From Gabordi’s blog:
Separate, but equal: We’ve heard that song before.
Now we’re hearing that same old refrain from St. Augustine
Republican Sen. John Thrasher, who is pushing to separate the combined Florida
A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering that has
existed for more than three decades.
FSU says it didn’t ask for it but supports Thrasher’s budget amendment that would provide $13 million for FSU to pursue its own engineering school.
FAMU says it opposes the move and says Thrasher is – at best
– mischaracterizing things when he
suggests talks had been under way between interim President Larry Robinson and
former FSU President Eric Barron, with the implication of support.
If Thrasher is right about this, why is he being less than
truthful?
The damage Thrasher would inflict is not simply to FAMU, and
despite his protestations to the contrary, his amendment would damage FAMU,
which says it might not be able to support an engineering college on its own.
“We cannot sustain an engineering program at the level we
currently have it if we separate the two schools, for a host of reasons that
are both academic and financial,” [FAMU President Elmira Mangum] said.
Why does Thrasher think it could? Thrasher said more black
students would be admitted to the engineering program if FAMU had its own
school, but where are the research and joint findings to support that?
Thrasher’s proposal turns back the clock in other ways, too,
besides providing a painful reminder of when the Legislature closed FAMU’s law
school before FSU was granted its own law school.
Read the entire blog post here.