2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumLook, Bernie's camp has expressed concern and care for historically black colleges and universities
...even as they propose a plan which would have some negative effects on these institutions which are already struggling.
Rep. Clyburn in SC has come out today and echoed a complaint which was raised by advocates for HBCUs at almost the same time Bernie proposed free tuition. What will become of these institutions?
A lot of the responses this morning to a post about this were far more indifferent to the question of the HBCUs then their campaign actually was. Some were downright hostile.
So, in the interest of moving the debate forward to where the Sanders team is camped out, here's a response which shows a great deal more sympathy and understanding than some here might have wanted to afford:
from USAToday:
Warren Gunnels, Sanders' campaign policy director, said no presidential candidate is more committed to strengthening HBCUs than Sanders, whose plan would give students a tuition-free education at public HBCUs and meet all financial needs of the lowest income students attending those schools.
At all HBCUs -- including private -- low income students could use federal, state and college financial aid to cover room and board, books and living expenses, Gunnels said in a statement. He would also cut student loan interest rates almost in half for all students enrolled in an HBCU and help students build career experience by more than tripling the federal work-study program at HBCUs. Everyone who has attended an HBCU would be able to refinance student loans at today's low interest rates, he wrote.
"Bernie understands that too many HBCU's have struggled financially in recent years from a lack of federal resources," Gunnels wrote. "Thats why he supports a dedicated $30 billion fund to support private non-profit HBCU's and other minority serving institutions to keep their costs down. Unlike Secretary Clinton, Bernie does not believe that we should unfairly punish HBCUs by fining them for their non-performing student loans."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/02/16/bernie-sanders-support-black-colleges-questioned/80465036/
...start the debate from here; from where your candidate stands.
EmperorHasNoClothes
(4,797 posts)that the same people who claim Bernie has no hope of enacting any of his plans, also believe he will somehow destroy HCBUs.
bigtree
(86,005 posts)...that these impressions are restricted to this board, but they're not.
Fact remains, Bernie still has not convinced advocates and others concerned about the fate of HBCUs that he has their best interests at heart.
That's part and parcel of the challenge many folks here have been talking about for the Sanders campaign. At some point, they need to look at what they're doing and determine why their message isn't being received favorably by many in the black community; on this and several other issues.
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)he cast that I do not even see him as a good man much less a trusted narrator of social justice concerns.
Do you have other examples of persons who 'used to be' bigoted against other groups who you now turn to for advice? Of course not.
bigtree
(86,005 posts)...that has zero to do with the issue of HBCUs, and you know it.
Besides, I don't see anything honest about excluding the fact that he's reversed his position and now supports federal marriage equality legislation.
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)I asked you a question. Why do you trust the honesty of people who spent years opposing the rights of others? Do you have examples of such persons who 'were' bigoted against other groups or is it only 'the gay'?
Here's the deal. Adore your DOMA voters if you wish, but when you start demanding that others respect them and never mention their actual political natures or histories you go too far. You need to accept that if your heroes have trash talked minority groups for years, those groups are not very likely to respect them as you do. Is that really, really so hard to grasp?
Bernie wants free PUBLIC colleges, not private. Jim fails to mention that, which is dishonest. Just as he was dishonest when pushing the DOMA crap and his other anti LGBT positions. Like it or not, LGBT people have the right to not support those who bash us and to point out when such persons are being held up as perfected and highly insightful persons of great honesty.
Your witness here has testified in the past to things that were hateful and false. He's the issue I'm addressing and the fact that you expect all of us to ignore that about him.
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)'Do this, do as I say, I am in charge you have no right to speak at all' .
bigtree
(86,005 posts)speak all you want,, but I'll never hear another damn word of it.
The bullying from you ends HERE.
mhatrw
(10,786 posts)and the very concept of tuition free public college education, a concept which at least in theory was aspired to in most states before Reagan.
HBCUs are great. But the idea that we cannot have tuition free public colleges because this might not be beneficial to every private college in our current debt crippling system of ridiculously expensive public and private colleges is bizarre. Yes, there are a number of non-profit private colleges, including all non-profit HBCUs, that are worth preserving with government assistance, but offering tuition-free public college in every state would far, far more beneficial to PoC than preserving any specific private college or university. There is no reason the federal and state revenue cannot support both public colleges and private colleges that primarily serve PoC. But the idea that concern about the latter is a reason to keep charging outrageous tuition for state colleges is nuts.