”<\/p>\n

~ Educational Opportunities Program Website<\/a><\/p>\n

Last year, for February 2011 Black History Month, the OMA curated a display about the BSU Walk-Out and that display will now be permanently placed in the EOP office lobby, Waldo Hall 3rd<\/sup> Floor!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

1969 BSU Walk-Out Display<\/p><\/div>\n

Two decades later another incident occurred that in the years following, OSU as an institution responded with a series of positive changes…<\/p>\n

In October 1990 the Black Cultural Center closed its doors for several days in protest of a student\u2019s racist behavior against Jeffery Revels, the BCC coordinator. On a Saturday night a student yelled a derogatory term at Revels from a van and almost ran him over. Revels followed him and left a note requesting an apology. The student did call, but not to apologize.<\/p>\n

In an interview with the Barometer<\/em> Revels expressed his desire to protest not just the racially based harassment he suffered, but a culmination of incidents that other minority students had endured. Once Revels voiced his outrage at OSU\u2019s lack of institutional support for minority students and, in effect, the university\u2019s complacency on racial issues, more students stepped forward with their stories, and students and faculty voiced their support of the need for action and change.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Black Cultural Center is closes in protest - Beaver Yearbook, 1991, page 54<\/p><\/div>\n

And the University Administration took notice\u2026<\/p>\n

In 1990 and the years following, various Commissions, Offices, and Programs were established to educate the OSU community in order to combat racism:<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01990 President\u2019s Commission on Racism established\u00a0
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1991 OSU Observes MLK, Jr. Day Birthday as an academic holiday for the first\u00a0time
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Office of Multicultural Affairs established
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Indian Education Office established
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01992 Difference, Power, and Discrimination Program established
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1994 President\u2019s Commission on Hate Related Activities established
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01995 Ethnic Studies Department established<\/p>\n

Although the University made significant strides towards the effort of educating the OSU community to be more culturally sensitive and inclusive, in February of 1996, two students committed a hate crime against a black student: they yelled racial slurs and attempted to urinate and spit on him. The victim reported the crime and the two students were suspended, plead guilty to the hate crime, and later served jail time. \u00a0<\/p>\n

During the aftermath of the incident, on March 13th close to 1400 students marched for equal rights, an \u201cAll OSU Boycott.\u201d The peaceful protest also included a round table forum for students to talk about their opinions on racism.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

"All OSU Boycott" - Beaver Yearbook, 1996, page 5<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n
<\/a><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<\/p>\n

What to make of these events? The incidents that sparked them ignited students for a reason \u2013 students within the minority felt discriminated against over time and these incidents represented a culmination of frustration and anger. Students then used these events to highlight and voice their concerns regarding the greater social injustices that they faced.<\/p>\n

Throughout the EOP lecture several scenarios were discussed among audience members:<\/p>\n