The College Fix

The African-American studies department at the University of North Carolina has been exposed in recent years over its long record of academic fraud, allowing athletes to take classes that involved little to no real work.

Thanks to a recent report by ESPN, we now have a specific example of just how ludicrous some of these classes were.

Ludicrous is perhaps to gentle a word.

Below is the complete text of a final semester paper for AFAM 41–one of the allegedly bogus classes offered by the African-American studies department at UNC:

On the evening of December Rosa Parks decided that she was going to sit in the white people section on the bus in Montgomery, Alabama. During this time blacks had to give up there seats to whites when more whites got on the bus. Rosa parks refused to give up her seat. Her and the bus driver began to talk and the conversation went like this. “Let me have those front seats” said the driver. She didn’t get up and told the driver that she was tired of giving her seat to white people. “I’m going to have you arrested,” said the driver. “You may do that,” Rosa Parks responded. Two white policemen came in and Rosa Parks asked them “why do you all push us around?” The police officer replied and said “I don’t know, but the law is the law and you’re under arrest.”

Yep. That’s the entire essay. Just one paragraph.

That’s the final paper that normally serves as the capstone of a semester’s work.

According to a report by Business Insider, the above essay, entitled “Rosa Parks: My Story” got an A-minus. Just a step below a perfect “A” grade for a single, poorly-written paragraph.

This sort of academic fraud went on for many years at UNC. And the faculty member most directly responsible has been outed. We’ve previously reported the details here at The College Fix.

But taking a look at an actual “A- essay,” written by one of UNC’s “scholar-athletes,” the magnitude of corruption really hits home.

Wasn’t it president Bush who once said something about “the soft prejudice of low expectations?” That seems to be a fitting description of the African-American studies department toward its students.

From senior administrators on down, the University of North Carolina failed its students. In the process, UNC seriously damaged its academic credibility.

It’s no surprise to hear that 10% of UNC athletes can read only at the 3rd grade level.

It appears that, for many years, the university was happy to turn a blind eye to the nearly non-existent academic standards in classes existed for no other purpose than to make it possible for poorly-prepared student athletes to pass through the system and stay on the playing field, all while doing the least amount of academic work possible.

Nathan Harden is editor of The College Fix and author of the book SEX & GOD AT YALE: Porn, Political Correctness, and a Good Education Gone Bad.

Follow Nathan on Twitter @NathanHarden

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