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YSU’s Tressel: We Need More Respect, Compassion

 

YSU’s Tressel: We Need More Respect, Compassion

Extreme respect for others, awareness beyond our own experiences and “a heavy dose of compassion” are important for better relations among white and black people, Youngstown State University President Jim Tressel says in a recent interview with Valley Tough.

Recalling his time coaching football at YSU and Ohio State, Tressel said, “One of the things we talked about constantly was that, until we as individuals realize that we’re insignificant without every other person, we’ll never have a great team.

“I think that’s the case in society. … We as individuals are insignificant without every other person, regardless of what their beliefs are, what their race is, what their sexual preferences are, what their ideologies are. Every single person is important. That’s a value, a lesson, something that we need to be working a little bit harder on – that respect for everyone else.”

The interview was part of Valley Tough’s “Words on Race” series with host Chris Gunther.

Check out the video below.

Tressel also talked about many initiatives YSU and the YSU Foundation have in place to promote racial equality:

  • The launch of fund-raising for a new scholarship endowment for black students involved in social justice activism. YSU hopes to raise $400,000 to provide an annual scholarship.
  • The investment of more than $1 million, since 1996, by the YSU Foundation to match gifts to any minority scholarship. The YSU Foundation is the only public university foundation in Ohio that matches every gift to a minority scholarship.
  • Panel discussions by a student group called YSU Students United on issues like religion, poverty, mental health and race relations. The events have attracted as many as 400 students and have reminded students “that we’re more alike than we’re different,” Tressel said.
  • The hiring of an assistant provost last October to help faculty members use new techniques and discussion items to reach students of different backgrounds.
  • Special events that help students and the broader Youngstown-area community learn more about minority cultures. In February, YSU brought in the Dance Theatre of Harlem to talk to students on campus and perform at the DeYor Performing Arts Center downtown. YSU regularly brings in prominent speakers for admission-free events.  
  • The week-long Summer Bridge program for multicultural students that includes lodging in a YSU residence hall, introductory classes and attendance at local cultural events to introduce the YSU academic and social experience.
  • The Upward Bound initiative to encourage qualifying students at East and Chaney high schools in Youngstown to prepare for college. The effort includes after-school tutoring, ACT preparation classes, lodging at YSU residence halls and more.
  • The Academic Achievers Program, which is similar to Upward Bound but focused on qualifying students at Harding High School in Warren and funded by YSU and a private donor.
  • The Penguin Ally Collective, which pairs YSU faculty or staff members as encouraging allies for students of color who would be the first in their families to achieve a bachelor’s degree.
  • The Student Achievement in Research & Scholarship program (STARS), which identifies under-represented sophomores with high-performing academic records and pairs them with faculty members to steer them toward graduate studies and careers in college teaching or research. 

Tressel said he’s pleased with the impact these efforts have had and added that YSU would like to see them involve and benefit more students. 

“We have to do more and we have to do it more effectively,” he said.

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