University of Connecticut creates black-only living space as equal rights activists brand move towards segregation as 'troubling'

ScHOLA²RS House will offer housing for male African-Americans only

University says move is to boost graduation rates for minority students

Claim it's no different to people who share same interests living together

But equal rights activists called the move 'troubling' and called on the University of Connecticut to 'treat students without regard to skin color'

Activist groups have attacked 'troubling' plans by the University of Connecticut to create a black-only living space.

From next fall, ScHOLA²RS House – which stands for 'Scholastic House of Leaders who are African American Researchers and Scholars' – will offer accommodation for 43 male African-American undergraduates on Storrs campus.

The university claim the move is to boos minority applicants and graduation rates and is 'no more segregated... than putting individuals with common interests together,' Vice Provost Sally Reis told Fox News.

But others appear to see it as a backwards step after decades of progress against segregation.

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Activist have hit out at 'racist' plans by the University of Connecticut (pictured) to create a black-only living space.

Niger Innis, the national spokesperson for the Congress of Racial Equality, branded the decision 'troubling'.

'If (students) want to go to an institution that is racially diverse and integrated, then racial diversity and integration is part of it,' he told told Fox News. 'To have a university-sanctioned segregation or separation is, to me, a bit troubling.'

President and General Counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity Roger Clegg told Insidehighered.com, called for universities to forget about the 'nonsense' and to 'just treat students without regard to skin color.'

'Schools shouldn’t be using race as a proxy for who’s at risk and who’s going to have a hard time as a student.'

Some black female students appeared to back the move but questioned why the black-only living spaces were only being offered for men.

The University of Connecticut have defended the move comparing ScHOLA²RS House to other communities for students who share interests in engineering and public health.

But they admit a 'community' based on race only was new to the campus.

Professor Erik Hines, who will become faculty adviser to ScHOLA²RS House students next fall, said that if the move was successful the university could create more groups based on race, such as a Hispanic or white-only community.

They could also bring in houses for people based in gender or different cultures.

Vice Provost Sally Reis said it was 'no more segregated... than putting individuals with common interests together'

Niger Innis, the national spokesperson for the Congress of Racial Equality, branded the decision 'troubling'

More than a dozen people have already applied to join ScHOLA²RS House which will prioritize students who are African American/Black or mixed-race.

However, the UConn website states that students of any race were free to apply if they were 'interested in engaging in topics related to the experience of black males in higher education.'

'In predominantly white institutions, some of the experiences that African-American males face on campus is a little different than some of the other populations,' Hines said. 'In some of your courses you can be the only African American male in your class. It could be stressful and that's a huge burden to shoulder.'

ScHOLA²RS House will be based on a floor of the new Next Generation Connecticut Hall.

News of the black-only living space has sparked furious debate online with many claiming it is a step back to the days of segregation and the Jim Crow Laws.

THE RACIST LAWS OF SEGREGATION: JIM CROW The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in place up until 1965 enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. They enforced the segregation of public schools, public places, public transportation, as well as restrooms, restaurants, and drinking fountains for white and black people. Named after a popular 19th-century minstrel song that stereotyped African Americans, 'Jim Crow' came to personify the government-sanctioned racial oppression and segregation in the United States.

'Had no idea this was a thing but it seems like a terrible idea. The fact that UConn is considering racially segregated housing is ridiculous. What a great way to ensure people don't leave their comfort zones or get exposed to people of different backgrounds,' wrote The_Pressure on the UConn Reddit forum.

Esen Taishi added: 'Wow. I'm just finding it amazing that African Americans are now the in the position to be the group clamoring for segregated spaces. I just find it mind blowing. How do people not see the irony in this?'

Another Reddit user, George_Cant-Stand-Ya, also denounced it as 'racist.'

'Where is the Caucasian learning community? This is bogus. If there was a Caucasian learning community, it would be a national headline. But an all-black learning community is totally acceptable. That, is racist. That, is discrimination.'

But others defended the black-only space as a way to provide learning facilities for African American UConn students who statistically have a lower graduation rate than other students.

'Having heard about this from the person who helped make it - it's targeting male blacks because they are statistically the most vulnerable group in terms of not graduating on time or at all,' thehalcyon5finance wrote.

'A learning community designed to combat this issue would be wholly beneficial to not only the specific students, but to the university as a whole.'

Puppetry major Isaac Bloodworth claimed that objections to ScHOLA²RS House were racist.

'The white portion of the University of Connecticut is probably not ready for it. You have people who are going to go against it because they are just racist and they see this as a form of segregation or that we're getting better things than they are.'