English Composition 121

OPEN ADMISSIONS

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8 thoughts on “OPEN ADMISSIONS

  1. Katarina Bustoz

    In “Revisiting Open Admissions at CUNY”, Stephen Steinberg draws the parallel of representative disparity between white and minority (specifically Black and Latino) students in the late 1960’s and today. When CUNY began its open admissions program, it was in the wake of high racial tensions after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the April protest on City College in 1969. The local Black and Latino communities demanded proportional representation within the CUNY network, which at the time had a 87% white student body. In fall 1970, CUNY launched open admissions, which lead to a more diverse student body. However, in the last few decades, the equity with which the program was intended to operate began to get chipped away. With the beginning of charging tuition, to the Giuliani campaign to eliminate remedial course work in senior colleges, to the tightening overall of admission policies, a “two tiered” system emerged with the more prestigious senior colleges emerging above the two-year colleges in status. Furthermore, these prestigious senior colleges have a primarily white and Asian population, leaving the same communities who protested in 1969 out in the cold.
    This is important because the very program that was meant to establish equity and provide new opportunities to the under-served Latino and Black communities now benefits mostly middle-class families, most of whom are white. The draw of cheaper tuition, especially after the Great Recession, has brought families who have benefited from better school systems and better education funding outside of New York City. The Latino and Black communities are left to what the Atlantic describes as “the overcrowded community colleges”. The programs meant to elevate them to senior colleges, like SEEK, have been slashed, leaving families once again to toil in a system of institutionalized racism built on the idea that the school district a child has the misfortune or benefit of being born into is the ultimate determinant of their educational and professional future.

  2. Rebeca Aragon

    Rebeca Aragon and Prince Boakye

    The Open Admission of CUNY was a campaign that the black and Puerto Rican community protested for equal admission opportunities in colleges. The black and Puerto Rican community protested because for “over six months” their voices weren’t heard. Therefore, on April 22, 1969, they took control over City College and protested. Prior to this campaign, most of the CUNY schools were made up of white students. Even though, “98 percent of Harlem residents” and “40 percent of high school students” were black and Puerto Ricans, yet CUNY colleges were made up of “91 percent of CCNY’s day students were white” (Revisiting Open Admissions at CUNY). According to google, today, about 80% of people go to school near them so one can only imagine how frustrating the black and Puerto Rican communities felt about not being able to go to colleges near them which led them to protest.

  3. Johnnie Grant

    According to the article I read by the New York Times, the CUNY Open Admission movement helped a numerous of variety of students (high school graduates) to get in CUNY colleges. Before the movement only a small percentage can get into CUNY schools because it went by grades of a student. However, there were many criticism of the CUNY Open Admission process. One criticism was that since people of all the people who got in through the program didn’t finish at CUNY College. Before movement a majority of students graduated from CUNY. Another disapproval is that many students out of high school didn’t take it serious as if it was a student who have gotten good grades coming out of high school. In my opinion it was a successful and a failure because more openings for college was presented to high school students; however, many did not graduate from CUNY.
    The positive of people liked about the new CUNY Open Admission movement is that it gave many students opportunities to attend college; a chance to better themselves. Also, people believe that CUNY schools since the movement is not integrated. There are more Black African American/Hispanics then any other race at CUNY schools.

  4. Anabel Sosa

    Anabel Sosa
    Christian Bolivar

    The articles we both read talks about CUNY admission movements. My article talks about how minor ethnic groups were affected by the Open Admissions program. And the other article was about how the CUNY Open Admissions affected CUNY schools and graduation percentages. Programs like SEEK and Discovery allowed every child in High School to have a seat in at lease a community college. The amount of black people that entered college jumped from 16,529 to 44,031 and for Puerto Rican’s the jump was from 4,723 to 13,563. Though the issue was that it did not last as the Open Admissions program pushed New York City to bankruptcy. Which then cause a massive decrease of minority students. While the other article spoke about how the jump in numbers was a good thing and kept the rise of the CUNY school systems in the aspect of popularity. With open admissions, more people were able to enter college. This is relevant because in the first article, it speaks more about the consequences of the Open Admissions while the second article did not put as much pressure on it. This connects the two texts as they both speak essentially about the same thing while the second article talks less about the ethnic groups and the first article speaking much more about the ethnic groups. This causes a connect between both articles because they actually complete each other.

  5. Gnogna Fathima Lye

    Pende & Fathima
    CUNY Open admissions was a movement created by blacks and Puerto Ricans to expand opportunities for poor minority students who were discriminated against receiving a full education. After a long battle, CUNY’s solution was creating the SEEK and CD programs to help students who were in need financially and academically. These features were implemented on open admission institutions. Although, these programs were race neutral, it targeted more minority students because the qualification of these programs seemed to target black and Latin students more as opposed to Asians and whites. The SEEK and CD features implemented in 1969 continues to have an affect today in 2018 because these programs are still in affect today. As a result, CUNY Open Admissions campaign has led to a major change that benefits and gives a fair chance for minorities in expanding their education.

  6. Joel Ortiz

    In our analyzes of “Huey P. Newton Hall for Political Action” we examined the issues and claims brought up by the Black and Puerto Rican community of CUNY students and the approach taken in order for their five demands to be met. The main issues presented by the community include the power structure in their environment that implodes and exploited the minority group; from the entrance requirements, to the selection process to the orientation programs available in the colleges. The community attempted to negotiate with the administration to implement programs to even the field among all ethnic groups, eliminate the racist stigma and especially make the minority group feel at ease in their college environment and make them feel like they have a fair chance among the students. As expected during 1969, they were meet with ignorance and were pushed to the side.

    At this point action needed to be taken which lead to the event on April 22 when this community seized the South Campus of City College. A day after, a group of white students supported the cause by entering Klapper Hall and remaining there in protest. They wanted to feel part of the solution, not the problem. They were to remain their until their demands were to be met. The first demand consist of the separate school for the community not to enhance segregation but as a means of control. They then demanded a separate orientation because the administration and white students can not relate to the life of a urban minority student. A new voice for SEEK was demanded because they wanted a say in the hiring and firing of personnel as well as budget matters. They then demanded education for all and they wanted that reflected in the entry of minority students; it does not make sense that 52% of the high school population is in the minority group yet they only make up 15% of the college population. As the urban environment of NYC they also wanted Spanish to be a requirement in all majors because it would support the strong influence of Spanish speakers in the community. It’s clear their approach went from negotiations, to demands.

    Joel Ortiz
    Max Dell-Thibodeau

  7. Guevara Torres

    Aktia Ridhima
    Guevara Torres

    The article “Revisiting Open Admissions at CUNY “, recounts the application of open admissions in the 1970’s for the community and senior colleges of New York City. Unfortunately, it could not be maintained after the fiscal crisis of 1975 and then was further hindered by cutting the funding of SEEK and requiring tuition for entry. This would then provide a “pay wall” for those that wanted to apply to either community or senior colleges in a city that was predominantly African American and Puerto Rican within the perimeter of some of these colleges. This type of financial strategy filters out those who are incapable of providing tuition and causes a trend that prefers middle class families at the very least.

  8. Israel Adjei

    The open admissions at CUNY helped better the educational life of the black and Latino communities because it gave many students opportunity to attend college and the chance to better themselves. Again, it cleared the perception of the black and Latino communities being discriminated upon receiving a full education which created the need for them to put much effort to pass out successfully now that the open admissions at CUNY has been made. In a diverse environment, new cultures and other related things learnt gave the under-served Latino and black communities to learn new things in this created diversify environment.

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