AUSTIN (KXAN) — The University of Texas at Austin will keep “The Eyes of Texas” as a school song, but will make other changes around campus to “promote diversity, inclusion and equity and to more fully support Black students on campus,” university leaders announced Monday.
CONGRATS re Eyes
- Thread starter psybj
- Start date
renaming Jamail field...statue of Whitiker...but no song change and no $$ to BLM...
Maybe take that 0.5% to benefit people of color at the University of Texas something of real substance. I mean that 0.5% from UT athletics is a huge piece of change.
All in all, I think this turned out well. We all know the cliche "the devil is in the details", so here are some thoughts I have.
1. "recruit, attract, retain and support even more talented and diverse students, staff members and faculty members who can change the world."
Obviously, this means diversity in skin color. No problem there, however, what about diversity in thought? Are we going to hire only leftist black staff and faculty or will they make a concerted effort to hire black Americans that have conservative values like Clarence Thomas, Thomas Sowell, Condoleeza Rice.... I would like to see campus conservative students make their thoughts known that diversity is not just skin color. To me, this is a very important.
2. Can we get instructors that are "ALIGNED" with the university that will love the university and love our country? Whether they are left or right, doesn't matter, but this is of vital importance. This university has stepped up to the plate in a big way and I can't say enough about the class of the Jamail family. They deserve much appreciation and gratitude from the athletes themselves for stepping back and offering the name change on their own accord.
Below is the plan for UT
A More Diverse and Welcoming Campus
July 13, 2020
Dear UT Community,
During the past month, I have listened to — and spoken with — scores of students about how The University of Texas at Austin can promote diversity, inclusion and equity and fully support our Black students.
These and similar conversations with alumni, faculty, staff and community members have been challenging, fulfilling and eye-opening all at the same time. I went into them understanding that UT has worked hard in recent decades to become a more diverse and welcoming campus. I came out of them realizing there is still more work to do — and that this work starts and ends by creating an environment in which students, faculty and staff are fully supported before, during and after their time at UT.
This goal is shared by many, including the Chairman of our Board of Regents, Kevin Eltife. The Chairman and I have worked closely during the past few weeks, and I’ve been grateful for his ideas and inspiration. I am excited by the next steps and future conversations that are emerging from this process, and I know that Chairman Eltife, our university leadership and I share a common goal of making UT the best it can be for all of our students, faculty, staff and alumni for many years to come.
The number of Black undergraduate students on campus has risen by nearly 9% during the past five years, and we are also optimistic about enrollment in this fall’s entering class. With support from the Board of Regents, we have launched the $160 million Texas Advance Commitment and programs such as UT for Me, which are providing many eligible Black students, among many others, with millions of dollars of additional financial support and resources to ease the financial burden for them to attend UT.
Even so, our Black students still comprise only 5.1% of the student body. And during the past five years, more than 1,900 Black students who were automatically accepted here given their outstanding performance in high school instead chose to go elsewhere. Obviously, these talented students had many college options and made choices for a variety of reasons. Equally obvious to me is that many of those talented students do not believe our campus will be a welcoming home to them, and that we have not provided enough resources to ensure they will get all that is possible out of a UT education. I have heard this from current and former students, from faculty members, and from staff members. It is clear from these conversations and from the data I’ve reviewed that we can do better. So, together with the support of other members of university leadership, I am announcing a series of initiatives today to change that.
These efforts fall into two categories. First: doing more to recruit, attract, retain and support even more talented and diverse students, staff members and faculty members who can change the world. And second: reconsidering how to best reflect our values, both in the symbols and names on our campus, and the openness with which we tell our history.
Every action we take must support the people who make UT such a special place and must fulfill our mission to teach, learn and discover.
To recruit, attract, retain and support talented and diverse students, faculty and staff, we will:
I have weighed the effects that specific individuals or symbols have made on our university; how they fit with our values today; and the opportunities we have to use the stories surrounding these individuals and symbols to educate, to learn, and ultimately, to move us closer together as a community.
To ensure that we recognize and learn from our history and reflect our values through our campus symbols, we will:
Together, we have the power to define what the Eyes of Texas expect of us, what they demand of us, and what standard they hold us to now. "The Eyes of Texas" should not only unite us, but hold all of us accountable to our institution’s core values. But we first must own the history. Only then can we reimagine its future, and I look forward to partnering with our campus community to do just that.
These are the actions we will take together. They represent the continued evolution of our university, which has been taking place for 137 years and will carry forward for generations to come.
As we develop the details for these plans, I will share them publicly.
To all who have been so candid with me about your frustrations, your concerns, your experiences and your beliefs — thank you. It has been a humbling experience to hear and learn from you.
Respectfully yours,
Jay Hartzell
Interim President
Co-signed by:
Daniel Jaffe
Interim Executive Vice President and Provost
Darrell Bazzell
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Soncia Reagins-Lilly
Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students
Leonard Moore
Vice President for Diversity and Community Engagement
Chris Del Conte
Vice President and Athletics Director
1. "recruit, attract, retain and support even more talented and diverse students, staff members and faculty members who can change the world."
Obviously, this means diversity in skin color. No problem there, however, what about diversity in thought? Are we going to hire only leftist black staff and faculty or will they make a concerted effort to hire black Americans that have conservative values like Clarence Thomas, Thomas Sowell, Condoleeza Rice.... I would like to see campus conservative students make their thoughts known that diversity is not just skin color. To me, this is a very important.
2. Can we get instructors that are "ALIGNED" with the university that will love the university and love our country? Whether they are left or right, doesn't matter, but this is of vital importance. This university has stepped up to the plate in a big way and I can't say enough about the class of the Jamail family. They deserve much appreciation and gratitude from the athletes themselves for stepping back and offering the name change on their own accord.
Below is the plan for UT
A More Diverse and Welcoming Campus
July 13, 2020
Dear UT Community,
During the past month, I have listened to — and spoken with — scores of students about how The University of Texas at Austin can promote diversity, inclusion and equity and fully support our Black students.
These and similar conversations with alumni, faculty, staff and community members have been challenging, fulfilling and eye-opening all at the same time. I went into them understanding that UT has worked hard in recent decades to become a more diverse and welcoming campus. I came out of them realizing there is still more work to do — and that this work starts and ends by creating an environment in which students, faculty and staff are fully supported before, during and after their time at UT.
This goal is shared by many, including the Chairman of our Board of Regents, Kevin Eltife. The Chairman and I have worked closely during the past few weeks, and I’ve been grateful for his ideas and inspiration. I am excited by the next steps and future conversations that are emerging from this process, and I know that Chairman Eltife, our university leadership and I share a common goal of making UT the best it can be for all of our students, faculty, staff and alumni for many years to come.
The number of Black undergraduate students on campus has risen by nearly 9% during the past five years, and we are also optimistic about enrollment in this fall’s entering class. With support from the Board of Regents, we have launched the $160 million Texas Advance Commitment and programs such as UT for Me, which are providing many eligible Black students, among many others, with millions of dollars of additional financial support and resources to ease the financial burden for them to attend UT.
Even so, our Black students still comprise only 5.1% of the student body. And during the past five years, more than 1,900 Black students who were automatically accepted here given their outstanding performance in high school instead chose to go elsewhere. Obviously, these talented students had many college options and made choices for a variety of reasons. Equally obvious to me is that many of those talented students do not believe our campus will be a welcoming home to them, and that we have not provided enough resources to ensure they will get all that is possible out of a UT education. I have heard this from current and former students, from faculty members, and from staff members. It is clear from these conversations and from the data I’ve reviewed that we can do better. So, together with the support of other members of university leadership, I am announcing a series of initiatives today to change that.
These efforts fall into two categories. First: doing more to recruit, attract, retain and support even more talented and diverse students, staff members and faculty members who can change the world. And second: reconsidering how to best reflect our values, both in the symbols and names on our campus, and the openness with which we tell our history.
Every action we take must support the people who make UT such a special place and must fulfill our mission to teach, learn and discover.
To recruit, attract, retain and support talented and diverse students, faculty and staff, we will:
- Work with a group of students, faculty, staff and alumni to allocate a multimillion-dollar investment from Athletics’ revenue to worthy university programs — whether on or off campus – that work to recruit, attract, retain and support Black students. We expect that our investments will include at a minimum:
- Expanding our presence and outreach in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and elsewhere to better recruit outstanding high school students from underrepresented groups. We will raise additional funds to establish more private scholarships specifically dedicated to recruiting students such as those 1,900 Black students who were accepted here and chose to go elsewhere.
- Providing significant new resources to expand programs that provide transformative opportunities for future Black leaders, including some of the outstanding work already being done within the university.
- In conjunction with the Texas Exes and using a new program within Texas Athletics as a pilot project, launch an effort to improve our students’ ability to position themselves for post-graduation success. This will maximize the impact of our vast alumni network and corporate relationships.
- Adopt a university-wide plan to recruit, develop and retain world-class facultymembers who bring more diversity to our research and teaching missions. This plan has been in the works for more than a year under the leadership of Vice Provost for Diversity Ted Gordon and includes new funding for research and scholarship.
- Refocus and sharpen the implementation of our Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (UDIAP), which was released in 2017. We will regularly signal our priorities, commitment and progress toward measurable goals through a refreshed and better-communicated plan, overseen by Vice President Leonard Moore.
- Expand the UT Austin Police Oversight Committee to include more community members and a broader range of students, have it meet more frequently, and broaden its mission to oversee student and community engagement, communications and the exploration of creative approaches to community policing, on-campus safety and wellness issues.
I have weighed the effects that specific individuals or symbols have made on our university; how they fit with our values today; and the opportunities we have to use the stories surrounding these individuals and symbols to educate, to learn, and ultimately, to move us closer together as a community.
To ensure that we recognize and learn from our history and reflect our values through our campus symbols, we will:
- Rename the Robert L. Moore Building as the Physics, Math and Astronomy Building and provide historical explanations within the building about why past university leaders chose to name the space for Professor Moore.
- Honor Heman M. Sweatt in additional ways: by creating the Heman M. Sweatt Entrance to T.S. Painter Hall as the main entrance on 24th Street; placing a statue of Mr. Sweatt near the entrance; and then reimagining, redesigning and rededicating a major space in the building as an exhibit and gathering place where we will tell the story of the U.S. Supreme Court case of Sweatt v. Painter. This will recognize Mr. Sweatt’s courage and leadership in changing the world through the 1950 case that he won, allowing him and other Black students to attend UT. This will also place Painter Hall within the context of our university’s resistance to integration under T.S. Painter’s presidency, and ultimately to the Sweatt decision’s crucial role in integrating public education.
- Honor the Precursors, the first Black undergraduates to attend The University of Texas at Austin, by commissioning a new monument on the East Mall. This will be the central feature of a larger space dedicated to the pioneering students and faculty members who helped move the university toward becoming more inclusive.
- Erect a statue for Julius Whittier, the Longhorns’ first Black football letterman, at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.
- At the suggestion of the Jamail family, rename Joe Jamail Field at the stadium in honor of Texas’ two great Heisman Trophy winners, Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams, two Longhorn legends with a record of commitment to the university.
- Educate our community and visitors about the history and context of many of the names that remain, such as the Littlefield Fountain, the statue of Gov. Jim Hogg, the Belo Center and the pedestals on which a series of statues stood until 2017. Building on the work done by the Campus Contextualization Committee, this education may take the form of plaques and a website that our community and visitors can easily access from their phones.
- Own, acknowledge and teach about all aspects of the origins of “The Eyes of Texas” as we continue to sing it moving forward with a redefined vision that unites our community.
Together, we have the power to define what the Eyes of Texas expect of us, what they demand of us, and what standard they hold us to now. "The Eyes of Texas" should not only unite us, but hold all of us accountable to our institution’s core values. But we first must own the history. Only then can we reimagine its future, and I look forward to partnering with our campus community to do just that.
These are the actions we will take together. They represent the continued evolution of our university, which has been taking place for 137 years and will carry forward for generations to come.
As we develop the details for these plans, I will share them publicly.
To all who have been so candid with me about your frustrations, your concerns, your experiences and your beliefs — thank you. It has been a humbling experience to hear and learn from you.
Respectfully yours,
Jay Hartzell
Interim President
Co-signed by:
Daniel Jaffe
Interim Executive Vice President and Provost
Darrell Bazzell
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Soncia Reagins-Lilly
Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students
Leonard Moore
Vice President for Diversity and Community Engagement
Chris Del Conte
Vice President and Athletics Director
You know from negotiating pov maybe blm was not the real goal. But by coming on strong about blm they were able to get an agreement, a commitment, a real commitment to African Americans and other students of color at UT. And if so then they won.
ok...this is all well and good, but did/does it address what our students were asking in the name of change?. If so, then when will we hear from Mr. Bimmage, etc. saying thank you we acknowledge the change.....well done. If not.....then what more needs to be done and when will it start?
Who's gonna be in charge of the Dope-Slinging and Carrying guns and Girlfriend ass whipping and assaults and the DWI's?
Asking for a friend...
Asking for a friend...
Texas is already one of the most progressive schools in America. What it must be careful of is accepting students "just because" of their color. There are kids that do come from schools that suck in neighborhoods that are impoverished--- and sometimes those kids can rise up and meet the demands of Texas academics---- and some can't. What Texas has to make sure it doesn't become is a diploma factory that passes kids "just because". This reduces the intrinsic value of a degree from Texas and lowers what we are as an institution.
I'm all for inclusion, as long as we maintain our standards.
I'm all for inclusion, as long as we maintain our standards.
When I graduated and went to medical school, my class was one of the first affirmative action classes. Of 175 freshmen, we had 10 or 15 black students. I'm not sure any graduated. Most failed after the first year. Mid career, I desperately needed to hire a doctor. I hired a black Puerto Rican from the Bronx who had gone to medical school and residency at Yale. He came with a florid letter of recommendation from the chairman. Put him to work, he started cancelling cases for no discernible reason. Made a pass at our tech, then offered her money. I put him up in OB while I looked for a replacement. One day, I went upstairs to check on him. He was studying for his boards. By reading the standard text and underlining everything. In different colors of hi liter. He couldn't figure out what mattered the most. I hope that he didn't become a diplomate. Ron White has a phrase for this.
It's too late for this. I think that UT's reputation across TEXAS is pretty poor with the common man. It's known to be bigoted against blue-collar white kids. It's too expensive and they must score higher on the SAT than other races. The fundamentals for state funding are not looking good once these kids are older.
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Unfortunately, the high school system in Texas has already caved. It is just a matter of time that this also becomes prevalent in the higher levels of education in the state.
It is unfortunate, but rights and entitlements are being interwoven in a manner that is not too helpful for society.
HB 558 makes admission to UT pretty simple. When it was first initiated it said if you are top 10% you get admitted to any public college in the state. UT got trucked by that law and it was adjusted to allow them to modify the percentages. Currenlty 75% of the slots are reserved for those who graduate in the top 6% of their high school class. If you want one of the other slots you better be really good sports, music or art, out of state or international with ivy league credentials , or in state with some major accomplishments.
Pretty cool, UT family move by the Jamail family.
Hook em
Hook em
Clob94 there's no reason that the University of Texas can't do this. But on one of these threads it said that over the last 3 years over 1900. black students were accepted into UT but they decided to go elsewhere. What does that tell you?
And you know I did some looking around and only University of Houston had more than 10% of a black student body.
Actually University of Houston scored well across the board racial and gender diversity better than any University in Texas. Texas State was probably second.
But TT isn't any better then us. Baylor is medium and TCU and SMU lily white. Oh and I don't know is this will make anyone feel better. But the cow college is worst of all 3%. Now remember like to brag about how they have more students then us. People on here cash can deny racism all they want. However when you're young and black and live in Texas you take a look at college station and think man it's already hard being black but to be black and an aggie? Think about it
Outhereincali, are you trying to say that percentage of black students in a university is a measure of inclusiveness or a lack of racism?
If so, I disagree that such an inference cab be drawn without considering other factors.... education standards / programs offered / broader community / local job opportunities to complement the education etc. I would expect higher percentages in bigger cities, generally.
There are already plenty of measures where college admissions prefer certain groups. So, lower black or other ethnic group population is despite an effort on the part of the colleges.
If so, I disagree that such an inference cab be drawn without considering other factors.... education standards / programs offered / broader community / local job opportunities to complement the education etc. I would expect higher percentages in bigger cities, generally.
There are already plenty of measures where college admissions prefer certain groups. So, lower black or other ethnic group population is despite an effort on the part of the colleges.
Here's one: I have a classmate at medical school. He and his wife were both Phi Beta Kappa at Rice. Their oldest son was a National Merit Finalist. The Rice admissions people actually told them that there was only 1 slot for a white boy from the Valley. He got it. I used to hunt with a rat doctor at Southwestern medical school. He was on the admissions committee. They were reminded every year of the need to find more "qualified" minorities.
I'm calling BS on this. California v Bakke made racial quotas illegal in 1978. If they had people slotted in based on racial and geographic locations then they were violating the law. Secondly admissions officers don't discuss admissions with anyone outside the university. Either situation opens the university up to lawsuits and defending admissions decisions in federal court can run into the millions after all of the appeals are done.
Could someone in the development office have said hey there aren't too many slots left, if you give a little bit more this year I can talk to admissions and see if we can't make something happen. Sure, stuff like that happens all the time and it could have been misconstrued as kids are slotted in by race.
There is a reason America is considered a land of opportunity. Yes, there is widespread racism. But, let's not make everything about racism and gender. I am all for supporting those that need the extra help and encouragement. But, I would not support any politically motivated movements that do not address the core issues and just want superficial changes. Yes, changing the name of the field is a mere superficial change. It does not make any black life better.
Let's not make America a land of entitlement....
Let's not make America a land of entitlement....
I had a similar experience. When our child was waitlisted in a prestigious school, we visited them. During the visit, the department head pulled us aside and said - "Congratulations on making it this far. Do not expect to make it. The waitlist is just a means to filling diversity targets. ". This was very very difficult for my child to accept.
While say this, I agree that racism is deep rooted in our society. Unfortunately, the measures being allowed to address it is only making it worse.
I cannot wait to hear the response to this, but while I am, I thought I would share:
https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/the-university-of-texas-at-austin/student-life/diversity/
The UH does have a higher diversity score than Texas, but not by much, and I have never heard of anyone being denied acceptance to UH. In addition, our student body is less than 50% white, and we have large populations of Latinx, Asian and international students.
That leads me to wonder how you determine the appropriate levels of diversity? One could argue that we should reduce our Asian student population to achieve the necessary African American population.
It might surprise you that Texas Southern's diversity scores are well below national averages. However, we are never going to have a debate about that and mentioning it probably makes me a racist.
I would like to notes that the athletes demands have resulted Iin many positive changes at Texas and achieved their ultimate goal.
Raising the national profile of Edmund T Gordon.
The things that you are describing are against the law. If a school has a quota system (diversity targets) then they are opening themselves up to a federal lawsuit.
Demographics of Texas Public Schools
52% Hispanic
27% White
12% Black
5% Asian
Demographics of UT Austin
41% White
23% Hispanic
21% Asian
4% Black
So White and Asian Students are over represented and Hispanic and Black students are under represented. There isn't much you can do about that because of HB 558 guarantees admission to students who graduate in the top 5-7% of their high school classes. Freshman classes are between 8000-9000 students. Their are enough Hispanic and Black Students accepted to ensure similar numbers but for some reason (probably money) large numbers choose not to attend.
Anyone who fills a lawsuit will be labeled a racist and lynched. There was a Harvard lawsuit a few years ago. Harvard won that.
It is almost impossible to prove this. The same department head is not going to testify in a federal case. What goes on under the name of "holistic" admissions is a complete farce. It is the means to ensuring diversity and qualifying for federal grants. I would rather they call it out openly. In some countries, quotas are legal and well documented. I respect those systems better (even if just as unfair) than the hypocrisy in US college admissions.
Can you show the same numbers for the NFL or NBA or other professional sports?
Why not show the same data for corporate jobs?
The premise that diversity in the population has to be reflected in the colleges is flawed.
There a lot of factors (most that cannot be mentioned publicly) that influence who does what after high school. (Or even earlier).
Not true. Edward Blum is well funded and is always seeking new clients who are willing to litigate college admissions. I know its probably a shocker but the Harvard Lawsuit found that they were not quotas being used. They were not capping slots by race. The under qualified candidates who were admitted were from well connected rich families who donated large sums of money to the university, legacies (rich white kids) and athletes. It's definitely not under qualified black and brown kids taking slots for white kids. I can guarantee that is the case at all selective private schools. See operation varsity blues for more examples of rich people buying their unqualified children admission to prestigious schools.
The process is not flawed. A sample size of 8000-9000 students at a public university should reflect the public school population from which they are drawn. Regional public schools in Texas are much more representative of their regions than UT Austin is to the state as a whole. HB 558 has made the demographics of the accepted students much more representative of the State as a whole but for some reason the matriculation is not. The question should be why are accepted back and Hispanic students not attending. My guess is its more of a money thing than anything else. Cheaper to go to school closer to home.
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