yn Stat· Stu.d n Prot t:
One' year· later and
no Africana Studies
Detroit - ayne State
University student
demonstrato conducted
a ·�-in" pring 'f DO
DI'OQI"css has been made in the
full implementation of their
demand for a Department of
Africana Studies. -
University officials say sure
there .
Though students have met
kIy since last spring to plan
their course of ctions, CODYeIl
iDg . university officials has
been almost im .
Several official attempts ,at
uccessful meetings on behalf of
I studen and university officials
have failed.
Meetings include one called
by the university Oct. 11, &om
which "study-iners" charged
they were excluded.
�niwnity ofli' arranged
to meet . th representatives
from campus organizatio and
since the former "study-in"
group w s not a university
r . ered orpnizatio 0 e of
its members made it' . de of
the meeting room.
Members then held a press
conference stating. the univer
sity was handpicking African
American students, no neces
sarily connected with the
"study-in," and tho e people
coukt speak for them.
Another meeting was
scheduled for Jan. 29, but it
IlC\U occurred.
, tho Lnnmmba, attor
ney, advisor to the students
durina the "study-in," and WSU
aIumn accompanied students
to Wayne State University
President David Adamanys of
fice here they were· met by
camp police.
The police ouldn't let
anyone enter the corridor lead-
ing to the presid s office
questioned every African
American enteriag elevators.
Lumumba, students and
community supporter were
Stopped in their tr forciag
them to reschedule,
The group as unan-
nounced, Adamany said; refus
ing to meet with them without
an appointment.
A third meeting brought stu
dents and university offici
together finally in one room, but
it too was not victorio .
Students alked out after
they were interrupted while one
of the spo esperso d
dressing the crowd.
, ow students plan to mark
the 8Ipliversary of the • dy-in·
by raising the public's aware
ness of the university's failure in
meeting their demands.
Dalmus Taylor, the dean of
the College of Liberal Arts, said
ayor pel Is: out boot
camp prepo al
DBIROIT - The Oty of-
fered to donate a site on which
the st te could construct a
f acili ty to house the econd
phase of the "boot camp"
rehabilitation progr m for
youthful offender being
developed jointly by the City
and S e of Michigan.
Mayor Coleman Young s id
the Oty would clear the site DOW
occupied by old Detroit Receiv
ing Ibpital.
The result would be a year
long, three-p.e p-ogram with
300 youthful offende ages 17
thro h 25 in each ph for a
total of 900 involved at any one
time.
The state of Michigan al
ready operates a 9O-day "boot
camp" hich houses 120 YOUDg
offenders a time near Freesoil,
Mich. Under agreement the
Oty already reached with
the state, the state ill build two
more camps outstate similar to
the Freesoil camp.
Tbesecamps will be edfor
one of the program.
The second e will in-
volve ho· 300 pobMioaers
in a ecured environment - The
old Receiving Ibpital- closer
to home for a 120-day period of
vocational and educational
training combined with public
service wo .
The third phase would in
volve a 12O-day period during
which participants would
released but still be part of an
intensive probation which might
involve such teps as electronic
tethering.
Total cost of the demolition'
aDd clearing of the Receiving
Hospital ite is $4.2 million, the
Mayor aid He said part of
his budget e April 12, he
will popose an additi $2.2
million in the CUI'I'CIIt year, pi
SI.5 million in the new fISCal
year for this site preparation.
These funds combioed with the
S500,000 already in thi y� s
budget, will cover the cost of
site preparation.
It would cost 1 to take
down the building d erect a
new structure than to pt to
rehabilitate the building, the
yor id,
the Department of Africana
Studies established at an
October, 1989 Board of G<WCr
nors meeting and h s been
"functioning· since January
1990.
The $452,500, which cannot
be reduced by anyone, Taylor
said, has been allocated in
WSU's 1989-90 budget.
The fiscal year begins Od.1,
1989 and ends Sept. 30, 1990.
Shortly after that, University
of Pittsburgh educator, Brenda
Berrian, was hired to chair the
newly created department
However, Berrian's stay
cut short when she' resigned,
leaving the position open for
other candidates.
A lot of time taken bring-
iDa Berrian aboard, but when
she left, Taylor · d, further im
plementation of the department
was put on hold.
The entire studen demand
pa awaits the selection of
the chair, Taylor explained. ,
FIJ'St the chair to take of-
fice, then the advisory board wit
be formed, the faculty will fol
low and thus the curriculum, he
said. ' .
The department will be
mewed &om its present location
in WSU's Student Center
Building to 51 W. Warren Ave.,
where it will be housed with the
Department of English,
Philosophy and Humanities.
Currently the department's
library is in the AfrO-American
.collection of the college's main
library.
Students got taste of the
university' commitment to
their deinands on Jan. 15, 1990,
Taylor said, when they were al-
10 ed to exempt themselve
from classes, examinations, etc,
with no penalty.
However, there i still a level
of imp tience, he concluded.
So the selection for the
department chair has been sped
up, Taylor said,
"I am pushing the search
committee to complete that
process as fast as possible," he
id, 'We might have someone
( chair) on campus by Sep
tember.
"You can't begin to imple
ment a department until you
have identified the department
leadership," he explained.
, Taylor said WSU has two
missions - to be a national re
sear UIlMrsity and an urban
mU ion to take knowledge,
reach out in the local com
munity and help.
The ne Department of
Africana Studies plans to do
j that, he . d.
The following is an edited
version - of the students' 17
demands written pring and
the �s reponse.
Demand - Stop dismantling
the Center for Black Studies.
Response - The University
is committed to enhancing ac
tivities, personnel, and
program of the Afric.na
Studies Unit, w tever the na
ture of the unit will be.
Demand - Transform 'die
Center for B Studies into a
full department to be named the
Department of Africana
Studie (but not under its
present weakened condition.)
Demand - corporate the
Department into the Liberal
Arts curriculum, fulfilling those
group requirements listed
under humanities, social
science and natural science of
the University General Educa
tion Program.
Response - The University .
administration agrees. An ap
propriate budget will include
additional secretarial and 0 er
support staff as needed, he
Univer ity administration ·11
propose the establishmen of
this department to the Board of
Governors no later than Sep .
1989.
The department will have an
advisory board consisting of
repre entatives from (1), the
community (2), Mricana stu
dents (3), and faculty (4), The
chair of the department will be
member of the dvisory board
·th vote and will chair its meet-
inp. I
The new department will
continue to operate in a way
that preserve the present
course offerings and positions.
Its curricular offerings will be
proposed for consideration into
the College of Liberal Arts _
group requirements and the
university general education re
quirements throu the normal
channels.
Demand - Pi percent-
es (on contract) of tate and
. federal funding allocated an-
MICHIGAN CrnzEN 11
nually to proposed de�
items listed belo . ' .
a - Progr launched out-
side the Uniwnity in conjunc ..
lion with Project 350, Upward
Bound and other community
based organizatio in order to .
enhance African American stu
dent enrollment in institutiODS
of �er learning.
- Programa launched
within the Univer ity to . -
crease mic achie'YeIDC
and greater cultural.W8JreD�
c - The hiriDs of JUeardl
istants and the f'uD. of
graduate student· . pi .
along with annual stipends.
d - The establishement of a
departmental bulletin.
e - Bstab· a IMIeet for
funding guest lecturers and
speakers •.
Respo - The Uniwnity
makes a budget co· of
S452,500 with an additional
$20,000 to come &om the Col
lege of Liberal Arts for 1989-90
the budget h the foWowing
components:
1. A minimum of $350,000 in
saJary (excluding fringes.)
2. SI02,500 non-personal
budget.
Additionally, it· anticipated
that the dep rtment' budget
will be augmented through nor
mal University procedures to
upplement further many of
these ctivities.
The foregoing budget com
mitments are bject to other
U niver ity' regular pqlicies
and rule governing expendi
ture of funds and D18JIa8Cment
of budget.
The University agree to
maintain a separate line item
status of the Department of
Africana Studies for one year
following the arrival of the per
manent chair. Thereafter, the
chair and deaa will recommend
the future status of this line
item.
CooliD OD 19