Renegade Rip, issue 2, Feb. 15, 2023

Page 6
Campus
The Renegade Rip www.therip.com
Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023
Speaker: UCLA Professor
talks about racial issues
By Anthony Vasquez
Editor-in-Chief
Eddie R. Cole, an Associate professor of higher education
and organizational change at UCLA, came to speak
at BC Feb. 10. His presentation, “The Campus Challenge:
Race, History, and the Urge of Action Now” pursued the
topic of race within a college campus, the historical struggles
that are engraved in each college’s background, and how
that background has influenced the educational experience
of many black students.
Cole opened his presentation by asking the audience,
“If historians from 50 years from now studied you and your
work, what do you hope they would file and report?” He
then stated that “History shapes the way that we operate today,
this history is important,” and how it could also shape
how students could potentially experience college today, and
with their own communities.
He mentioned a case of racial discrimination on a college
campus that dated back to when WWll had ended. “As college
enrollment was also increasing after WWll, that wasn’t
the case at a number of colleges, including the University of
Chicago. The enrollment had actually decreased than it had
been since 1919.” He elaborated on this by adding that there
had been multiple black communities surrounding the college
area, which made the campus unappealing for any students,
families, and staff members who were predominantly
white.
The situation became worse afterward according to Cole.
He mentioned that presidents of universities such as Harvard,
Yale, MIT, Pennsylvania, and Columbia had joined
each other in a meeting held in 1957 that had brought up
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The Renegade Rip is produced by Bakersfield College
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The Renegade Rip
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor-in-Chief..............Anthony Vasquez
Editor....................................Blake Burton
Digital &Sports Editor..Amanda Hernandez
Opinion Editor.......Eduardo “E.J.” Martinez
Adviser.........................................Erin Auerbach
potential plans that they had in order to get rid of the large
numbers of Black communities that surrounded each of the
campus areas.
Cole also explained to the audience that each of the
schools had begun to change the narrative that had been
going on, by claiming that they were saving America from
any black students. The narrative had been harmful to many
black communities as it began to silence many black voices
within the areas.
The history of these schools silencing many black student
voices allowed Cole to bring up the fact that there is now a
legacy for people today to decide what their role is in making
sure people’s legacies are acknowledged now, so that voices
can be heard and that a college experience can be given to
anyone.
ANTHONY VASQUEZ/THE RIP
Dr. Eddie R. Cole speaks at the Renegade ballroom
on Feb 9
STAFF
Reporters/photographers:
Samantha Britt
Nicolas Chavaria
Steven Kertis
Allan Manalili
Nadeen Maniord
Madeline Ruebush
Essiah Torres
Emily Urias
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