Camron Love
Contributing Writer
The Black Manifesto forced the administration to look at the environment in which they created that has led to the oppression of Black students on campus. The administration continuously acknowledges that the College has plenty of work to do when it comes to creating a safe and inclusive environment for Black people on campus but does nothing to improve it. After reading the Manifesto, I was excited to see that other Black people on campus wanted to see change as much as I did. I was excited to see the demand for another Black counselor on campus and the demand to hold the police department accountable for legislation that ensures protection against hate speech and crimes.
As a First Year here at the College, I do not feel comfortable talking to white counselors about how it feels to be a Black student at a primarily white college or about how my home life is affecting my performance in the classroom. White counselors are not going to understand how my very Black background influences me on a day-to-day basis. President Bolton mentioned the fact that we already have a Black counselor on campus and access to a wide range of counselors on Timely Care in hope that we would somehow be satisfied with her response. As a person who has utilized the counseling services here at the College, the counselors are often booked for the entirety of the semester and getting access to the one Black on campus is virtually impossible. In addition to that, it is unrealistic to expect one person to counsel every Black student who seeks counseling. If the College of Wooster can charge its students nearly $70,000 to attend, and renovate the Lowry center, they can hire more Black counselors.
The Manifesto demanded that the College of Wooster hold the Wooster Police Department accountable for legislation that ensures protection against hate speech and crimes against Black students on Beall. As a student of color, Beall Avenue is unsafe and, in my mind, is a place where racist people can verbally attack us. I was running down Beall Avenue and a white male on a scooter, with a Trump sign flicked me off and called me a slur for passing him and not acknowledging his stupidity. Following this incident, I reported it to Campus Safety, who essentially brushed it under the carpet and told me they would “look into it.” We all know that “looking into it” means that they are just going to forget about it, and nothing is going to happen. The fact that Black students do not feel safe on campus and don’t have the support of the Wooster Police Department and Campus Security shows that the safety of Black students are the least of the College’s worries.
The Manifesto also required the administration to publicly respond to its content. Going into the meeting, I expected the administration to have already looked at the Manifesto and to have understood it. I also expected the administration to present a plan of action that addressed the demands of the Manifesto. Nothing of the sort occurred. In addition, the administration failed to put the voices of Black people at the forefront of the meeting. The meeting quickly switched lenses from the oppression of Black students on campus to the oppression of minority groups in general – which was not the focus of the meeting. Yes, everyone has the right to speak of the oppression they face on campus, but this meeting was supposed to address Black issues on campus. I didn’t get what I wanted from this meeting in terms of response. The administration looked confused and only answered with head nods and gestures- nothing substantial for the issues at hand. I’m sure this is echoed throughout the Black community but the lack of attention to this meeting reflects how The College of Wooster views Black people and displays the College’s lack of care of the issues Black students face on campus.