Category: Higher Education

“Ethnic diversity, however, is the ongoing challenge with the most potential to make or break A&M. The wrong president, or one who cannot galvanize the university to pursue this goal, could one day relegate A&M to the academic margins. A&M’s need for diversity is not a matter of fashion. Instead, A&M’s student and faculty makeup directly reflect its relevance for other Texans. Since 2002, Gates’ leadership increased Latino and black enrollment 86 percent and 48 percent respectively. It’s an impressive gain, but tempered by the reality that A&M’s black and Hispanic enrollment languishes at 14 percent. The Texas taxpayers who fund A&M are 50.2 percent minority.”
excerpt from ‘Diversify student body’, Houston Chronicle Editorial (Dec. 14, 2006)

Editor’s reminder: Ethnic diversity at A&M is the proximate cause for the existence of the Texas Civil Rights Review, once when it was founded in 1997 and again when it was revived in 2003. In both cases, we were motivated by a need to present stories that were not (and have never been) covered by the Houston Chronicle.–gm

The following email from Ralph Isenberg is a dawn musing on the frustration of trying to visualize justice for the Suleiman family. The email references Isenberg’s spouse, Nicole, and New York attorneys Ted Cox and Joshua Bardavid. He also discusses a draft testimonial from the teenage youth Ayman Suleiman recounting his experiences of arrest, imprisonment, and deportation. A response to the email from Ayman’s father, Adel Suleiman in Jordan follows.–gm

The Suleiman Family and the Law

Hi Guys,

5:30 am here in Dallas and I woke up thinking about the Suleiman Family. I understand all the reasons why they (father, mother and son) can not come back to the United States. What I do not understand are why we can not prosecute the reasons why they can come back to the United States. Allow me to humor you guys. Law to me has always been based on two simple premises; common sense and right and wrong. Common sense screams at us that the right thing to do is to bring the entire family home. How we do that is the more interesting question.

I believe that while our current policies may have changed the laws of Congress still promotes family unity, humanitarian concern and of the public interest. I submit the Suleiman Family falls into all of these major areas of concern. It is my understanding of law that the laws of Congress rule over policies enacted to enforce the law; thus we have one tier of our court system. But it does not stop there.

We also have Constitutional law which is not exclusive to citizens. The main area of concern here is the doctrine of “due process.” It is further my understanding that Constitutional law rules over the laws of Congress. Here also the Suleiman Family has claim to relief. I believe the fact that the Suleiman Family was forced from this country by duress is a clear violation of due process. I also believe that past attorney error was also a violation of the due process doctrine. These concepts and other doctrines of fairness need to be bottled up and prosecuted. We may be on new turf but it would be wrong to the family not to try.

Think outside of the box with me. When Nicole and I got on that plane to China many thought we would never be back or it would take years at best. We were back in fourteen months. Ted, do you recall those fourteen months. How many times did you give me hope where there was none. Josh, you were lucky and did not know me then or you would have learned how to speak Chinese like Ted.

Every time I got hit with bad news I made something potentially good happen. In the end I believe it was my brief work that I presented to the Department of State that led to our freedom. The law was in need of a simple explanation. In the case of the Suleiman Family I believe we need to start in Federal District Court and go form there. I also believe that we are on solid ground to enlist the assistance of the FBI as it relates to human rights violations by those directly and indirectly connected with ICE here in Dallas. What we did to this family was clearly illegal and those that violated the law need to pay.

An example of “out of the box thinking:” Can we not file suit in whatever circuit the family might intend to live in? Put differently, if the family says they are going to live in Queens, file the actions in Queens, I say this because they are in deed out of the United States right now and I’m not sure the Fifth Circuit has any more jurisdiction over them than say the Second or Third.

I know you guys have read the story written by the father and the one written by the son. I know you have also read the events that the twins were exposed to. I think of my children and how I would feel if these actions were happening to me. To some extent they did and thus I am very dedicated to helping people. We may not have a leg to stand on but a leg we will in fact stand on. In so doing we let the Suleiman Family know that they are not alone and we care.

Guys, I appreciate you very much and look forward to once again doing battle with you. Ours is the higher ground to stand on.

************

Dear Mr.I,

I just read your statement Suleiman family and the law. I don’t know but i just felt the need to write you back. first i do appreciate what you are doing , but I’m sure you don’t need our thanks you need more than that because i used to feel the same way when i used to help somebody. helping others it’s spiritual message, only special people and chosen people get that message and carry it out.

i just would like to let you know that me and my family are in the bottom of the well in spite of all the darkness we see in front of us, yet we keep our heads up and we see birds of freedom flying over the well and you are one of them, matter of fact you are the only one… what ever happens , what ever the result you’ll be in my and my family’s prayers……

Adel S.

The headline said something like “Top Fundraiser to Fill President’s Chair at A&M,” and I thought, oh no. But a quick check of the story revealed they were only talking about Eddie Davis. I mean, who doesn’t know Eddie Davis? So while we’re in that honeymoon mood, let us say right away that it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Congratulations, Eddie, and good luck!–gm

To report increasing diversity requires two percentages: last year’s ‘percentage’ of minority enrollment vs. this year’s. To compare last year’s ‘total number’ of minority to this year’s total may prove an increase in minority enrollment, but it does not prove an increase in ‘diversity,’ because growth in white enrollments must be factored in. Yet some reporters and editors persist in the fallacy of reporting ‘increasing diversity’ in terms of growth in minority enrollment.

Name that fallacy? How about the fallacy of standalone diversity?
Not only do raw numbers of minority enrollment fail to track diversity, but diversity percentages on campus fail to supply their own significance. The significance of a diversity percentage on campus has to be assessed in terms of the off-campus ratios. This is because the whole question of diversity arises in the context of civil rights and de-segregation.

“Together, African-Americans and Hispanics represent about 55 percent of Texas’ 15-to-34 population, but only approximately 36 percent of the students in Texas higher education,” says a July report from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (Closing the Gaps). These are the sorts of numbers that should accompany every report on campus diversity. There is a target we are trying to achieve through diversity.

At Texas A&M, this year’s numbers illustrate the fallacy of reporting increases in minority enrollments as simple facts of ‘increasing diversity’. Although total numbers of first-time Black and Hispanic students increased, there was no increase in the percentage of diversity.

The failure to increase on-campus Black and Hispanic diversity past a combined 17.6 percent is significant in light of what the Coordinating Board says above. With 36 percent of college aged minorities enrolled across the state, A&M fails to produce half-a-loaf in terms of the relevant talent pool.

But the significance of the flat-diversity curve is further dramatized by the fact that ‘minorities’ make up most of the college-age population. They are not ‘minorities’ at all.

Under “Read More” please find our updated chart of first time enrollment by gender and ethnicity at Texas A&M University.

CHART BELOW
Enrollment Ratios 2000-2004
for Texas A&M University

Race/Ethnicity & Gender

CHART BELOW
Enrollment Ratios 2005-2009
for Texas A&M University

Race/Ethnicity & Gender

Note: Between 1994 and 1998, the ratio of:

–Black first time students fell steadily from 4.8% to 2.7%

–Hispanic first-time students

peaked at 14.7% then fell to 9.1%

–White first-time students increased steadily from 76.3% to

82.0%

Source: OPIR/ip/Profile98(p.8)

Note: without ratios to overall population, the raw numbers of minority enrollments have little civil rights significance.–gm

“I happen to still believe in the open records law in Texas,” says Mayor Will Lowrance of Hillsboro, 55 miles south of Dallas. He’s referring to the Governor’s steadfast refusal to disclose “proprietary” documents related to planned construction of the Trans-Texas Corridor.

The Mayor says he’d like to see the documents before making an informed decision on the mega-highway-railroad-real-bad-news-for-racoons plan.

Meanwhile, “Grandma” Carole Keeton Strayhorn is also dogging the Gov at mega-highway hearings, criticizing him “for his ‘secret contract with a foreign company’ — the U.S.-Spanish consortium that the state has approved to build and operate the $184 billion corridor, which would parallel Interstate 35. The Perry administration is now battling an attorney general’s ruling to fully disclose the contract.”

Which reminds us that we also would like to see some documentation from the Governor’s office: plans for Operation Jump Start. We agree wiith the Mayor: citizens ought to be able to watch their democracy at work, the better to tinker with it as they see fit.
If the Governor is going to tell everybody that Operation Jump Start is on schedule, and if the Governor is going to retain formal command of the troops, then doesn’t it follow that the Governor should show us the schedule we’re on? Instead, he says he doesn’t have one.

We were just about to give up on higher principles during the coming campaign season. Thanks, Mayor. Thanks, Grandma.

See AP story: “Corridor could be roadblock for Perry: Plan nettles more than just farmers, but aide dismisses campaign risk” posted at WFAA com.

Also: “Strayhorn becoming a regular at highway public hearings.” Tuesday, July 25, 2006. By Noelene Clark. Waco Tribune-Herald staff writer.