Delaware Online
By BETH MILLER • The News Journal • July 15, 2009
'We owe [Lit Mitchell] not just our gratitude, but our pledge that we will continue his work.'
NEWARK -- As University of Delaware President Patrick Harker pointed out Tuesday, the university and the late civil rights leader Littleton P. Mitchell "had a history with one another."
So it was notable, too, that Mitchell's memorial service was held at UD's Mitchell Hall -- the same hall where Mitchell once was barred as a speaker, the same university that would not admit black students when Mitchell was growing up in Delaware.
Mitchell was 90 years old when he died July 6 after an auto accident near his Delaware City home.
In the intervening years, Mitchell and UD had more than reconciled. The university awarded its Medal of Merit to Mitchell and his late wife, Jane, a nurse who was a trailblazer in her own right.
It was, as Harker underlined, proof of the university's capacity for change. And that capacity "resides in each of us," he said. "We owe him not just our gratitude, but our pledge that we will continue his work."
Mitchell's pursuit of justice, his love of life and family, and the call to carry on all were themes that echoed throughout the 2 1/2-hour "Celebration of a Purposeful Life."
Full Obituary: http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200907150345/NEWS02/907150350
[AAAA Note: Mr. Mitchell received AAAA's Rosa Parks Award in 2008]
Showing posts with label University of Delaware. Show all posts
Showing posts with label University of Delaware. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
U. of Delaware Approves New Diversity Discussions for Students
By ERIC HOOVER
Six months after suspending its controversial dormitory-based diversity sessions, the University of Delaware has approved a plan to replace them with a new residence-life program.
On Monday, Delaware's Faculty Senate overwhelmingly voted in favor of the plan, which was designed to promote "citizenship" among students. The program's activities, which are voluntary, would encourage students "to become engaged and active citizens on campus by understanding how their thoughts, values, beliefs, and actions affect people with whom they live and by recognizing their citizenship responsibilities"—an objective similar to the stated goal of the previous program (The Chronicle, November 16, 2007).
Unlike its predecessor, the new program would have administrative and faculty oversight, and would rely more heavily on trained professionals—as opposed to resident assistants—to lead discussions among students, according to university officials. The university plans to regularly assess whether the program is meeting students' needs.
The new program would also emphasize student safety, personal development, and "cultural opportunities" on the campus, according to the university. And it would encourage students to conserve resources, such as by recycling and taking shorter showers, in accordance with Delaware's commitment to sustainability.
Last year some students and professors complained that the previous residence-life program promoted specific views on race, sexuality, and morality. Bill Rivers, a sophomore, told The Chronicle in November that under the previous program, some resident assistants had forced students into uncomfortable discussions about divisive issues, such as abortion, gay marriage, and affirmative action. "It's bullying," Mr. Rivers said. "There's no educational justification for RA's asking you these questions."
In October, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a Philadelphia-based free-speech group, called the program "systematic thought reform" and urged the university to suspend it. Days later, Delaware's president, Patrick T. Harker, did just that.
Delaware officials have conceded that the previous program was flawed. Perhaps the biggest error was the university's failure to clarify that students' participation in the discussions was optional.
When the new program begins next fall, however, the university will make sure students know they can opt out of any of the activities without penalty, says Matthew J. Robinson, chairman of the Faculty Senate's Committee on Student Life, which recently reviewed the previous program.
[To read the entire story, go to: http://chronicle.com/daily/2008/05/2822n.htm?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en ] (Subscription required)
Six months after suspending its controversial dormitory-based diversity sessions, the University of Delaware has approved a plan to replace them with a new residence-life program.
On Monday, Delaware's Faculty Senate overwhelmingly voted in favor of the plan, which was designed to promote "citizenship" among students. The program's activities, which are voluntary, would encourage students "to become engaged and active citizens on campus by understanding how their thoughts, values, beliefs, and actions affect people with whom they live and by recognizing their citizenship responsibilities"—an objective similar to the stated goal of the previous program (The Chronicle, November 16, 2007).
Unlike its predecessor, the new program would have administrative and faculty oversight, and would rely more heavily on trained professionals—as opposed to resident assistants—to lead discussions among students, according to university officials. The university plans to regularly assess whether the program is meeting students' needs.
The new program would also emphasize student safety, personal development, and "cultural opportunities" on the campus, according to the university. And it would encourage students to conserve resources, such as by recycling and taking shorter showers, in accordance with Delaware's commitment to sustainability.
Last year some students and professors complained that the previous residence-life program promoted specific views on race, sexuality, and morality. Bill Rivers, a sophomore, told The Chronicle in November that under the previous program, some resident assistants had forced students into uncomfortable discussions about divisive issues, such as abortion, gay marriage, and affirmative action. "It's bullying," Mr. Rivers said. "There's no educational justification for RA's asking you these questions."
In October, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a Philadelphia-based free-speech group, called the program "systematic thought reform" and urged the university to suspend it. Days later, Delaware's president, Patrick T. Harker, did just that.
Delaware officials have conceded that the previous program was flawed. Perhaps the biggest error was the university's failure to clarify that students' participation in the discussions was optional.
When the new program begins next fall, however, the university will make sure students know they can opt out of any of the activities without penalty, says Matthew J. Robinson, chairman of the Faculty Senate's Committee on Student Life, which recently reviewed the previous program.
[To read the entire story, go to: http://chronicle.com/daily/2008/05/2822n.htm?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en ] (Subscription required)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)