HEW, AA work for desegregation

HEW, AA work for desegregation

Desegregation, HEW, Affirmative Action, Cheyney University

Pennsylvania and nine other states are sued by HEW for failure to comply to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. West Chester is behind schedule in developing an Affirmative Action Plan for HEW.

Eric Shott

Quad Angles Vol. 42 No. 19

West Chester University Quad

February 26 1974

Angela Grabosky

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JPG Newspaper Scan

English

Student Newspaper

HEW, A A work for desegregation By ERIC SCHOTT Minorities, take heart! Someone out there cares about you. In fact, two weeks ago a "feeler" group was sent to West Chester State from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW). The HEW group also visited Cheyney and Millersville State Colleges in order to get a general review of the state college system in regards to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which deals with educational discrimination of all minorities. Pennsylvania and nine other states are currently being sued by HEW for failure to comply with the act. In September 1971 the Pennsylvania Human Relations Committee (PHRC) "requested from all State owned institutions of higher education, a Fair Educational Opportunities Progress Report, concerning equality of opportunity in admissions, supportive services, housing, student activities, community relations, curriculum, teacher preparation programs, job placement and employment." From these reports and subsequent visits the PHRC developed a set of recommendations designed to comply with the Civil Rights Act. These recommendations constituted an Affirmative Action Plan (A.A.P.) They were designed "to assure committment and positive action toward equal opportunity and the development of a climate in which equality of opportunity can be realized." The A.A.P. sets forth an institution's legal obligation not to discriminate in employment, housing, public accommodations, or educational progress because of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, or sex. It touches upon every facet of education and then states its recommendations for compliance. For example, the AAP section on enrollment shows the number and percentage of blacks and Spanish-surnamed people currently enrolled. The Plan sets forth a timetable of goals for 1977 representing the desired minimum percentage of black and Spanish surnamed students at all undergraduate and graduate class levels. In accordance with the AAP Interim President McKinley and Dr. Dennis D. Bell, the campus Affirmative Action (AA), officer, issued a general statement on Jan. 14, 1974 concerning the, AA Plans and Procedures. The statement stresses the positive steps that are needed to end the unequal treatment of minorities. These steps include accurate job descriptions, recruitment of women and minority persons as actively as white males, a candidate selection method guaranteeing nondiscrimination review of the job candidate by the AA Committee and the minimum percentage figures for hiring minorities. In ending the President stated "Cooperation from the entire college community is not only expected but required." In order to assist Bell an AA committee of 43 members has been established to develop a suitable plan for West Chester State with specific minority assistance measures such as financial aid, housing, curriculum placement, contract compliance, student organizations and activities, college communtiy relations, admissions, recruitment timetables and a closer working relationship with Cheyney State. Bell said this number of, people makes the committee too unwieldy. He has submitted a directive to the faculty for plans of trimming the committee to a more workable number. The college is already experiencing some problems in compliance with HEW. The college has no real idea of the black population on campus since it is discriminatory to ask a person's race on any official form. "We must first know where we are before we know where we are going" and without accurate minority figures, timetables cannot be established Bell said. The college is also behind schedule in developing an adequate AA Plan that is acceptable to HEW, which has already found the 1973 Pennsylvania AA Plan unacceptable. On the brighter side Bell pointed out some of the college's services and programs that are attractive and helpful to. minority groups. He mentioned the college nursing program, tutorial assistance and a makeup program. The college is working closely with Cheyney State in order to utilize both colleges' minority programs to the fullest and funds have been requested to provide transporation between both campuses. On the graduate level, West Chester is the only state college that provides course work in teaching English as a foreign language and Dr. Smith of the Language Department is seeking $300,000 in order to send enrollees to Puerto Rico for. training.

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