I was a junior at Howard University in November 2008, serving as a student reporter for The
Hilltop, Howard’s student newspaper. I spent that election day running around Arlington County, VA in the rain, capturing quotes for a story on the county using electronic voting.
As former President Barack Obama made history that night, college students from across the city gathered to celebrate (still in the rain, mind you). I know being one of those students, this moment probably meant a little more to the Black students in
the crowd. It was an affirmation that maybe, just maybe, we could actually be anything we wanted to be, as our generation had been told to believe, even president of the United States. Believing is one thing, but seeing is another.
And now, days after the 2024 presidential election, folks advocating for increasing the Pell Grant, forgiving student loan debt, improving financial literacy, and increasing the socioeconomic mobility of millions of first generation students, students
of color, and students from low-income backgrounds, I imagine I’m not alone in feeling livid, frustrated, while struggling to find the energy to keep fighting the good fight.
But this isn’t about me; it’s not even about us.
It’s about figuring how we encourage our students, the students who’ve gotten through virtual learning during the pandemic, a widely unorganized return to in person learning, lost social experiences, the return of school shootings, and oh yes, the US
Supreme Court (SCOTUS) deciding that considering race in college admissions is unconstitutional, followed by a cumbersomely
rolled-out Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Resilient is an understatement.
We know students are scared. The day after the election, Black students across the country began receiving text messages threatening to, “send students back to slavery.”
Students are also concerned. What does this mean for college affordability? The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that Black students are the largest demographic of Pell Grant awardees. Will there be extreme budget cuts to Pell or
work study, and even further stripping or altering of race based institutional aid?
On the other end, NCES also acknowledges that Black students have the largest student loan balance on average at $34,000, which is $4,000 more than their white counterparts and $8,000 more than their Hispanic counterparts. What happens to programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and the SAVE program?
No one has the answers, and none of us can foresee the future. So what can we do? How do we encourage them to not only enroll in a postsecondary pathway but to persist and see it through?
“Nothing About Me, Without Me”
We do so much for students, but the days ahead require us to include students. Our job now goes beyond simply affirming their voices and taking them with us into rooms only we inhabit; no, our job now
is to partner with students to hone their message, teaching them how to strategically elevate their voices in those same rooms.
Let’s prep them to tell their story to their lawmakers at every level. It’s so much easier to vote yes on hurtful policies when the students are faceless. But meeting with our students, them sharing their concerns, being inundated with calls, letters,
emails, sometimes even in person visits if we can swing it holds lawmakers accountable to support equity-based policies. If you’re new to advocacy, we encourage you to bring your students to our Leadership Summit a great way to build your advocacy skills and learn the most recent trends and ideas in educational attainment. As an added bonus, student registration for the Leadership Summit is free.
Community based organizations’ college success programs are built on affirming their students, but without the institutions’ explicit support, a crucial piece of the puzzle is missing. The SCOTUS decision on using race in admissions also led to the shuttering
of diversity, inclusion, and accessibility offices on campuses nationwide. Never mind that these decisions don’t just hurt Black students, but also Muslim, Jewish, Palestinian, LGBTQ+ students, and other marginalized demographics.
University of Southern California’s Race and Equity Center Founder and Executive Director Shaun Harper wrote that now is not the time for a “lay low” approach to diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. Harper stressed the importance of being proactive in protecting students before violence strikes, calling on universities to implement task forces and other measures to ensure not only student safety, but to truly create a campus wide culture of belonging for impacted students. Don’t just shutter offices and lay off employees; I call on universities to get creative
within the bounds of compliance and stay steadfast to the mission of these programs. Students are depending on your ingenuity and dedication.
And I know, I’ve being incredibly vocal about the academic and social value of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and while HBCU enrollment is rising, I want to remind everyone that HBCUs makeup 3% of the higher education landscape. Black students, no matter which pathway or institution they choose, deserve to feel safe and seen in higher education.
As a new administration is ushered in, this feels like a tense round of ‘wait and see.’ We must prepare now to ensure the equity gap for Black students doesn’t grow any wider. We’re all in this together, and remember, now, more than ever, that “we” includes
our students.
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