 "Photo: File photo of SGA Meeting by Jeremy Bauer-Wolf / The Towerlight")
The black studies department resolution, a piece of legislation that supports establishing a new academic department on campus, was revisited during the Student Government Association meeting on Tuesday in the Loch Raven room.
The resolution was put through revisions following its initial introduction.
The revised version will be voted on at the next meeting.
BSU member Monique Mariso was the spokesperson for the resolution during the meeting.
“Making [black studies] a department would help the people who are already in the minor to expand so when they’re leaving college, they’re not just having a minor and a major in something else; they’re having a major in exactly what they want to study,” Mariso said.
“We’re just building on our program and not just taking a [new] program and starting from scratch.”
The addition of this department, according to Mariso, would attract many potential students to Towson.
“Some people can’t afford to go to College Park [which has a black studies program], and some people don’t want to go to [a historically black college or university], and Towson is right in the middle,” Mariso said.
SGA president Jon Graf said he believed there was a “larger issue,” which this resolution deals with.
“I think [the BSU members] feel a disconnect between the black environment… to the academic side of this campus,” Graf said. “What they seek to do is get the support of the University.”
Graf mentioned that the administration is already listening to the arguments put forward by students and is working on a solution with the SGA.
“The [administration is] already talking about it,”Graf said.
“We’re already having the conversations about all kinds of stuff related to this, so that’s a great sign… the students should feel good about that.”
Graf also commented on the resolution as a whole and the students involved in its creation.
“There’s all kinds of things that I wish we had on campus…and there’s a lot that this program would offer to Towson,” he said.
“[The BSU is] taking a great first step…coming to the SGA saying, ‘We’re students with a concern, and we would like the SGA to do something about it. And that’s what any student who has a major concern like this should do.’”
The SGA will be in further discussions about the resolution at their meeting next Tuesday in the Loch Raven room.
Mariso said that because Towson “prides itself on its diversity,” this would be a good way to incorporate that into the learning experience of students.
“[If] you want to better yourself, and if African, Africana and Black Studies is what you want to major in, you should be able to major in it... And if you’re learning about yourself [and] learning about your heritage, you can better yourself and the world around you,” she said.
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It is amazing how malicious and mean spirited the campus climate of TU has gotten in the last few years. Nevertheless, I can tell you that this selfish “winner take all – leave no crumbs on the table” philosophy will only continue to tarnish the reputation of Towson (my Alma Mater). Where is all this extreme hostility coming from…? Perhaps, it ia coming from a lack of knowledge, insight and/or concern for things outside your "comfort zone." In the perfect “academic” world you students would all be practicing “critical thinkers” that possess the ability to “think through” a given problem/challenge going through the paces of challenging - the known and unknown of the topic - to reach some informed conclusion.
It is possible to learn to be a critical thinker… With practice and intention, critical thinking can be used as a tool to elevate your reasoning, research and intellectual debate. As our leaders of the future, I employ you all to become more civil in tone, critical in thinking and empathic to the causes others.
And last but not least, where are the adults/professionals in this unfortunate melee…? It appears, as usual – AWOL.