In sports that means you're about to get fired.

Why was this needed?

It's good to see a unanimous vote of confidence, but what would have prompted the vote in the first place?

Greg

I’ve searched “Appalachian State” and “App State” on Twitter the last few weeks, mainly looking for recruiting stuff, but i have come across a few of the criticisms listed at the end of the article. Hopefully there are things being done to address such criticism.

Not sure why a meeting was needed to give her a vote of confidence, seems a bit odd. Im far from dialed into the university politics, but I’ve never understood the lack of support of Everts by some here at the Cabin.

The issues mentioned in the document seem to be characteristic of any campus in NC with the possible exception of the implied racial disparity. I know that has been a challenge in Boone for a long time and has been evaluated, with the conclusion being that App was not in violation. (At least that's my understanding). I just don't see anything here that would be on Chancellor Everts' making. I wonder if other campuses are having similar "issues" raised regarding their plans.

College campus , being filled with the absolute smartest people in the world....

Maybe it has something to do with this? I just saw this on twitter yesterday.

Thanks for providing that link. That's quite a list of demands. It appears that there is App had and discontinued an Equity program and director. That seems to be the start of a slide backwards from the perspective of these petitioners. I'm intentionally hedging on my language and not intending to sound dismissive because I genuinely do not have a feel for this situation or the support of this petition.

Some of their demands seem pretty reasonable and some seem like a wish list. I would love to hear from those with a better perspective and more knowledge than I.

No justification is provided , other than “Trauma and violence” .No statistics or even examples of trauma or violence. Reminds me of Berkeley.

Stonewall wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 07, 2020 10:56 am

No justification is provided , other than “Trauma and violence” .No statistics or even examples of trauma or violence. Reminds me of Berkeley.

Yeah, I would definitely like to see more actual data supporting the allegations. It would seem to me that a "sit down" is called for in order to put those kinds of things on the table. The lack of data is the reason I was being non-committal in my response.

I dont diagree with the majority of what is being asked for and i too would like to know where we are really falling short.........

I will say this from first hand experience. Being an African American student at App State is not easy. Strictly speaking from a social aspect. Education wise I feel I got the same value as others in my class.

/\PP ST/\TE GRAD 09 wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 07, 2020 11:50 am

I will say this from first hand experience. Being an African American student at App State is not easy. Strictly speaking from a social aspect. Education wise I feel I got the same value as others in my class.

Thank you for that summary statement. I completely believe that is a fair assessment. My best friend while I was at App (and a man who remains one of my best friends although I don't get to see him often) is bi-racial. His perspective and experience back in the early 80's helped me form new perspectives and opinions. I want to believe things have improved since then, but perhaps not nearly as much as I had hoped.

This has always been an issue at App. The school has for decades attempted to do a better job with minorities but mostly failed. This document is a pretty good road map. No one would expect it to be done all at once. A good start would be getting more (if there is any now) minority participation at the Board level.

Sadly, if we all step back a few steps and grab a view of the bigger picture, we'll see that the present situation(s) that face our beloved App are a part of the breakdown of higher education in our entire nation.

...yes, there is a new book out on this topic (plus dozens more) and no, I'm neither the author nor the publisher/distributor/retailer. I have ordered a copy since school/college admin were my career pursuits for 40+ years. There is much to concern us all!

AppFan11 wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 07, 2020 12:30 pm

This has always been an issue at App. The school has for decades attempted to do a better job with minorities but mostly failed. This document is a pretty good road map. No one would expect it to be done all at once. A good start would be getting more (if there is any now) minority participation at the Board level.

My main issue is that the writer kind of is expecting it to be done all at once, especially demanding a response by 7/10 as if Everts has nothing else to do in her time. I read through the whole thing and they want everything done in the next 3 years. I highly doubt whoever wrote this has any experience working as any sort of directorial or managerial role in a large organization as these demands are going to take far longer to meet with any sort of due diligence.

AppFan11 wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 07, 2020 12:30 pm

This has always been an issue at App. The school has for decades attempted to do a better job with minorities but mostly failed. This document is a pretty good road map. No one would expect it to be done all at once. A good start would be getting more (if there is any now) minority participation at the Board level.

There is tremendous competition for minority students in the UNC system. As far as the environment that makes minority students uncomfortable or fearful I cant speak to, but our Administration better listen. there appears to be a lot we need to work on

Reading this has me thinking of all the great young Black men and women that have worn the Black and Gold over the years. We should ensure our campus is a place that people of all backgrounds feel welcomed and cared for. Not just as athletes, but as people.

They represent us with excellence on the field -- the least we can do is make sure our school is looking out for them wherever we can. It's no easy task in a mostly-white town like Boone, but, I believe our leadership is up to the task.

Plus, you can bet that creating an inclusive environment will pay dividends when it comes to recruiting athletes. I want Boone to be a place Black athletes WANT to go to school, for more reasons than just sports.

Rekdiver wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 07, 2020 2:31 pm

AppFan11 wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 07, 2020 12:30 pm

This has always been an issue at App. The school has for decades attempted to do a better job with minorities but mostly failed. This document is a pretty good road map. No one would expect it to be done all at once. A good start would be getting more (if there is any now) minority participation at the Board level.

There is tremendous competition for minority students in the UNC system. As far as the environment that makes minority students uncomfortable or fearful I cant speak to, but our Administration better listen. there appears to be a lot we need to work on

Although some of the complaints ring a bit hollow to me, I agree that the Chancellor & Co. had better listen carefully and ask detailed questions.

Dated policies get revised/rolled back/rescinded all the time on a university campus for any number of legitimate reasons. Marginalization is a matter of opinion/situation and opinion/situation are subject to debate. Administrative positions, which ones get funded and how they are utilized are a function of the fund sources used and decisions made directly by the Chancellor and/or the Chancellor's Cabinet. Sometimes those decisions just aren't going to be influenced by student groups and they just have to "get over it" or transfer elsewhere. It's unfortunate when personalities or personal preferences outweigh professionalism and communication.

The wording that caught my eye was this statement..."For years, the current Administration has attempted to hide this reality by creating letters and statements that ignore the trauma and violence that their most marginalized students - Black Students - experience on and off campus."

If this trauma and violence can be documented they certainly require investigation.

I can personally relate to the issue of recruiting high-performing minority candidates for faculty and staff positions to small town/predominately rural institutions. This will remain a problem for App until the UNC Board of Governors starts allocating funds to all member-institutions of like size on an equitable basis. High-performing minority candidates are in high demand and command commensurate salaries.