Notre Dame students say theirs is racially divided campus

Published: 2004-01-19

NOTRE DAME, Ind. (CNS) -- The University of Notre Dame must overcome deep divisions and a superficial service mentality to fulfill the Rev. Martin Luther King's dream of racial equality, students say. "He knew it requires sacrifice," said one student at "Wake Up the Echo: A Voice for Change Then and Now." "That's something we're not very good at on this campus." Some 75 people at a town hall meeting Jan. 15 agreed that focus on a homogeneous "university community" at the predominantly white campus marginalizes minorities. Chandra Johnson, an assistant to Notre Dame's president, Holy Cross Father Edward Malloy, and assistant director of cross-cultural ministry, attended the meeting and at one point responded that Notre Dame's history of homogeneity makes change hard. "It's difficult for them to let go of how Notre Dame used to be. The world is changing. You will begin to create a new world," she said.

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