In her first year at UF, Martina Onyenwe said she has been on high alert.
Onyenwe, an 18-year-old UF public health freshman, said it has been taxing to deal with repeated instances of hate on campus. In January, a UF student left a noose on a professor’s lectern.
About two weeks later, a man sparked a four-hour protest over his use of a swastika armband on campus. In February, racist messages were found scrawled on a classroom whiteboard.
And on Thursday, anti-Muslim graffiti was found inside an on-campus bathroom. At Emerson Hall on Monday night, Onyenwe and about 250 others listened as UF President Kent Fuchs discussed the string of racially charged incidents and the status of minority students at UF during his first-ever town hall. Onyenwe said she wanted accountability from the university.
Though she’s received Fuchs’ emails denouncing hate, she didn’t feel they were genuine or did enough to address the problem.
“I feel like there’s a template, and he just chooses one, two or three,” she said. “They’re all very cookie-cutter to me.”
Fuchs said the town hall was planned about seven months ago as a recommendation from the Black Student Affairs Taskforce. He said the meeting was the first of its kind at UF with a university president, and another is planned for Fall.
“It sends a signal that indeed all of us can benefit through engaging and listening, and particularly the president,” Fuchs said. “I can’t expect other people to be respectful of others if I’m not myself respectful and don’t send that strong signal.”
David Parrott, the vice president for Student Affairs; Zina Evans, the vice president for enrollment management; and Jodi Gentry, the vice president for human resources, spoke for about 30 minutes about how UF is creating a more inclusive environment.
Evans said the number of black students applying, being admitted and enrolling at UF has increased in recent years. Fuchs also said that among a group of 15 top universities, UF is in the top three for the percentage of African-American students, staff and faculty.
“We have work to do,” Fuchs said. “But usually the negative message overwhelms the positive message.”
William Walker, a 22-year-old UF African-American studies senior, asked Fuchs why he was silent surrounding some incidents, like the racist writing in Anderson Hall. He asked why students should trust administration, which caused the room to burst into applause.
“At what point can we trust that you’re invested in us because many people in your position have made promises to my people, and they’ve fallen empty,” Walker said.
Students asked how administrators plan to be transparent, what resources can be added for minority students and how to increase the number of black faculty.
Ernesto Godinez, a 20-year-old UF agricultural education and communication sophomore, said he felt the town hall was a productive step forward.
“President Fuchs or his staff cannot read our minds,” Godinez said. “To really solve an issue, we must ask questions.”
Contact Romy Ellenbogen at rellenbogen@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @romyellenbogen
Around 250 people crowd the UF president's room at Emerson Hall for the town hall meeting with UF President Kent Fuchs on Monday. The town hall meeting focused on the relationship between the administration and diversity at UF.
