Students Mobilize for ???National Take Affirmative Action Days???
Feature Story by civilrights.org staff - 9/29/2004
In celebration of this year’s annual “National Take Affirmative Days” (NTAAD), college students nationwide will take part in activities to show their commitment to affirmative action as one tool to increase diversity in higher education.Under the banner “Justice Affirmed, Take Action,” NTAAD events this year will take place from October 4 to 8. Students involved in NTAAD demand that college administrators and public officials take affirmative action to recruit, admit, and retain women students and students of color to institutions of higher education.
“We demand [that] colleges and universities pursue equal opportunity programs to the full extent of the law," said Irene B. Schwoeffermann, Director of the USSA Student of Color Campus Diversity Project. "Colleges and universities must begin by showing students how serious their commitment to equal opportunity and diversity is by putting substantial resources toward efforts to recruit and retain underrepresented students.”
Building on the success of NTAAD from the past two years, the Student of Color Campus Diversity Project of the United States Students Association (USSA), NAACP Youth & College Division, and Americans for a Fair Chance – a project of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund (AFC/LCCREF) – joined together again in planning the event.
New this year, organizers scheduled NTAAD over a weeklong period in order to allow students greater flexibility in planning events in support of affirmative action on their campuses and in their communities.
“This is an opportunity to show solidarity for students fighting for racial justice in higher education,” said Brandon Neal, Director of the Youth and College Division at the NAACP. “NTAAD builds support for the solutions necessary to ensure equal opportunity.”
Throughout the week, students will conduct a range of activities such as rallies, speak-outs, town halls, teach-ins, and phone banks in support of critical affirmative action initiatives.
Last year, in the wake of the landmark Grutter v. Bollinger Supreme Court decision that upheld affirmative action in university admissions, students in more than 20 states participated in NTAAD, demanding that their college administrators and public officials take steps to improve and expand affirmative action programs.
After last year’s successful event, organizers are hoping for another strong turnout this year.
“During the week of action, students will take on the role of educators on campuses nationwide, bringing attention to the discrimination and barriers students of color and women continue to face in higher education,” said Anjali Thakur, Field Manager of AFC/LCCREF. “NTAAD demonstrates students’ pro-activity in the struggle for access and equal opportunity in their local communities.”
To be involved in “National Take Affirmative Action Days,” send an e-mail to cdp@usstudents.org.
