UPDATE: 'Blacks-only' classes will now target 'special populations'

After facing national criticism, Moraine Valley Community College has announced that it will make some revisions to its “blacks-only” course.

Campus Reform initially reported that the school had set aside multiple sections of a mandatory introductory course exclusively for black students, defending the practice as a method for getting students to “open up.”

“Sometimes we set aside sections for specific populations, including veterans and older students,” Moraine’s assistant director of communications, Jessica Crotty, told Campus Reform. “The focus can be on specific issues they face. For example, veterans face a specific set of challenges. Students feel comfortable and are more likely to open up because they’re with other students who are like them.”

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Now, however, Inside Higher Ed reports that the school has stated that it “will no longer offer sections of this course for specific racial groups,” though it will “continue to offer sections of its College 101 course for the success of special populations.”

Campus Reform reached out to the school for clarification of the specific nature of the revisions, but received only a reiteration of the school’s initial statement that it “will no longer offer sections of this course for specific racial groups.”

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