Over 50 years has passed since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the segregation of schools to be unconstitutional, and today the majority of students who attend schools in the poorest parts of the country are made up of blacks and Hispanics, according to author and former educator Jonathan Kozol, who spoke on campus Thursday, Feb. 23.

Kozol discussed the findings in his recent book, “Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America,” in the University Union Ballroom.

After a five-year study, in which Kozol visited over 50 schools in the U.S., Kozol found that minority children who attend public schools in poor, urban areas are not getting the same level of education as schools in white, suburban areas.

“This is an apartheid schools system,” Kozol said, “This is intolerable in a democratic nation.”

He discussed how students are segregated by social and economic standings, thus depriving urban schools and their students’ proper funding. Without proper funding, the students are forced to attend school in overcrowded buildings with inadequate books and supplies.

One of the contributing factors why urban schools are not receiving proper funds is because of high-stakes, or standardized, testing. Kozol believes that all high-stakes testing does and deprive money from the schools that need it, and creates a “sense of terror” when younger students are not allowed to move on to the next grade if they fail.

“It’s outrages to hold an 8-year-old girl ‘accountable’ for her education and not the politicians,” Kozol said.

Kozol also discussed his personal experiences with the students and teachers he met during his research.

Most surprising to Kozol was when he visited different schools, nearly every time the students wanted him to see their cafeteria and eat with them.

That is when Kozol could see a clear difference between urban and suburban schools, for the poorer, minority schools had over-crowed eating areas and low-quality food, while richer, white schools had spacious tables and salad bars.

Larry Troutman, a senior government internal relations major, said Kozol speaks with pure emotion and truth.

“Kozol puts a human face to the dynamics of his books,” Troutman said.

More than 750 people attended the event, according to Dean Sorenson, the program adviser for UNIQUE, and attendees lined up outside the ballroom past 11p.m. for autographs and a chance to talk with Kozol one on one.

Matthew Beltran can be reached at [email protected]