Building a Multicultural Campus: Student Protests in 1990

Progressives and Conservatives

In the late 20^th century, progressive activists began pursuing new ideals of inclusivity that slowly became enshrined in instututional policies: multiculturalism, gender equality, LGBT rights, access for the disabled, and mental health awareness. College campuses across the United States were some of the focal points for this push for change -- including the University of Texas at Austin. But UT, as an old Southern and traditionally white-male-run institution, adopted reforms at a glacial pace, frustrating progressive ambitions. So in 1990, thousands of students at the University of Texas began protesting over issues such as campus racism, lack of student/faculty diversity, tuition hikes, and women’s and LGBTQ+ rights.

This exhibit explores these student protests by showcasing student voices from 1990 through the archive of The Daily Texan, UT’s preeminent student publication. This exhibit specifically focuses on the question of anti-racism, multiculturalism, and racial diversity at the University of Texas by examining news stories and opinion pieces authored by students from Spring 1990.

The Daily Texan: a champion of student dissent

The Daily Texan is the preeminent student-run newspaper at the University of Texas. It's coverage included current events around campus and in the world, as well as featuring opinon pieces ("viewpoints") written by students and other contributors. Students from all backgrounds contributed “viewpoint” columns: although most of the these focused on progressive ideas, the Daily Texan also contained opinion pieces from conservative students opposed to reforms. The goal of this exhibit is to showcase the former: voices of minority students (especially those of color) who fought for campus culture to change. However, we will start by examining the later to understand the status quo these students were battling against.

White, Male, and Privileged: racism and sexism in UT’s old elite

The University of Texas had been a conservative institution since its founding. From its (now removed) Confederate statues, to anti-segregationist schemes to squash black enrollment, the University has been the harbor of a particular kind of elitist southern white culture. In the 1990’s UT’s conservative white culture seemed to be centered around fraternities and certain majors (such as law). The growing tide of progressive ideas made these groups highly uncomfortable: their anti-progressive arguments ranged from compaints about how white men were villanized, to denouncements of affirmative action as "reverse discrimination," to protests about how multicultural curriculums were “indoctrination,” to decrying the dangers of feminism. In one article, white student and columnist Matt Neely jokes about being afraid to walk down the street -- an actual violent reality for women and people of color. In another, white grad student and columnist Earl Chernoff compares the Black Student Association’s agenda to that of the KKK.

The culture of racism (and sexism) was especially prevalent in some fraternities, the loci of wealthy, elite white society at the university. Allegations of hate speech and hate crimes reached an especial high in the spring of 1990. But progressive students were quick to fight back against both hate speech specifically and the anti-progressive agenda more broadly: both garnered numerous opposing viewpoints in The Daily Texan as well as massive anti-racist student rallies, as we shall see.

Student Quotations

“Maybe it’s just me, but as a “White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Male,” I feel like a bad guy these days. I’m almost afraid to walk the streets for fear of being called racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, or whatever else the world says white men hate." (Matt Neely, Texas Columnist, 01/29/90)

"Affirmative action is reverse discrimination… We must realize the dream of Martin Luther King for a color-blind nation by accepting the most qualified students..." (John Tamny, Student Association Presidential Candidate, 02/27/90)

Advocating for Campus Diversity

By 1990, it was painfully obvious the University of Texas was lacking diversity: multiple Daily Texan articles reported on the lack of non-white faculty and poor retention of minority students. A May 4th article reported that despite an entire decade of efforts to recruit black faculty, the overall percentage had only increased from 6% in 1981 to 8% in 1990. 

Students responded to this by crafting plans for more diverse curriculums and creating demonstrations about the need to hire more diverse faculty. In 1990, UT law students boycot classes and even went on hunger strikes until the department decided to change its hiring policy. Students organized a large protest march on the Texas Capitol in support of adding multiculturalism classes to UT’s core requirements. As current UT students might know, these education reforms were eventually adopted: the current core curriculum has both a "global cultures" requirement and a "cultural diversity in the United States" requirement.

Student Quotations

“If the commitment [to minority student recruitment and retention] was so strong, it would have happened earlier." (James Anantha, University Council Representative, quoted in a 01/22/1990 column)

“The truth needs to be said about an educational institution that has almost 7,000 courses but only an average of 10 that deal with the African experience… that allows its police department to harass student activists… that slaps students on the hand for overt racism yet practices racism itself in overt and institutional forms...” (Marcus Brown, President of the Black Student Association, 03/27/1990)

Anti-Racist Protests on Campus

1990 saw a surge of racist provocations in and around campus. At Roundup (a weekend-long fundraising event held by the Interfraternity Council), Fiji handed out t-shirts with racist caricatures and Delta Tau Delta smashed a car sprayed with slurs.  Black Student Leaders worked with UT administration and both frats were suspended from campus. Eventually, members of these fraternities were required to perform community service and take multiculturalism training classes.

Later in the semester, hate speech surfaced once again in the form of racist signs reading “no blacks allowed” outside of a fraternity house. These signs also caused appalling consequences: the local chapter of the KKK attempted recruiting students from these fraternities. Meanwhile at the Capitol, lawmakers debated creating a more inclusive curriculum, leading hundreds of students to gather and show support for inclusivity legislation.

Relevant Quotations

“We don’t want [an anti-racism solution that is] thrown together. We want it, and we want it thorough. Anything that isn’t solid is silent. Anything that is silent is applause to these racist people.” (Stephanie McGee, Plan II junior, quoted in 04/10/1990 article)

“From my knowledge of what’s been going on in the fraternities, some of the fraternities don’t care to have certain ethnic people. Why heck, some of them don’t want certain types of white people [such as Spanish-speaking whites and Catholics] who would defile the fraternities’ sacred ground. I feel that’s our right.” (J.W. Farrands, local KKK representative, quoted in 04/30/1990 article)