Back in 2014, author and journalist Ta- Nehisi Coates wrote a poignant piece for The Atlantic titled 'The Case for Reparations'. The piece, which was beautifully written, not only touched on the effects of slavery, but it's lasting infractions. From start to bottom it made a case for why African-Americans living in the states should receive, on some level, compensation for the disadvantages we inherited.
Three years later and it seems like the student government at the University of Wisconsin feels the same. This past Thursday, the University of Wisconsin-Madison student government put together a resolution that would grant Black students free tuition and housing in hopes of leveling the playing field after centuries of racial inequities.
The Associated Students of Madison’s resolution proposes that Black students and former inmates be given free housing and pay no fees or tuition once accepted to the university, according to a report from the Associated Press.
“The university’s rhetoric suggests that it is committed to diversity and inclusion, so this legislation compels the university to move towards action — which is imperative,” the resolution’s author, ASM Student Council Rep. Tyriek Mack, said in a statement. “If no one challenges the university’s empty promises, then the racial composition will remain stagnant.”
With a campus lacking Black representation — with an undergraduate program that's 76% white and a faculty that is 80% white — you could only imagine the institutionalized traditions a program established in 1848 carries on. UW has been a hotbed for racial incidents, including a student who tried to start a white nationalist group on campus pleading guilty in the arson of two Black churches. Swastikas and racial slurs were spray-painted on a Jewish student’s door, an assailant spat at a Black student and other incidents prompted ASM members to step in.
This call to action by the student government is honorable but sadly telling. Like Coates stated in his piece, there is a case here. Let's hope the right call is made.
