Enhanced Learning: Faculty & Students Team Up Against Injustice

By Greta Petry (December 10, 2007)

Professor Victor Asal and students participating in "Breaking the Shackles: Political Inclusion and Exclusion of the African Diaspora in the Americas" research project (Photo by Mark Schmidt)

In 1865, Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, but it was nearly 100 years before African Americans finally had the right to vote. To a group of UAlbany political science students, this injustice needed some investigation.

So, it became the students' task -- as part of a research project, Breaking the Shackles: Political Inclusion and Exclusion of the African Diaspora in the Americas -- to get to the bottom of it.  To that end, the small group met with Political Science Professor Victor Asal once a week last semester, who guided them in conducting a cross-national analysis of former slave-holders. They studied Brazil, Venezuela, Haiti and South Africa to determine the causes for delays between slaves gaining rights and their inclusion in the political process.

"To think that there are groups being excluded on a large scale from participating politically due to ethnic and racial reasons was surprising to me," said Cyndi Mellen, a sophomore from Averill Park, N.Y. "From this experience, I learned that living in the U.S. is such an opportunity, and also what it's like to live in a place that isn't so inclusive."

While the students found that powerless groups historically have gained inclusion more readily when aligning themselves with those in power, their research laid the foundation for an extension of the study, which, according to Asal, will continue with a future student research group.

"Undergraduates should take the leap and involve themselves in these kinds of experiences," said Mellen.

"This project, including working with Professor Asal, has really enriched my educational experiences," said sophomore Bailey Van Deest of Goddard, Kansas.

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