Penn State Students End Eight-Day Protest - agreement to increase Black students opportunites - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, May 24, 2001

Penn State University students celebrated the end of a bitter eight-day standoff early this month after negotiating an agreement with school officials to increase opportunities for Black students.

Hundreds of students camped out in the student union building, angered by the university's response to complaints about racism and several recent death threats against Blacks. After several Black professors helped mediate an agreement, the standoff ended.

The previous week, the university said it would strengthen the African and African American Studies Department, create an Africana Studies Research Center and restructure the position of vice provost for educational equity. In addition, administrators finally agreed to give more autonomy to the department and give the vice provost more oversight authority within the university.