Luke Skywalker
Super Moderator
{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:
Students at least two more schools are slated to rally Friday in solidarity with members of Concerned Student 1950,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the student activist collective whose protests helped incite the resignation of University of Missouri System president Tim Wolfe and sparked protests and rallies nationwide.
At the University of Colorado, the hashtag #CUSTANDSWITHMIZZOU is being used to organize the event, and by students on social media to post their thoughts and comments on the call for ending systemic racism at universities.
“I<span style="color: Red;">*</span>commend Mizzou and I commend those students because … they deserve to be heard and they weren’t. I wouldn’t say that the administration hasn’t listened to us, but they haven’t taken the action that we’ve asked for,” said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>CU Black Student Alliance co-president<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Paris Ferribee.
Ferribee said that the BSA’s demands include a larger “safe” space on campus, such as a diversity center or building.
In addition to the rally, a public Facebook group called CU Stands with Concerned Student 1950<span style="color: Red;">*</span>has opened as a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>public forum for students to discuss recent events.
On Thursday, the school held its annual Diversity and Inclusion Summit, where CU Chancellor<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Philip P. DiStefano said, “As we have seen at the University of Missouri, open and urgent dialogue about diversity and inclusion is not a luxury, it is essential. It is basic. It is the fulfillment of what any university means when it speaks of ‘community.'”
“We are very open and transparent about our commitment to diversity and inclusion,” Ryan Huff, chief spokesperson for CU, told USA Today College. “Anytime the university becomes aware of discriminatory behavior, we refer that for investigation by the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance.”
He added that “we<span style="color: Red;">*</span>have listened to the students’ concerns and provided gathering areas. … Space is tight on campus right now and we are engaged in a space utilization analysis. These are short-term solutions.”
The rally at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill<span style="color: Red;">*</span>is being co-hosted by the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Black Student Movement and the Real Silent Sam Coalition,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>an alliance<span style="color: Red;">*</span>group dedicated to raising awareness about the racial history of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>spaces on campus.
All participants are asked to wear black.
“We were watching what was happening in Missouri and decided that we should stand in solidarity with them, but also make a statement to the administration that this university is not exempt from those same racist systems,” says June Beshea, 22, a member of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Real Silent Sam Coalition.
Christina Perkins, 21, another organizer with the coalition, adds that the similarities between conditions at UNC and at Missouri are<span style="color: Red;">*</span>too blatant to disregard.
“The administration’s silence is parallel,” says Perkins. “With the traumatizing attacks on students, the administration did nothing. They basically said, ‘Don’t worry about it. We don’t care enough about you to put out statements of support to make you feel safe.’ And I feel like that’s exactly what the administration here at UNC does.”
Tomorrow’s rally follows a tradition of race-based<span style="color: Red;">*</span>advocacy<span style="color: Red;">*</span>on<span style="color: Red;">*</span>campus, which began<span style="color: Red;">*</span>with protests in the late<span style="color: Red;">*</span>1980s and 1990s<span style="color: Red;">*</span>when African-American students first lobbied for a freestanding<span style="color: Red;">*</span>multicultural center<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and regained traction<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in present day<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in opposition to microaggressions on campus as well as the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>presence of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Silent Sam, a Confederate<span style="color: Red;">*</span>monument on the north end of the campus.
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed