AHANA and the "D" word

Some time before Spring Break, the higher-ups at the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) decided it was time to make a move. They weren't fretting over whether it would be Cancun or Jamaica, or even what the hell was going on with the Gay/Straight Alliance; they wanted to get the ball rolling on faculty diversity.

In a letter to Academic Vice President John Neuhauser and the deans of the colleges of the University, the letter suggested that now was the time for a more diverse campus. More poignantly, it presented them with the reasons why this is such an important issue.

The "D" word, diversity that is, sprouts up on campus from time to time. Depending on whose ears hear it, it either gets swept under the carpet, or discussed for a few minutes and then again swept under the carpet.

This time, I think it will be, or at least should be, a little different.

Associate Academic Vice President Pat De Leeuw also received a copy of the letter.

"It's beneficial for education and for the comfort of our AHANA students," she said in a past interview.

But, at the risk of sounding selfish, among other things, I think it should be for my comfort, too. Come to think of it, an increase in the amount of AHANA faculty members at BC should be of comfort to all students, AHANA or not.

Like every other student on this campus, the first thing I want, race aside, is a professor who is academically qualified. After that, I want a professor who has something to share. It's not always about what you know, but how other people will be able to walk away with what you know and the stories that you can share with them.

Not only is Boston College ranked number two by the Princeton Review for being the most homophobic university, but we're also ranked number two for encouraging class discussion.

How much of an interesting discussion comes about from people who have the same exact stories to share? Not much.

AHANA professors, and perhaps more importantly, an AHANA dean, will open up another dimension of discussion on campus.

At the College of Arts and Sciences, the school with the most AHANA students, Dean Joseph Quinn seems willing to make these strides. In an interview with The Heights, Quinn said that diversity will be among the top priorities when it comes time to fill that opening for an associate dean.

The Black Studies department, which has been trying to make a name for itself on campus, doesn't have any full-time faculty members. Frank Taylor, chairman of the department, has said that he can't even create the proper courses for the department, such as African or Caribbean politics courses, because the faculty just isn't there.

"That, in my mind, is reason enough to hire AHANA professors: to teach such courses," he said. "AHANA professors, when you hire them, it's not just diversity that you're bringing [to campus], but you're also diversifying the courses.

"We have very much lacking in that at BC," said Taylor.

And he is right.

But, as De Leeuw pointed out to me in our conversation on diversity, the problem of not having enough AHANA professors on campus doesn't stem from BC not doing enough.

"It's a pipeline problem to some extent," she said. "The numbers of African-American scholars in some fields are very small."

"Social, economic, and cultural gaps between African-American students and their teachers may make it difficult for students to form cohesive relationships," said George Wimberly, who recently conducted a survey on mentors for black students. "Students develop trust and respect for their teachers when their cultural identity is supported in the classroom."

Maybe the process of enticing minorities into the world of academia is something that needs to start earlier on, but that doesn't excuse BC from stepping up its role in expanding the classroom and the campus.

Now is the time.