The Massachusetts College of Art and Design’s (MassArt) Office of Justice, Equity, and Transformation offers a “Senior BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, People of Color] Fund” that provides aid for students on the basis of their identities and helps toward the completion of required projects for graduation.
”The Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Fund is a student created initiative in response to the Black Lives Matter movement,” the call for applications states.
In a web page on the Boston-based school’s website, a description of the fund states students who identify as “BIPOC, ALAANA (African, Latine, Asian, Arab, and Native American) and multiracial regardless of nation origin are welcome to apply.”
The description for the fund also states that the “initiative provides financial support to MassArt students in their studio art practice, senior degree and thesis project to assist in their successful completion of their degree and ensure their contributions are reflected in our society.”
Another description adds that the fund was “established during the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020.” The fund also aligns with the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education’s “equity agenda.”
A separate web page on the college website notes that “[r]esearch has shown that BIPOC students experience negative effects on their academic experiences being in historically white institutions with Eurocentric curricula, such as MassArt.”
“BIPOC students are vulnerable in these types of environments because their cultural perspectives are on the margins or left out entirely of their education,” the college continues. “The BIPOC fund supports students from these underrepresented and underserved groups during their senior year to assist them in their successful completion of their degree and ensure their contributions are reflected in our society.”
The BIPOC Fund page does not state whether students who do not fall under one of the listed racial criteria are eligible to apply.
Campus Reform has contacted the Massachusetts College of Art and Design for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
This article was originally published at campusreform.org
