While the University of Florida thought that the Fall 2018 semester would be a breeze, it has already had to withdraw from AFA 101, Racial Equity following the first wave of exams.
Racial Equity, or Race Eq as it is more commonly known is a notoriously difficult class for many top public universities. Most of those who pass and go on to earn their degrees in Higher Education get by with the minimum passing grade of a C.
“Race Eq has never been my strongest subject,” admitted UF. “I know I definitely haven’t paid that class enough attention in the past, but I was still shocked that I got an F on the test that we just got back. That’s the same grade as FSU!”
After speaking to an advisor, UF withdrew from Racial Equity this semester, as there was no way it would be able to complete its assigned project of improving African-American student enrollment and race relations in time for finals. UF must retake the dropped class at some point in the next year, as it is a prerequisite for both SYD 4407, Social Progress and POS 3456, Peace and Harmony. In its plan to return to critical tracking, however, UF said it might want to wait until Summer A to take Race Eq at Santa Fe, where it hears the course is much easier to pass.
UF acknowledged that its priorities were elsewhere, such as maintaining its position on the Dean’s top 10 list and conducting research. While these commitments are no excuse for the university’s poor performance in the course, hopefully embarrassment over this failure for the otherwise high-achieving university will provide motivation for passing this basic level Humanities class.
Elijah Marshall, Race Eq TA and President of the Diver-City Planning Club recommends that UF join the class group chat to listen to suggestions and engage in meaningful discussion on how to improve its Racial Equity grade.