CONSECTETUR ADIPISCING ELIT
CONSECTETUR ADIPISCING ELIT
SYMPOSIUM
What we thought about the president's inaugural event focusing on EOP's creation
By Henry Greening
Marquette University president Michael Lovell ended his inauguration schedule with an academic symposium, “Answering the Call: Marquette’s Response to the Civil Rights Movement, at the Weasler Auditorium on Oct. 27, 2014. According to the university’s website, the event sought to tell “the story of Marquette students’ response to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the spring of 1968, the founding of the Educational Opportunity Program [EOP] at Marquette in 1969, and how the university helped take the program nationwide with the founding of the Council of Opportunity in Education in 1981.”
Michael Gousha, an award-winning journalist and distinguished fellow in law and public policy at the university, interviewed five panelists during the symposium:
Here’s how the symposium unfolded, according to blog posts written by students from Professor Herbert Lowe’s Digital Journalism III (JOUR 2100) class who attended for extra credit:
Junior communication studies major Estefania Elizondo noted what it took to create EOP:
“Courage is not defined by one’s ability to let go of all fear, but courage is defined by our ability as individuals to respond to that fear and act when the situation demands it of us. It took every ounce of courage in students, faculty and Jesuits to push Marquette University to respond to the civil rights movement and to take a formal action to address the situation.
In a gesture of utter admiration, [Lovell] had asked students and faculty members in the audience who belonged to the Educational Opportunity Program to stand up. Immediately, present and past members rose from their seats with pride as the crowd applauded.”
Madeline Kennedy, a junior majoring in economics and journalism, shared her perspective on the amount of time it takes to make a change at a university:
“One month earlier, Lovell stood before hundreds of community members, petitioning them to ‘answer the call’ to be ignited in faith and service. Looking around the [auditorium] Monday, it was clear that this call had been received and answered by the participants and supporters of EOP, a revolutionary program that has changed the lives of thousands of students over the last 45 years. A lot can change in 45 years. There were three graduates in the first EOP class of 1970 and in 2014 there were well over 100.”
Bolger seemed to particularly enamor the students. Here’s junior journalism major Jenna Ebbers:
[The panel] discussed what things were like on Marquette campus during the civil rights movements happening around the country. It was in 1969 that Mitchem was asked to teach for the EOP program at the university, which was another big topic of the night. This was not a room full of tension, though, which is sometimes the case in discussions involving race and segregation. Bolger said, ‘Race is a social construct. I began to realize there is only one race, the human race.’ I thought this was a great quote because Bolger said it with such assurance, a listener would have believed he was strictly saying the sky is blue. To him, it was a fact.”
I appreciated hearing Bolger speak about the city eight miles from my hometown in Michigan.
“He graduated from Marquette in 1961 and was living in the Jesuit residence on campus at the time of the Detroit riots. He, like so many others, watched in horror as Detroit and cities across the country exploded with violence. ‘That day changed my life forever,’ Bolgers said. ‘I decided to march for open housing in Milwaukee.’
Many in the Marquette community followed Bolger and the Rev. James Groppi to march for open housing in the city. Faculty and students alike refused to let the moment fade and demanded a response from the university. What came next was EOP and the rest is history. EOP has given so many students both at Marquette and throughout the nation the opportunity to earn a higher level of education than they would have otherwise and much of it has to do with Detroit.”
Hoyer inspired junior journalism major Roque Redondo:
“[She] followed up Bolger explaining the process of how EOP came to be. ‘The Students United for Racial Equality started out in that dime to demand the University to take racial equality,’ she said. Hoyler, who [became] president of the Council for Opportunity in Education in 2013, stated that professors would resign if no change was made. It was obvious that Hoyler – along with many others – was looking for racial equality, and [wasn’t] going to stop until that was reached.”
Natalie Ragusin, a junior majoring in journalism, commented on EOP’s goals:
“The symposium was accurate in explaining the past, present and future of civil rights in Milwaukee and Marquette. [Hoyler, Mitchem’s former assistant], spoke of little diversity when Marquette first started. When Mitchem became the voice of low-income, first-generation people, education became available and prevalent. The goal was to provide diversity in the university and help these students achieve dreams that they possibly never thought they could reach.”
Sophomore journalism major Brittany Carloni reported on Payne’s journey to Marquette:
“[He] shared his experience with similar student movements while he was at Oberlin College. He came to Marquette to hear about the program successes and met Mitchem and Hoyler. ‘We began to talk about how to organize at the state level, the regional level, to sustain this movement that started with students at Marquette,’ Payne said.
The Council for Opportunity in Education was created in 1981. Payne said part of the effort was to develop the concept to serve first-generation students. According to Mitchem, in 1980 there were 350,000 people who were in programs like EOP. Today there are 800,000.”
Robyn St. John, a senior journalism major, praised EOP as offering more students a chance at a quality higher education.
“Attending a university is an accomplishment for any student. It opens doors. Many students would not be able to attend a college because of where they came from and the opportunities they were afforded are not applicable to a higher education. In the 1960’s was a time of racism. There were not many African-American students attending Marquette University. After [King’s] assassination … students became part of the movement. They brought Marquette University administration a list of demands to push the EOP program into action and move the school in a better direction from all classes. The student-driven movement is an inspiration to all because it is often thought that change can only be seen in politics.”
Junior journalism major Caroline Roers focused on students fighting for equality:
“Bolger said at the symposium that, ‘Big institutions are hard to get moving, but once they get moving they are hard to stop.’ The students at Marquette University in the 1960s had a goal in mind: to made racism known and to rally around ‘the human race,’ instead of society’s view of the ‘black race’ and ‘white race.’ The students held protests, they shared their views and they got thrown in jail. Hundreds of people were against the idea and yet they continued and pushed forward.”
Though Perry didn’t get a mention in any of our blog posts, she offered important insights, too:
“I think it’s important to understand this movement was part of a larger student movement in the country,” she said. “… When students took over the universities and decided to pressure the universities to start African-American studies departments, [and] to recruit students, they had done the research and the students at Marquette were no exception. They didn’t just have the demands; they laid out a framework for it.”
Perry also recalled Mitchem’s influence as founding EOP director. “I can remember him standing at the end of the hallway and he would say, “You’re going to be the leaders of this community. You’re going to be the lawyers, the doctors, the scholars” – and so, she said, the issue was we wanted everybody to reach their highest potential. … We said if you weren’t successful [before coming to Marquette], you could still be successful. We didn’t have a notion that there were limits. So, in some way, we pushed back at the dominant narrative.”
The full presentation of the president's academic symposium can be viewed here.
Michael Gousha, an award-winning journalist and distinguished fellow in law and public policy at the university, interviewed five panelists during the symposium:
- T. Michael Bolger, president emeritus of the Medical College of Wisconsin and 1960s civil rights activist
- Arnold Mitchem, Marquette trustee; founding EOP director and retired president of the Council for Opportunity in Education
- Theresa Perry, professor of education at Simmons College and a former senior EOP counselor
- Maureen Hoyler, president of the Council for Opportunity in Education; former senior EOP staff member
- Hal D. Payne, vice president for student affairs, State University of New York at Buffalo; former chairman of the board of the Council for Opportunity in Education
Here’s how the symposium unfolded, according to blog posts written by students from Professor Herbert Lowe’s Digital Journalism III (JOUR 2100) class who attended for extra credit:
Junior communication studies major Estefania Elizondo noted what it took to create EOP:
“Courage is not defined by one’s ability to let go of all fear, but courage is defined by our ability as individuals to respond to that fear and act when the situation demands it of us. It took every ounce of courage in students, faculty and Jesuits to push Marquette University to respond to the civil rights movement and to take a formal action to address the situation.
In a gesture of utter admiration, [Lovell] had asked students and faculty members in the audience who belonged to the Educational Opportunity Program to stand up. Immediately, present and past members rose from their seats with pride as the crowd applauded.”
Madeline Kennedy, a junior majoring in economics and journalism, shared her perspective on the amount of time it takes to make a change at a university:
“One month earlier, Lovell stood before hundreds of community members, petitioning them to ‘answer the call’ to be ignited in faith and service. Looking around the [auditorium] Monday, it was clear that this call had been received and answered by the participants and supporters of EOP, a revolutionary program that has changed the lives of thousands of students over the last 45 years. A lot can change in 45 years. There were three graduates in the first EOP class of 1970 and in 2014 there were well over 100.”
Bolger seemed to particularly enamor the students. Here’s junior journalism major Jenna Ebbers:
[The panel] discussed what things were like on Marquette campus during the civil rights movements happening around the country. It was in 1969 that Mitchem was asked to teach for the EOP program at the university, which was another big topic of the night. This was not a room full of tension, though, which is sometimes the case in discussions involving race and segregation. Bolger said, ‘Race is a social construct. I began to realize there is only one race, the human race.’ I thought this was a great quote because Bolger said it with such assurance, a listener would have believed he was strictly saying the sky is blue. To him, it was a fact.”
I appreciated hearing Bolger speak about the city eight miles from my hometown in Michigan.
“He graduated from Marquette in 1961 and was living in the Jesuit residence on campus at the time of the Detroit riots. He, like so many others, watched in horror as Detroit and cities across the country exploded with violence. ‘That day changed my life forever,’ Bolgers said. ‘I decided to march for open housing in Milwaukee.’
Many in the Marquette community followed Bolger and the Rev. James Groppi to march for open housing in the city. Faculty and students alike refused to let the moment fade and demanded a response from the university. What came next was EOP and the rest is history. EOP has given so many students both at Marquette and throughout the nation the opportunity to earn a higher level of education than they would have otherwise and much of it has to do with Detroit.”
Hoyer inspired junior journalism major Roque Redondo:
“[She] followed up Bolger explaining the process of how EOP came to be. ‘The Students United for Racial Equality started out in that dime to demand the University to take racial equality,’ she said. Hoyler, who [became] president of the Council for Opportunity in Education in 2013, stated that professors would resign if no change was made. It was obvious that Hoyler – along with many others – was looking for racial equality, and [wasn’t] going to stop until that was reached.”
Natalie Ragusin, a junior majoring in journalism, commented on EOP’s goals:
“The symposium was accurate in explaining the past, present and future of civil rights in Milwaukee and Marquette. [Hoyler, Mitchem’s former assistant], spoke of little diversity when Marquette first started. When Mitchem became the voice of low-income, first-generation people, education became available and prevalent. The goal was to provide diversity in the university and help these students achieve dreams that they possibly never thought they could reach.”
Sophomore journalism major Brittany Carloni reported on Payne’s journey to Marquette:
“[He] shared his experience with similar student movements while he was at Oberlin College. He came to Marquette to hear about the program successes and met Mitchem and Hoyler. ‘We began to talk about how to organize at the state level, the regional level, to sustain this movement that started with students at Marquette,’ Payne said.
The Council for Opportunity in Education was created in 1981. Payne said part of the effort was to develop the concept to serve first-generation students. According to Mitchem, in 1980 there were 350,000 people who were in programs like EOP. Today there are 800,000.”
Robyn St. John, a senior journalism major, praised EOP as offering more students a chance at a quality higher education.
“Attending a university is an accomplishment for any student. It opens doors. Many students would not be able to attend a college because of where they came from and the opportunities they were afforded are not applicable to a higher education. In the 1960’s was a time of racism. There were not many African-American students attending Marquette University. After [King’s] assassination … students became part of the movement. They brought Marquette University administration a list of demands to push the EOP program into action and move the school in a better direction from all classes. The student-driven movement is an inspiration to all because it is often thought that change can only be seen in politics.”
Junior journalism major Caroline Roers focused on students fighting for equality:
“Bolger said at the symposium that, ‘Big institutions are hard to get moving, but once they get moving they are hard to stop.’ The students at Marquette University in the 1960s had a goal in mind: to made racism known and to rally around ‘the human race,’ instead of society’s view of the ‘black race’ and ‘white race.’ The students held protests, they shared their views and they got thrown in jail. Hundreds of people were against the idea and yet they continued and pushed forward.”
Though Perry didn’t get a mention in any of our blog posts, she offered important insights, too:
“I think it’s important to understand this movement was part of a larger student movement in the country,” she said. “… When students took over the universities and decided to pressure the universities to start African-American studies departments, [and] to recruit students, they had done the research and the students at Marquette were no exception. They didn’t just have the demands; they laid out a framework for it.”
Perry also recalled Mitchem’s influence as founding EOP director. “I can remember him standing at the end of the hallway and he would say, “You’re going to be the leaders of this community. You’re going to be the lawyers, the doctors, the scholars” – and so, she said, the issue was we wanted everybody to reach their highest potential. … We said if you weren’t successful [before coming to Marquette], you could still be successful. We didn’t have a notion that there were limits. So, in some way, we pushed back at the dominant narrative.”
The full presentation of the president's academic symposium can be viewed here.
This website was created as part of a fall 2014 digital journalism course in the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University. Led by instructor (and EOP alumnus) Herbert Lowe, #loweclass consisted Elizabeth Baker, Brittany Carloni, Thomas Conroy, Jenna Ebbers, Estefania Elizondo, Dewayne Gage, Henry Greening, Madeline Kennedy, Madeline Pieschel, Teran Powell, Natalie Ragusin, Roque Redondo, Caroline Roers, Devi Shastri and Robyn St. John.