The student takeover of Willard Straight Hall in 1969 was an event that "changed Cornell, and to some extent American higher education, for all time," said Cornell President David Skorton at an April 17 commemorative event at the Africana Studies and Research Center. "From the perspective of 40 years, we can honor the concerns that led to the takeover."

Before joining students and faculty on a walk from the Africana Center to Wari House, site of a cross burning that helped spark the takeover, to the Wait Avenue site of the first Africana Center destroyed by arson in 1970 and finally to Willard Straight Hall, Skorton recalled the events unfolding in American society in 1969.

"[It was] a time of great upheaval in our nation -- when issues of civil rights, the Black Power movement, the war in Vietnam, the feminist movement and other forces of social change were bursting upon the American consciousness -- especially on the consciousness of young people," he said.

At Cornell and elsewhere, Skorton noted, "the Straight takeover spoke to the frustration and lack of empowerment that many students of color were feeling." He noted that despite Brown v. Board of Education and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, "in the late 1960s, people of color were poorly represented in American higher education, and most particularly in the most selective institutions. Unfortunately, but undeniably, it remains a challenge that we continue to face."

He continued, "It was a tense time, with feelings running high on all sides, yet it also prompted the examination of important questions that remain relevant and fresh today."

Cornell weathered the storms of the era, and despite concerns raised at the time, Skorton said, "I would argue that the center of the university as a place for rational discourse has continued to hold, even as we have gained a fuller understanding of the importance of diversity and inclusiveness. I do not see the two ideas as mutually exclusive."

Although the university today is far more diverse, Skorton said, "The current level of diversity is far from representative of the society in which we live." He reported that the number of admitted students of color is up substantially from last year: 35 percent for African-Americans, 20 percent for other underrepresented minorities and 16 percent for Latino students. He reiterated Cornell's commitment to need-based financial aid even during this recession to keep Cornell affordable.

"Despite our best efforts, though, the singular challenge posed by the Straight takeover remains with us," Skorton said.

Skorton invited students and others with concerns related to campus diversity to e-mail diversityinput@cornell.edu. "This is another simple and direct way to make your views known to appropriate members of the University Diversity Council and the administration in general, and to initiate the sorts of conversations that we can initiate but that you must help us complete, and that we must have as a campus to realize our aspirations for a diverse and welcoming community that values and that learns from all its members," he said.

The event was one in a series of takeover commemorations that took place April 13-19 organized by the student group African, Latino, Asian and Native American Program Board.