Dive Brief:
- The University of Michigan has issued a preliminary report responding to demands by the school’s Black Student Union for improved diversity and inclusion on campus.
- The student group staged a protest in January and a “Being Black at University of Michigan” Twitter campaign in November.
- Among the steps outlined by the university: To try to boost the number of minority applicants, students from the group will help at admissions events and help current students encourage minority applicants. Also, the university will provide transportation assistance for students in off-campus neighborhoods.
Dive Insight:
One demand by the student union that hasn’t been addressed—a big one—is for the university to boost its black student enrollment to 10%. According to The Michigan Daily, the university’s student newspaper, black enrollment has dropped to 4.65% from 7.2% since 2006, when the state passed a ballot proposal banning the consideration of race in the admissions process. Among the other steps in response the student union’s demands, the university is creating a new multicultural center and digitizing historical documents related to the “black action” movements of the 1960s to make them more accessible.