By BRENDA WINN
NEWS EDITOR
For the past 24 years, St. Lawrence has been sending students to Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee to study for a semester. In 1995, the two universities officially signed an exchange program agreement that is reciprocal. Fisk University students are able to spend the fall semester on the SLU campus and SLU students have the chance to study at Fisk in the spring semester. The program is very small, as 17 SLU students have taken advantage of this opportunity over the years, while only five Fisk students have come to SLU.
Fisk University is a historically black university that has played an important leadership role in minority education ever since its earliest days. The university has produced professors and alumni that have been some of America’s most influential intellectual, artistic, and civic leaders. Some examples of alumni include W.E.B. DuBois, John W. Work, Thurgood Marshall John Hope Franklin, and Nikki Giovanni.
Dr. Mary Jane Smith, faculty advisor for the Fisk program. Said that most SLU students who go to Fisk for a semester want to experience an environment where they are, as minorities, a majority. All but two of the 17 students who have participated have been of color. “Many of the students return to SLU and report how different it felt to not be a minority,” Dr. Smith said. “For them, it was also really influential to be taught by more professors of colors and have more administrators of color, as well.”
Currently, SLU student Alyson Wilson ’17 is studying at Fisk. She said that she has always wanted to participate in an off campus program, and a last minute location change-of-heart landed her in Nashville. Wilson recognizes the many race and diversity issues that have arisen during the past few years on the SLU campus. White students make up the majority at SLU, and students of color represent a much smaller percentage. “A few of my friends discussed the struggles and obstacles they faced being the minority on campus, and I wished to better understand what they were going through,” she said. “I don’t believe it is possible for you to understand what they go through, unless you yourself walk a mile in their shoes. For that reason, I decided to attend Fisk University, in which I am one of approximately five white students [in the entire university population].”
Associate Dean of International and Intercultural Studies Karl Schonberg said that the hope of the Fisk program was, and is, to give students the chance to experience another environment while in college. While Nashville is not in a different part of the world, it is in a historically very different part of the country than upstate New York. “Many graduates from Fisk have held very important roles in the Civil Rights,” Dean Schonberg said. “Students who go to Fisk have the opportunity to study this history in a more tangible way than is available here.” Dr. Smith echoed this rich history by adding Fisk’s deep connection to the arts during the Harlem Renaissance. “The history and tradition that can be seen in Nashville is expansive,” she said.
Wilson spoke about how Fisk has a very small student body, and it is very easy to recognize a new person on campus. Because 85-90% of the population is of color, and Wilson is white, she said she was immediately recognized as being new to campus and was greeted by many. “The kindness and hospitality I have received from the individuals at Fisk University is like none other,” she said. “People were so open and welcoming that I felt right at home in an unfamiliar place.” She also said that from her experience so far, she has realized how much she has taken the resources offered at SLU for granted. “The resources and facilities at Fisk are not the greatest, and don’t even begin to compare to those at St. Lawrence,” she said. “The students at Fisk are aware of the resources they lack or are limited to, but make the best out of the situation.”
Dr. Smith and Dean Schonberg spent last week visiting Fisk University, and meeting with faculty and administrators there to see how they can increase the flow of students between the two universities. For students who come to SLU from Fisk, it is a really good opportunity for them to take advantage of courses that we have to offer, as well as study abroad options. Students from Fisk that come to SLU in the fall semester are eligible to apply to a SLU study abroad program in the spring semester. Dr. Smith said that three out of the five students that have come to SLU from Fisk have taken advantage of this option by going to London, Spain and France for the spring semester.
While they were in Nashville, they set up an information table and met with a lot of faculty. Dean Schonberg said one thing they are hoping to do is to add a knowledgeable faculty advisor on the Fisk campus for the exchange program, a counterpart for Dr. Smith, who would be available to answer questions and go through the application process with students. They also discussed the possibilities of shorter term exchanges, with particular classes that would travel between SLU and Fisk during winter or spring breaks.
Dean Schonberg said that this exchange program is not so popular because many SLU students do not consider it enough to get to the point of seeing what they can get from studying at Fisk. The Center for International and Intercultural Studies is hoping to do more to let students understand the opportunities that there are at Fisk.
Dr. Smith said because students are not going down to Fisk or coming up to SLU every year, there is a lack of word-of-mouth advertising that usually takes place for other abroad programs. She said that she hopes Wilson will come back to SLU and share with others how much she is enjoying her experience, to encourage other students to consider the exchange. Dr. Smith said that SLU has only recently begun to recruit in the south for admissions, and they never did before, leading to the increase in students of color on campus over the last five years. She adds that still going to Fisk would be an extremely beneficial regional and cultural exchange because students of color would experience what it is like to be in a majority environment, while white students can experience the minority. And, she adds, southern culture is a “can’t miss”.
Dean Schonberg said it is a really great program, and he was struck by the rich environment that he experienced at Fisk. His recent visit is the first time he has visited the university in Nashville. “The program is a great experience for our students,” he said. “I think it is the hidden gem, and students should think about all the fantastic opportunities that could have.”
Wilson has had an incredibly positive experience so far, and she will definitely encourage others to study in Nashville. “The people you meet here are one of the best things about this program, and the friendships you make will definitely last a lifetime,” she said. A few of her friends she has made are even thinking about coming to SLU in the fall.
“I took a step out of my comfort zone and immersed myself in a completely new environment where I knew no one, and yet it has been one of the best experiences in my undergraduate years,” Wilson said. She also said that the city of Nashville is an amazing place. “Although it’s a small city, there is so much for you to do, and if you drive 15 minutes out of the city you can find yourself in the middle of nowhere,” she said. “It’s the best of both worlds!”
Anyone interested should contact Dr. Mary Jane Smith, Dean Karl Schonberg or stop by the CIIS office in Carnegie.