I'm dating myself, but that was December 1992 when I interviewed. Texas A &M had just allowed Greek organizations in part to offset the strong influence of the cadet corps, and the plantation party incident evidently occurred shortly after the fraternities and sororities started up.heyzeus wrote:How long ago was this?sighyoung wrote:My wife and I were offered teaching positions at A &M, but we turned down the offers. We liked the department a lot, and the alumni base is fiercely loyal. We didn't fall in love with the Greek organizations that threw an "Old South" party, complete with servants in blackface.heyzeus wrote:Also, it's not an accident that BCA has made an issue of A&M's hiring. That university doesn't have the best reputation for minority relations.
There are two reasons that A&M has so few minority students (especially ones that are not on athletic scholarships). One is that they don't go out of their way to attract diversity. Two is incidents like this...which are fairly common in Bryan/College Station.
Three A & M English department faculty members mentioned it to me to discuss the racial atmosphere there. I appreciated their honesty. There were many reasons to like the school and its English department, and other reasons to choose Louisville, but I was concerned about raising a family in Bryan/College Station.