Campus Life hosts Leadership series

Written by: Sophie Herbut/Staff Writer

If you present an issue to the University, it will be handled, said Shirlyon McWhorter, Equal Opportunity Programs director.

McWhorter said one of her more difficult dialogues are with students on campus issues. McWhorter is also the University’s Title IX coordinator who oversees all discrimination, harassment and sexual misconduct complaints made by the University community.

Campus Life hosted an open panel for students to discuss diversity issues on campus with administration. The event is part of the Campus Life Leadership Development series.

The series comprises workshops addressing student needs, like conflict management, diversity training and budget skills.

“We serve as advocates for our students,” said Larry Lunsford, vice president of Student Affairs. “We believe what we do compliments what goes on inside the classroom.”

McWhorter said that she believes FIU does what they can to make sure topics are discussed and handled.

“Your voice should be heard, will be heard, if you speak up,” she said. “We don’t do it because it’s the law, we do it because it’s the right thing to do.”

McWhorter also said that she arranges discussion with topics of conversation relevant to colleges nation-wide that might not be relevant to the University but still should be talked about.

Consuelo Boronat, retention and graduation success operation analysis director, reported numbers that represent the University’s diverse student population.

According to Boronat, Hispanic students make up 67 percent of the population. They have the highest retention rate from freshman year to sophomore year at 88 percent.

Hispanic students also have a 59 percent graduation rate within six years compared to the national average of 41 percent, according to Excelencia in Education. Excelencia in Education is a non-profit organization that provides data-driven analysis of the education status of Latinos.

Graphic by: Philippe Buteau/FIUSM Staff

Asian students, who constitute about 4 percent at the University, have the second highest retention rate of 86 percent and a graduation rate of 57 percent.

The University’s white population had the lowest retention rate of 80 percent. Boronat attributed the low retention rate as the feeling of a “fish out of water.” She said after interviews and investigation, the white population had difficulty adapting to the different cultures.

“You go to Bustelo and the lady talks to you in Spanish. They had a hard time with that,” she said.

The group makes up 10.15 percent of the University compared to 66.83 percent of Hispanic students, according to Forbes. However, the group has a graduation rate of 51 percent.

The African American student population, 20 percent of the overall population, has an 84 percent retention rate, but only a 47 percent graduation rate.

Boronat said, “We have found that we’re doing well keeping them from freshman to sophomore year, but we’re losing them along the way.”

Overall, Boronat said, “We have found that course performance and financial aid are the biggest predictors of who will stay in school and who will drop out.”

Boronat also said that about 80 per cent of FIU students receive pell grants.

“If they lose their pell grants, half of them drop out,” she said.

Rajuan Howard said statistics at the event could be skewed because of the choice students have of whether or not to participate in University surveys and applications. The senior biology major said that a flawed financial aid system could cause a low African American graduation rate.

“They know it’s an issue, but it’s a big issue,” Howard said. “I feel like they don’t really care.”

Howard said that in the past, he has been dismissed from class because he filed an appeal that was staggering, and financial aid was dropped because he could not afford the course.

“For something to happen so frequently, they should have a fall back,” Howard remarked.

Another topic of controversy was the matter of advising provided to international students.

Xavier Greaux, an international student, said international students have a lack of resources beyond legal help and he would like more help in choosing his classes.

“If there’s a mistake, that costs me about 3,000 or 4,000 dollars, change that into my money, that’s a lot of money. Money I don’t have,” Greaux says.

“I think if it’s not just me, but other students follow up and make [them] more aware, it can be helped,” said Greaux, a junior international business major.

“My office works a lot with advising,” said Boronat. “I know they cover international student advising as part of their training, but maybe it’s something that should be looked at some more.”

Greaux said the discussions helped connect students with departments to improve campus issues. He said he was impressed that McWhorter recorded his name to follow up with him afterwards.

Some students brought into attention a language barrier with professor resulting in lack of clear information that later affects their learning.

“Never ask anybody to water it down. I would say rise to the challenge,” said Jaffus Hardrick, access and success vice provost. “If you don’t know Spanish, I think you should learn it. If you’re from a foreign country and don’t know English, I think you should learn it,” said Jaffus Hardrick, vice provost of student access and success.

McWhorter said, “The more we dialogue with people, the more time we spend with each other, the better off we are.”

When dealing with disrespectful and prejudice professors, Hardrick said he understands the difficulty it brings upon students in regards to their grades.

Hardrick said a solution is to “disagree respectfully” and bring the attention to an administrator to further investigate the problem.

sophie.herbut@fiusm.com

Image by: Nicole Meza, courtesy of Creative Commons