Students at Hampshire College Mount Protest Aimed at Increasing Diversity on Campus

Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, has a student body that is about 4 percent black. Last week more than 300 students at the school left classes and attended a protest rally at the college president’s house demanding increased efforts to promote diversity on campus.

The students presented a list of 17 demands. Among the demands were the establishment of the position of dean of multicultural affairs, the addition of four new faculty positions — one each in African-American, Latino, Native American, and “queer” studies — mandatory diversity training for faculty and staff, the establishment of a dormitory for students of color, and the formulation of a comprehensive racial harassment policy governing behavior on campus.

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