[602] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
News from Northeastern?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Victoria K. Anderson)
Thu May 10 20:17:12 2001
Message-Id: <200105110016.UAA14475@melbourne-city-street.mit.edu>
Date: Thu, 10 May 2001 20:16:40 -0400
To: mit-talk@MIT.EDU
From: "Victoria K. Anderson" <vkanders@MIT.EDU>
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Hey everybody,
I was avoiding writing a paper and decided to check out boston.com. When I
did, I found this story about what's going on at Northeastern with the
dispute over the John D. O'Bryant African American Institute. There's been
a bit of talk on this list about what was going on there, so I thought I'd
pass on this article/news update.
-Victoria
BOSTON -- Hundreds of angry Northeastern University students, chanting and
waving flags, blocked busy Huntington Avenue Thursday to protest the
university president's decision to raze a 30-year-old building housing the
campus center for black students.
The protest erupted after president Richard M. Freeland told a faculty
advisory committee in a closed meeting that the private university would
tear down the John D. O'Bryant African American Institute in 2003, and
replace it with a larger building.
The decision sparked a furious reaction from students who have been
occupying the building since April 12. Hundreds of them chased Freeland as
he left the meeting.
Students vowed to continue occupying the building until their demands for a
free-standing structure dedicated solely to black students has been met.
"They're not hearing our voices. We're making noise now and we'll continue
to make noise until the university actually hears us," said Ellis Reed, 21,
a junior photography major.
The current building, once at the outskirts of campus but now in a prime
location near the campus center, houses the Reggie Lewis Technology Center,
a 6,000 book library, and other resources geared toward black students.
Freeland said in a statement that the new building will continue to
demonstrate "Northeastern's continued commitment to the African-American
community."
"The new facility will showcase the programs, research and spirit of the
institute and will continue to serve as a valuable resource to the entire
university community," Freeland said.
An administration study concluded that the land on which the building sits
could "support a much larger structure," according to Freeland, and that an
alternative campus site would be found for the institute.
The students say the current three-story building for the institute, which
was founded at the height of the Civil Rights movement, is ideally located
for students and community members. They vowed to keep occupying the building.
Originally, Freeland had told students that a decision would be announced
June 1.
That angered students, who charged that the school had already decided to
tear down the building but was delaying the announcement until after most
students had left campus for the summer.
