At the Vermont State Colleges System Board of Trustees meeting this afternoon, students from across the VSCS will be presenting about racial justice on their campuses. The meeting can be watched live on YouTube.
What Students of Color Experience on VSCS Campuses
Devyn Thompson from NVU-Johnson is one of the students presenting. She is a second-year student studying Secondary Education and is also on the women’s basketball team as a point guard and a Resident Assistant on the Johnson campus. Despite Thompson’s heavy involvement on-campus, she expressed to The Critic how there is no safe space for students of color.
“I didn’t feel safe before our Black Lives Matter flag got taken, before the election,” Thompson said. She described that there was no safe space on campus for students of color, nor for those of various religions, sexualities, or gender identities. While the Johnson campus flies a BLM flag and a pride flag, it is not enough for student needs. “Every place on campus needs to be a safe space. Every campus in the VSCS needs to be a safe space.”
“It goes beyond racial injustice.” – Devyn Thompson, NVU-Johnson student
NVU-Johnson’s Black Lives Matter flag on the Johnson campus has been stolen twice. On August 25, NVU President Elaine Collins sent out an email asking anyone with information to come forward and informing that another flag was on order. “This flag was erected by the Johnson Student Government Association (SGA) to symbolize our university’s willingness to acknowledge and address the ways in which disparities in power, privilege, and equity have negatively impacted the daily lives of Black people,” the email read. “Our Black Lives Matter Flag and the call for justice for which it stands have become more critically important in our country in recent months. We all have a part to play in making Black Lives Matter.”
Thompson told The Critic that she felt the email response was “very passive” and not enough. For her, the theft of the flag was personal and she didn’t feel support from the university administration.
With this and other struggles students were facing on campus, NVU-Johnson Men’s Basketball Coach Miles Smith stepped up and created the Coalition of Minority Student-Athletes. Smith is also the Assistant Director of Athletics and Diversity Inclusion Designee on the Johnson campus. He told The Critic that there is no institution in the state of Vermont that can be seen as an access point for students of color, students with disabilities, or students of the LGBTQA+ community. He helped create the coalition to give students at NVU-Johnson the safe space they needed.
“Everyone needs to understand that this affects everybody.” -Miles Smith, NVU-Johnson Diversity Inclusion Designee
Thompson is part of the coalition and told The Critic that it is open to more than just student-athletes. Smith has become a very trusted person in her life because of the steps he has taken to make students feel welcome and secure. With little no to representation in their academics, having a non-diverse staff also affects students. When there is no representation among VSCS employees, they “don’t understand” the problems students face and can only empathize with them. Thompson also expressed her concerns about students on the other VSCS campuses and what resources they may or may not be getting since “everybody doesn’t have a Coach Miles.”
What Students Are Asking of the Board of Trustees
“I want more students of color to come here. You should feel confident coming up [to Vermont]” are sentences Thompson repeated during her interview with The Critic. Her goal in the upcoming meeting is to hold the VSCS Board of Trustees accountable and make the VSCS more accessible for students like her.
Smith echoes these sentiments, saying that by doing better in racial justice, the VSCS can improve its financing and recruiting tactics. He and NVU-Lyndon professor Pat Shine spoke to the Board of Trustees as part of the Social Justice Partners, a group of VSCS family and staff, a few weeks ago on these issues, hoping to “make a more equitable VSCS for all.” Smith admitted, though, that their words mean nothing compared to the students’ that will be heard today.
One of the main things Thompson will be asking is for there to be more diverse health and wellness services on the VSCS campuses. When fellow Badger Mamadou N’Diaye passed away over the summer, Thompson sought out help at the NVU-Johnson Wellness Center. She said the treatment she got “was very cliche” and “they couldn’t understand where I was coming from.” She didn’t feel like she and her experiences were being understood, and Thompson says that’s something that all students need to feel comfortable when seeking help. “We need to be able to help everybody.”
Another request will reflect changes in programming. Thompson said that racism and justice both run deep and are often not addressed properly in courses and activities for students. As an example, she talked about one of her classes where she was taught about white philosophers and authors all year, the few black philosophers ending in short lessons even though they had just as large of an impact on the content. She told The Critic that it’s hard not learning about people that look like her.
Thompson will also be looking to address the implementation of more inclusive orientation programs and welcome letters. When she first came to NVU-Johnson, meeting upperclassmen and incoming students like her made her realize she wasn’t alone, a feeling she had been dreading.
Coach Miles applauds Thompson and the other VSCS students coming forward with their concerns and experiences this afternoon. “I would have never had the guts,” he told The Critic, going on to explain how much humility and courage these students possess.
“When our student voices are lost, our system gets lost.” -Miles Smith, NVU-Johnson Diversity Inclusion Designee
The VSCS students are expected to present towards the end of today’s Board of Trustees meeting, around 4:30 PM, 4:00 PM if the other agenda items go by quickly. The meeting begins at 1:00 PM to discuss other business.