Items

• Oral History Interview with Blanche Wiesen Cook

  Blanche Wiesen Cook, Eleanor Roosevelt biographer, grew up in the Bronx and Queens, and attended Hunter College as an undergraduate when it was an all female school. She treasured her time learning from Ruth Weintraub and Mina Rees, whom she describes as the founders of the City University of New York. Blanche reflects upon her life-changing experience participating in sit-ins in North Carolina as the president of the Hunter College Student Government in 1961, spurred on by Eleanor Roosevelt herself. In this interview, Blanche describes her perspective on Open Admissions as a faculty member teaching at John Jay College since 1967 when she worked closely with CUNY Senior Vice Chancellor Julius C.C. Edelstein. She expounds upon her political beliefs and how they intersect with her activism, such as participating in demonstrations to save John Jay College in the 1970’s. She stresses the importance of education in her own professional life and for society at large, and shares her own pedagogical philosophy when teaching the police officers and firefighters in her classes.
• Oral History Interview with Allen Ballard

  This oral history interview was conducted on April 4, 2014 at SUNY Albany. Allen Ballard grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and arrived at the City College of New York in 1960 as an assistant professor of Political Science. He was one of the three black faculty members on campus. In this interview, Ballard describes his role in initiating the SEEK Program, which stands for Search for Education, Elevation and Knowledge. He provides insights into the history and implementation of the SEEK Program, including the role of black political mobilization in launching the program in 1966. Open Admissions, seen as a product of the SEEK Program, is discussed extensively in this interview. Ballard discusses the constituencies that advocated for Open Admissions, such as black and Puerto Rican students, as well as the white opposition at many of the four-year colleges. He concludes by reflecting on the success of graduates and notes that student achievement is a “cumulative and slow process.”
• Oral History Interview with Henry Arce

  In this interview conducted about CUNY’s Open Admissions program, Arce describes his journey from the NYC Public School system to graduating from college. He credits his mother, who raised him alone in a Puerto Rican, immigrant community, for instilling the importance of an education. In 1966 he was recruited to be a student in SEEK program and attend City College. As a student he began to question what he refers to as the “contradictions” found in American society. Arce describes taking a class with the Poet Laureate of Puerto Rico, Diana Ramírez de Arellano as a pivotal moment in understanding his role as Puerto Rican at City College. Arce was active in the founding of PRISA (Puerto Ricans Involved in Students Action) and became their first president. He was also in a leadership position during the City College Takeover, and the formation of Harlem College which is largely credited for ultimately leading to Open Admissions. He discusses Frantz Fanon’s teachings influence on how the Takeover was organized. In addition, he describes the Five Demands which included addressing the fact the City College was 97% white despite being in predominately black Harlem. Activists emphasized that minority students were not receiving an education that prepared them to succeed at college and wanted a diverse curriculum that valued and reflected their backgrounds. Although he admits their failure may have been to “not pass the baton” on to the next generation, he also acknowledges the many successes including that fact that the racial ratio of CUNY has drastically changed and more minorities are graduating now. This interview is a lively account of a nation, city and college that was in process of questioning meritocracy and equality in education and pluralistic perspectives.
• Oral History Interview with Anselma Rodriguez

  In this oral history, Anselma Rodriguez discusses her experiences as a student at Brooklyn College from 1969-1973. She was a founding a member of Movimiento Estudiantil Dominicanos and active in Brooklyn College's Puerto Rican Studies Department. Rodriguez also discusses her experiences as an immigrant in New York, the Trujillo regime in the Dominican Republic, Open Admissions and her role in the Financial Aid office at Brooklyn college. Although Rodriguez claims to have only been peripherally involved, she draws connections between the Open Admissions movement, the Civil Rights Movement, the Anti-Vietnam war movement, the Black Panthers and the Young Lords. She stressed intersectionality, insisting that equity in education is connected to housing rights, health care and employment opportunities. Furthermore, Rodriguez also seeks to make a distinction between race and economics, claiming that the faculty and staff who were against Open Admissions but for the imposition of tuition were discriminating against poor people regardless of race. Rodriguez’s shares insights given her later role as a Financial Aid Counselor and the real life problems encountered by first and second-generation students.
• Oral History Interview with Khadija DeLoache

  Khadija DeLoache entered City College in the fall of 1966 with support from the CUNY Seek program. In this oral history, DeLoache discusses growing up in Harlem, her experience as a student activist, and the development of the Black Studies department at City College. DeLoache also discusses her memories of the Kennedy and Martin Luther King assassinations, and the political struggles of the 1960s. This interview was conducted by Douglas Medina for his research on the period of Open Admissions at the City University of New York.
• Oral History Interview with Stuart Schaar

  This interview with Stuart Schaar, Professor Emeritus of Middle East History at Brooklyn College, was conducted by Douglas Medina for his research on Open Admissions at CUNY. Stuart Schaar was raised in the Bronx and attended the City College of New York. He received his doctorate from Princeton University and taught at the University of Wisconsin, Madison prior to his arrival at Brooklyn College in September 1968. During the interview, Schaar describes his role as an organizer of the Anti-Vietnam War Coalition at Brooklyn College, and his support for CUNY’s Open Admissions policy. Schaar also discuses the imposition of tuition at CUNY schools, diversity at Brooklyn College, the Occupy Movement, and neoliberalism in the education sphere. In addition, Schaar discusses his research interests in North Africa and the Middle East, and his friendship with Eqbal Ahmad and other scholars.
• "Before Open Admissions there was a lot of the haves and the have-nots." – An Oral History Interview with Donal Farley

  Following almost 10 years at the NYC Budget Bureau, Donal Farley began his employment at CUNY Central in 1967 as Assistant to the first Vice Chancellor for Campus Planning and Development Seymour Hyman. Under Chancellor Albert Bowker, he eventually assumed the position of Vice Chancellor and held that position until 1992. In this interview conducted by Douglas Medina for his research on Open Admissions at CUNY, Farley discusses his personal and work life before CUNY and then discusses some of the key issues and events during his time as Vice Chancellor. Farley's early years were a time of great expansion for CUNY and Farley tells of the poor existing conditions of CUNY buildings and the influx of new funding for construction projects. He was intimately involved in all building projects during his tenure and shares information on the process of securing new space for CUNY schools and building new sites. The time of Open Admissions was a particularly contentious one and Farley discusses not only the political decisions that were made regarding establishing new colleges but also the fiscal and practical decisions that impacted outcomes. The 70s fiscal crisis created pressure to reduce costs for CUNY, cut funding for facilities, and impose tuition and raise fees for students. Farley shares insights and opinions on these topics and various related incidents.