In the recent weeks, there has been major uproar about the new living commons on California State University of Los Angeles’ campus. The Halisi Scholars Black Living-Learning Community is a new building intended to create a comfortable living and learning experience for black students and anyone who is interested in Pan-African history.
Somehow, the purpose of the commons was misconstrued and now the word “segregated” has appeared and has been lingering around. Jonathan Thomas, a student at CSULA stated, “They see something that says black housing, and they automatically equate it with black only. It can be for anybody”.
Many argue that CSULA has segregated students from the rest of the live-in population. Completely disregarding the fact that if one is not comfortable in their living space, they may not excel in the classroom.
The Halisi Scholars Living-Learning Community is a sense of a safe-haven to Pan-African students and many others. According to collegefactual.com, CSULA has only 4.2 percent African American students within the student body. Imagine one red fish in a school of blue fish in the ocean. That’s basically what 4.2 percent looks like. In the school, the red fish is pushed around, laughed at, and constantly reminded of its differences from the other fishes. Translate that to racial slurs, stereotypes, and unequal treatment throughout the day. Now, at the end of the day the red fish swims back to its anemone, where it will get the same treatment at his home. That is what it’s like to be a part of a 4.2 minority percentage.
CSULA is not only proud of their new housing commons, but they should be applauded for taking the concerns of the Black Student Union into consideration and creating a new community on campus for the minority. They should also be praised for welcoming any student that is focused on “academic excellence and learning experiences that are inclusive and non-discriminatory,” said by the director of communications at CSULA, Robert Lopez.
Moreover, CSULA also offers gender neutral and first-year student housing. They followed the same “themed housing” process that they did with the Halisi Scholars commons.
Furthermore, the Los Angeles Times reported that other colleges such as Stanford University and many other prestigious colleges offer wider options of living commons to students with culture affiliations including Latino, Jewish, Native American, and many more.
According to collegefactual.com, not one of the California State Universities have more than 15% of African American students within the student body. With a great stride from CSULA, other CSU’s and other colleges around the country should take notes and address the issues that many students may deal with on a daily basis.
