As hard as it is to talk about a situation without having all the numbers, some issues are too important not to tackle as soon as possible.
The development of a new task force examining the racial make-up of those expelled from Richland School District 2 high schools is one such situation.
The central question underlying the initiative is whether or not black males are being expelled from high school at a higher rate than other demographic groups.
According to The State, discrimination in K-12 expulsions has been an issue in school-related circles for a while now, even though no one has been able to come up with racial statistics of expelled students. The task force hopes to uncover, one way or the other, what those statistics are and whether institutional change is necessary.
This is relevant to USC in a number of ways. Many of those who graduate from Richland School District 2 schools eventually enroll at the Columbia campus or USC’s satellite campuses.
If there is a demographic that is being underrepresented in Richland 2’s graduating classes because of excessive or unnecessary expulsions, then USC is not getting the diverse range of experiences it needs to thrive.
We may not have all of the facts or numbers yet, but we feel if there is enough social momentum to create a task force dedicated to this issue, then it’s worth looking into.