A group of students at Seton Hall University walked out in protest Wednesday at the school’s South Orange campus over what they said has been a lack of support for Seton Hall’s Africana Studies program. The program’s only full-time professor and program director left the university last year and hasn’t been replaced. The 53-year-old program was ahead of its time in 1970 but has, over the years, been shifted to backburner status, said Ingrid Hill of the People’s Organization for Progress, which served as adviser to the student demonstrators. Hill, who is a former student and 30-year employee of the university, said, “it’s an ongoing battle at Seton Hall in terms of really accepting Africana studies.”
“Our classes are being held by adjunct professors or part-time professors and therefore, the material is watered down, so we don’t feel comfortable in our degrees,” said Amina Cuascut, a freshman. Students also complained about what they said were heavy-handed policies meant to intimidate students and discourage the very discourse universities are supposed to protect.
