46 Years Ago - Evansville Aces basketball team and others perish in plane crash

 As I was preparing for an on alumni meeting tomorrow, there was something about the date that came to my mind.  December 13th.  Then I  remembered.  It was 46 years ago when I was still a college undergraduate student when the University of Evansville men's basketball team perished along with others taking a chartered flight to Nashville, Tennessee for a game the next day.  Human error was assigned the blame.  Some devices were not taken off the plane prior to taking off and the plane had been overloaded with luggage impacting how it could fly in an emergency.

It was the Aces first year playing in Division 1 basketball after a successful past 20 years in Division 2.  The team was youthful with at least 5 freshmen on the squad.  They also had a new coach who brought in ideas of a new fast break type offensive attack.  All that potential and the youthful lives of those players came to an end that night.

I did not hear about the tragedy until I turned on my TV the next day as I prepared to go to my internship job in Indianapolis, Indiana.  When on campus, I had been around several of the black players on the team.  It was difficult to accept that all of the players were gone.  The university and the parents were involved in a financial settlement based on lawsuits filed.  The amount of money the families were given seem today as being far less than the value of each person's life.  It was not meant for those individuals to have a long life.  It's unfortunate, but it is the reality of life.  Nothing is promised.  For any of the family alive today, we remain sorry for your loss.

UE Students Feel Unsafe on Campus

 In 1934, Evansville College admitted its first black student, Zerah Priestly, after an 80-year period when black students were not permitted to attend the college.  In 1934, social conditions in the United States were at the point where Evansville College was the last major college in Indiana to allow a black student admittance.  Racism and "Jim Crow" laws and policies were the norm in many parts of the United States.  The common theme was to treat black people inhumanely.  Lynching of black people throughout the United States were commonplace.

In 2023, some 89 years since the doors were opened to black students, a climate of "unwelcomeness" still exists towards black students at the University of Evansville (UE).  Systemic conditions exist that make UE at times an "unsafe" environment for black students.

Recently several black students attended a student function at a UE fraternity house.  At the function, black students were called the "N" word by several of the European American UE students at the function.  The official response of UE to the incident so far has been underwhelming. Last night the UE Black Student Union held a meeting to air grievances regarding the lack of an official response by UE to the incident and black student feelings of being unsafe at UE.

As a 1980 graduate of UE, I urge university officials to take appropriate disciplinary actions against the students who initiated the hate speech against the black students. A failure to do so would be a "wink and a smile" towards all students who believe in verbally assaulting black students, or anyone, with hateful words.  A failure to act condones poor behavior.

UE we await your response.

The Issue of Recruitment and Retention

Recruitment and Retention of black students is a sub part of the overall retention issue at colleges and universities.

I saw some unofficial information several months ago, regarding the retention rate on UE students who either received a Zerah Priestly Carter (ZPC) scholarship or a "stipend".  Shortly after that came the yearly request for donations to the Zerah Priestly Carter scholarship fund.  Based on the retention rate data I saw before, I then posed this question to a UE administrator.  "What support systems are in place to assist in the retention of ZPC scholarship recipients at UE?"  I then quoted to the official the percentage rate for retention I had  some information on.  I am also curious as to what is the retention rate for African American students at UE compared to the overall retention rate at UE?  Plus the retention rate based on specific categories, e.g. women, men, etc.  I posed the questions several weeks ago and still have not received a final answer.

The first retention "problem" at UE for an African American student began one year after Zerah Priestly was admitted as the first black student allowed to attend UE.  Pat Alves, the first black male admitted to Evansville College (EC) in the 1935-1936 school year did not return to complete his education at EC.

Our reasons for attending UE vary.  For some it was due to what the college offered academically.  For some like me it was to "practice" in a multi cultural environment that I would see once I graduated. UE has never been identified as the best college for African American students to attend.  We all recall the students in our Freshman classes whom we did not see the next year.  The reasons for their returning varied.  For some it was the "environment" on campus.  But, we all knew about the environment before we started our days at UE.

There may be indicators of success for a black student on who will graduate from UE.  Is it coming from a high school that had a diverse student population?  Going through a college prep curriculum in high school?  Having experience in a day to day multi-cultural environment?

We may think that UE needs to recruit more black students, but think about that statement.  If the support mechanisms needed by black students are not at UE, why recruit black students to live in an environment not designed to fit our needs?

The admissions process needs to be open and honest to the families of black students on the cultural challenges of being at UE.  The university needs to be honest and openly share the retention rate for African American students.   What support systems are needed?  Here are a few ideas. The year to year opportunity to join a black fraternity or sorority regardless of the size of the black student population at UE.  Create a specific set of activities year to year designed for black students, to include road trips off campus.  Mentoring options and tutoring.

UE has made recruitment of black students a priority in the past.  Under former President Graves, in the early 1970s, the university sought to recruit black students from the Evansville area.  The recruitment effort was successful, but the retention rate was abysmal.  The granting of scholarships and provision of financial aid does not prevent students from leaving.  Financial aid opens the door.  Then, you are on your own.

I await "my" university's development of an innovative recruitment and retention plan!