Civic Engagement as a Way of Promoting Tolerance and Diversity

When I finally narrowed down my search for colleges to Miami and signed up for newsletters, information and updates, I began to get notified of opportunities for minority students on campus. One of the first programs I was informed of was the Bridges Scholars program that allows high school seniors to come to Miami and spend two days learning about what Oxford could offer in terms of a four year higher education. Because of the benefits and opportunities that would follow my participation in the program, such as placing the program on my resume or building connections among faculty on and off campus, I signed up.

To host students for the bridges program, as I am currently doing, bridges alumni are asked to come back and host students overnight for a stipend they receive at the end of the four sessions (“Admission”, Bridges). With the addition of the bridges program at Miami, the inclusion and effort to gain more minority students not only provides the opportunity for a more diverse schooling but builds social tolerance.

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Miami’s current enrollment is unfortunately not representative of the modern workforce, and as more businesses and jobs flourish with diversity, it is expected of the educational system to be representative of the fields the students will be graduating into.

One of the main reasons we need social tolerance is because of situations like that occurring within the Senate. Currently the funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) is being deliberated over the senate floor, however the feud brings up a bigger topic than democratic and GOP catfights(Camera, “Showdown Over HBCU Funding Escalates in Senate”).

The funding shutout is a prime example of the tolerance needed to acknowledge the importance HBCUs have upon higher education for minority and Black students.

Civic Engagement, as defined by the American Psychological Association (APA), is “individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern” (“Civic Engagement”, APA). My personal understanding of civic engagement is learning, teaching, advising and action to advocate for an issue that not only affects the personal self but numerous people. I believe a great example of an issue that needs advocation is the welfare and increase of Black students within higher education and graduated peoples. As less and less African American scholars are produced, this not only affects the well being of the African American community but the country as well.

Restated by Bowman and their co-authors, the decrease in African American educational success poses the “equivalent of a permanent national recession” for the United States (qtd. Bowman et al., pars. 2-4). Seeing as this issue affects more than those in the African American community should be enough to prompt concern and effort to squash the achievement gap between majority and minorities in education.

The initial process of becoming a Bridges host is fairly easy, aside from being in bridges (it is not mandatory but preferred) all you must do is fill out the registration, read the training powerpoint, and get a 100% on the training quiz. Once you have done that you’ll be asked if you’re available to host the days that bridges scholars are coming. Once your registration is approved, you will receive a confirmation email letting you know you’ve made the cut. On the day that the scholar arrives, hosts are responsible for picking them up and providing a place for them to sleep over night whether that be on the floor, an air mattress or an extra futon. The next morning, hosts are also responsible for getting the scholars to a dining hall for breakfast and then to Armstrong where they continue the rest of the program. In my case, because I am part of LSAMP (Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation), I volunteer to transport groups of scholars from student panels to activities as well as participating in a student panel answering questions.

The hosting position is a continuous job during the program from the first session to the last as the admissions team expects all students to abide by the Miami codes of conduct and good behavior (such as underage drinking and/or if of age still withholding from drinking). Of the numerous topics discussed so far in the course the Bridges program and/or the movement of increasing minority representation in education is representative of civil rights. As discussed in lecture, civil rights is action taken by the government “to provide equal protection and freedom from discrimination for all citizens.

The 14th amendment, which requires equal protection of the law for all citizens, is meant to ensure that all US citizens have the right to be treated equally no matter their race or ethnicity. In addition to this, the court case Brown vs. Board of Education, effectively outlawed segregation within the school system. Although an effort has been made to no longer segregate schools the systemic failure of Black children in education has yet to be seriously addressed. Through standardized testing, selective public school curriculum and underfunded districts, black children have been marginalized and placed in a position to fail (Feagin and Barnett).

Within Feagin and Barnett’s article, they argue the legitimacy of Brown vs. Board and how well it has truly impacted Black student’s welfare with systemic racism breathing down their backs. As of 2018, Miami’s total population of both graduate and undergraduate students was 24,416 students and only 28% (6, 836*) of those students are representative of minorities (“One Miami: Diversity and Inclusion” Enrollment). It is also worth noting the degree attainment gap in which of African Americans aged 25-29 only 23% held a bachelors or higher compared to the 42% of white students within the same age range as of 2017 (“One Miami: Diversity and Inclusion”Enrollment).

Miami’s 2016 student cohort reports that the second to third year retention rates of minorities’ 84.4% versus non minorities’ 87.6%, while these statistics are near each other in way of percentage, keeping Miami’s population of minority versus non-minority students in mind, the gap in populations still factors into these results (“One Miami: Diversity and Inclusion” Retention). While Miami is among many universities attempting to close the minority attendance gap, they still have much to do in the way of encouragement and and offering minorities’ worth of education. Miami’s Bridges program is a much needed stride in efforts to increase minority representation within higher education.

As aforementioned, the US economy is in need of a diverse workforce and the success of minorities in higher education. The task of increasing minority representation is up to those higher institutions that they cultivate a breeding ground for minority scholars to thrive and become successful. With higher rates of diverse peoples within the modern workforce, it’s also necessary that the institutions that produce non-minority workers that possess a cultural tolerance. A community cannot survive with hatred bred out of ignorance and thus people must learn to grow among people they have differences with and learn to work amongst adversity.