By Lev D. Zilbermints
On May 18, “Local Talk” published a piece on Seton Hall students voicing their concerns about a lack of diversity pertaining to the teaching faculty at the university. This is Part II of that article.
What did Seton Hall University Do About AFAM?
According to shu.edu, “Around 5-10 students annually apply for the Africana Studies major, with usually, at most, 1-2 enrolling. In any given academic year, approximately a dozen students are enrolled in the program (including first and second majors and minors), with the majority pursuing Africana Studies as a minor.
“To strengthen the Africana Studies program, the College of Arts and Sciences has separated the role of the Africana Studies Director from the new tenure-track faculty position in Africana Studies. Dividing these roles will increase the capacity of highly qualified teachers in the program by at least three courses per year. It will also help the success and retention of the new faculty member by focusing that individual on teaching, research and advising.”
Interestingly enough, the website of the College of Arts and Sciences at Seton Hall University was updated on May 3, 2023, the same day that the takeover of President’s Hall took place. The statements on that site raise more questions than answers.
Statement by Seton Hall University
Laurie Pine, the Director of Media Relations, issued the following statement.
“Seton Hall will continue to listen to our students’ concerns and look forward to engaging in further constructive dialogue. We’re focused on the work that will achieve our shared goal of building an even more vital and robust Africana Studies program.
“Seton Hall is committed to academic freedom and civil discourse, always rooted in our values and Catholic mission. We are deeply committed to the critical discipline of Africana Studies and underscore how vital it is for all our students, independent of their major field of study, to be able to learn about their (and other) cultures, histories and identities. The remarkable diversity of our university community is one of our great strengths.”
There follows a link to “the steps the University has taken to support Africana Studies and more fully integrate diversity, equity and inclusion into life on our campus.”
Students slam university statement
Upon hearing the response of the University’s administration, protesting students slammed it as nothing more than empty rhetoric. In a statement posted on protect.afam.shu account on Instagram at 10:35 a.m. on Friday, May 5, Protect AFAM Movement at Seton Hall said that the administration was not acting in good faith.
“An email was sent out to the administration on behalf of The Protect AFAM collective asking for a public meeting at 4 p.m. on Thursday (May 3) in the Chancellors Suite. We did not get a response until 6:42 p.m. yesterday (May 4) evening. The University made it a priority to blast out an email to students and make an addition to their website listing the ways in which they have been ‘supportive’ of Africana Studies Program and the Protect AFAM Movement, a statement full of blatantly false claims and empty performative rhetoric.
“Furthermore, we can confirm that the Provost and President attended meetings yesterday with other groups to discuss the movement without an AFAM representative present. Communications continue to come from parties who have admitted multiple times that they do not have the jurisdiction to address our demands,” the Protect AFAM Movement statement read.
Statements of support from other student organizations, Interim Director of Africana Studies
Since the protest started on May 3, numerous student organizations have expressed support for the Protect AFAM Movement. Unidos Bailamos, Gamma Omicron Chapter of Alpha Omicron Phi, the West Indian Student Organization, Black Student Organization, Undergraduate Student Diplomacy, Lamda Xi chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha, Seton Hall PRIDE, the various School of Diplomacy organizations, all have issued statements of support for the Protect AFAM Movement. The Setonian reported in its May 6 online edition that “newly elected Student Government Association President Kai Hansen arrived and spoke to some of the protesters.”
Interim Director of Africana Studies and Special Assistant to the Provost releases a statement in support of Protect AFAM
In the evening of May 4, Revered Forrest Pritchett, the Interim Director of Africana Studies and the Special Assistant to the Provost, released an Open Letter in support of the “Protect AFAM movement.”
According to protect.afam.shu on Instagram, Rev. Pritchett’s letter states, “The students involved in the Protect AFAM movement are operating in the best tradition of student activism. Black Studies only exists on college campuses because of student protest. Seton Hall students are not protesting because of a perverse desire for attention. In fact, today’s (May 4) sit-in was the last option. As Special Assistant to the Provost, the Interim Director of Africana Studies, and the head of the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Association, I stand in full solidarity with the demands of the Protect AFAM collective and movement, along with an unyielding demand for amnesty in them expressing their basic human right to protest for change.
“I have served Seton Hall University with distinction for 45 years. I have witnessed Black Studies in its high point during the 1970s and all the protests that followed. At what point does the administration reflect on its errors regarding support for Africana Studies? Punishing and harassing the students for speaking the truth to power is not only un-American, but it goes against the very principles that Seton Hall University prides itself on.”
Unanswered Questions
Based on the information presented by the university, allegedly not too many students enroll in the African American Studies program. The question begs to be asked, how much effort is Seton Hall University putting into recruiting potential students into the Africana Studies program? Moreover, Seton Hall University has to compete with Rutgers-Newark, Essex County College, Berkeley College and Montclair State University for students interested in Africana Studies.
Another question is, if SHU is committed to academic freedom and civil discourse, then why is the institution looking to punish protesters? Why were not students allowed to present their grievances to the Board of Regents? Why was the only full-time faculty member teaching African American courses removed? Why did not the university administration ask current students for help in recruiting new students to the African American courses and Africana Studies program?
“Local Talk” found that students have posted registration forms for Africana Studies online. The students are actually trying to get more interested potential students to register for the Africana Studies program.
Students respond to administration, say their rights are being violated
According to AFAM statement on Instagram, “Seton Hall continuously sends Trace Herzog, security manager, to periodically surveil our activities after the individuals of the movement have expressed their uncomfort after the actions of night 1. On night 1 (May 4) he was sent to take pictures of the individuals and the space including at 4 a.m. when everyone was asleep and no one was conscious and able to acknowledge his presence…”
A three-minute video posted on Instagram by AFAM members shows Mr. Herzog talking to students in President’s Hall the following evening. The students are heard talking to the security manager, who then goes up the stairs in President’s Hall.
Administration refuses to meet with students
So far the administration of Seton Hall University has refused to meet with representatives of the Protect AFAM movement. According to Instagram and the Setonian, the administration welcomed New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on campus on May 3. As reported by the Setonian. The governor was a speaker for the course Government and Politics of New Jersey.
From the information available, it seems that the university spoke about the AFAM movement without an AFAM representative being present.
According to the Setonian, the administration proposed to meet with three Protect AFAM representatives at 4:30 p.m. on May 3 if the protestors vacated the President’s Hall at 4 p.m. that day. Protect AFAM stated in an Instagram post that read in part, “The Office of the President and the Provost have been meeting with various faculty, departments and student organizations but has yet to meet with us and continues to refuse our request to meet until we leave President’s Hall. … Despite requesting to meet with the administration live and in public, they refuse to comply as they do not want the truth to be released to the public.”
According to an Instagram post by Protect AFAM around 6 a.m. May 8, the administration is trying to get President’s Hall back from the students. A message posted on Instagram says, “They are headcounting every hour and communicating about locking the building down. Please join us in the AFAM House, formerly known as President’s Hall. We need numbers!”
“Local Talk” will keep its readers updated on the latest developments.
