Black Student Representation in the MSU Senate

"Senate Considers Blacks' Representation"

The Reflector’s April 11, 1972 article “Senate Considers Blacks' Representation" announces Student Association Senate proceedings regarding the establishment of new voting precincts for black and international students; these would give them guaranteed representation by ensuring senators could be elected from these specific groups and influence decisions on campus. The article presents the initial deliberations in the struggle to provide black students with a voice on campus, demonstrating the assertiveness of black students in their demands as more of them attended the university.

Michael Booker's editorial

An article by Rae Dillon titled "Black Viewpoint: Senate Represents Racist Body” was published the same day: it lambasts the senate for discriminatory behavior following the approval of a resolution to condemn supposedly aggressive black leaders on campus and restrict their demands’ publication until review by senate committee. The author labels the resolution as a mischaracterization of black students and an attempt to muzzle them unless they espouse more palatable beliefs. The resolution itself displays the pushback against black students’ requests whereas the overall criticism of the senate is emblematic of students’ determination to see their goals achieved and their inquisitive attitude in the face of opposition, challenging the validity of previous norms in light of an evolving cultural landscape. A similarly focused 1973 October editorial titled "From the People: Blacks Deserve Senators” by Michael Booker rebukes challenges by white students to dissolve MSU’s black Student Association districts. The author argues that all people have the right to representation: the absence of black senators despite black students paying fees to fund the S.A. demonstrates that this right was previously unfulfilled- the abolishment of black districts only one year after of their existence would be an affront to the purported values of MSU and the United States as a whole. This piece serves as another example of black students defending their status at the university and refusing to compromise on their strides towards equality.

Polling showing support for black senators

Days later, an article titled "Senate Elections: Council Rules Statutes Unconstitutional, Leaves Them in Effect for Thursday Vote" by Virginia A. Lewis chronicled a case put before the Student Association Judicial Council: white student Jerry Grace asserts that the statutes requiring separate districts for black and foreign students are unconstitutional and should therefore be struck down. In spite of protests from representatives of these groups, the council rules that the districts are to be dissolved by the next S.A. election. Black representative Ralph Bender framed the issue as a loss of rights, emulating a sentiment likely held by many black students that the ruling represented a backwards shift compared to the progress made in the previous year. However, an editorial published in The Reflector titled "Opinion: Black Senators Supported,” records the results of a multi-part poll inquiring on the constitutionality and existence of the black and foreign voting precincts; the majority of respondents disagreed with the Judicial Council’s ruling and believed that minorities should have representation in the S.A., with over two-thirds of those asked supporting their reestablishment. This indicates a negative view of the Council’s decision among the primarily white student body, providing black students with greater legitimacy to call for their district’s return as they have the backing of most of the campus. Such a decisive polling result in their favor signals that black students achieved acceptance from their contemporaries and slights against their community were now seen as an affront to the university as a whole.