Dive Brief:
- Students at Colgate University held a weeklong sit-in for racial justice last year, before the wave of student protests swept the nation this past fall, teaching administrators important lessons about engaging respectfully with student demands.
- Two of Colgate's administrators, Douglas A. Hicks and Suzy M. Nelson, write for University Business that it is important to listen, be open and empathetic, and stay respectful while working with students to propose short- and long-term solutions.
- They found consistent dialogue with a representative group of students was helpful, as was clarifying the students' agenda, appointing an administrator to take the lead in joint discussions, and setting up an accountability structure to keep long-term plans on track.
Dive Insight:
This year's survey of incoming freshmen by the Cooperative Institutional Research Program at the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA found more students than ever expect to participate in a protest.
The program has been tracking freshman attitudes on a range of issues for 50 years, through the Civil Rights movement and the peak of the Vietnam War. Among today's freshman, almost 10% are likely to participate in a protest. Among black students, specifically, that portion rises to 16%.
College and university administrators must figure out how to prepare for and respond to student activism. Steady, open dialogue with students can result in a a beneficial experience for all parties.