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Students favor move to African-American studies department

Princeton does not typically allow undergraduates to major in African-American studies. But that did not stop Stephen Clowney '00.

"It was their mistake. The dean in charge was new," he said of why his quest to create an independent major in African-American studies was approved by the University.

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Though Clowney is the only Princetonian majoring in African-American studies, he is not the only one who wanted to — which is one of several reasons that students pursuing African-American studies certificates said yesterday they would like to see the program become a department.

"I'm definitely in support of the African-American studies program becoming a department," said Brigitte White '00, an AAS certificate student whose major is the Wilson School. "It's long overdue."

"I would probably be compelled to major in it because I'm deeply interested in African-American studies," she added.

The AAS program has 16 senior concentrators this year. Last year, it awarded 17 certificates. In comparison, Yale University's African-American studies program — which Yale's president pledged to upgrade to a department last month — has five seniors. Harvard University's Afro-American Studies Department, which was founded in 1969, has 52 sophomore, junior and senior concentrators.

As the only AAS major on campus, Clowney offers a unique perspective on whether Princeton's program should be upgraded to a department.

"The demand is there," he said. "The professors want it, the students want it. The only one who opposes it is the administration, and they don't have a good reason."

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"The commitment to African-American studies of this administration is terrible," he added. "They talk a good game, but where are the results?"

Based on his experiences in the AAS program, Clowney said he believes the program has a sufficient number of faculty members to become a department.

"I've taken enough classes to obtain a major and there are lots of courses I couldn't take," Clowney said. "Just because there is a small number of faculty, doesn't mean there is not enough."

In addition, Clowney argued that creating a department would make recruitment of AAS professors easier.

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"It would really help with hiring faculty," Clowney said. "They rely on visiting professors. There isn't a whole lot of continuity in the staff. They have no control over hiring. If they could hire their own faculty, there would be more resources for students, and more classes."

"There's no center, no focal point," he added. "There is an office, but the professors are spread all over campus. You don't get the flow of ideas like you have in a department."

Jill Goldenziel '00, who is also an AAS certificate student, agreed. "I think that department status would really improve the quality of the scholarship, faculty and classes that would be offered," she said. "Since all these professors are not in African-American studies all the time, the African-American studies program is not their first priority. They are pulled to do a lot of things by their respective departments."

Melissa Harrison '00 said she believed an AAS department would be "taken more seriously by students" than an AAS program.

"You can very easily get to college without having experienced African-American novels or history," she said. "It would benefit not just black students, but any students interested in learning more about it."