“From NU to Mizzou, we care about you.”
That’s what more more than 100 students at Northwestern University chanted Friday afternoon – rising in solidarity with Yale and Missouri, as well as other colleges around the country. And it’s all related to issues of diversity and inclusion on their campus, especially for black students and other students of color.
Marching into the newly-renovated, $260m athletics facility on the school’s Evanston campus, attendees sat stunned as the collective of students from multicultural organizations drove the ceremony to a grinding halt. The student protesters marched from the campus’s Black House – home to Northwestern University’s black student union – all the way up to the refurbished Henry Crown Sports Pavilion and Aquatic Center, where they chided the school’s leadership and athletics department for failing its students of color.
Their main goal, participants said, was to make their demands known to the most powerful and influential people on campus, including Northwestern University president Morton Schapiro.
“He never left his seat. They gathered right in front of him at the front and said their peace,” said Northwestern University athletics spokesperson Paul Kennedy. “There was no real confrontation, there was no physicality; they said their peace, the crowd listened and they left, peacefully.”
A Facebook event to publicize the protest characterized it as an “emergency action,” noting that a pursuit of higher education does not leave students exempt from racism in America. “What happens to black students on one campus is a display of the racial tensions happening on all campuses,” student organizers wrote. “The institutions meant to provide a standard of safety have not lived up to these standards. Because of this, we uphold the demands issued by Mizzou and Yale students and the demands respective to our own institutions.”
This month, Mizzou students have continued their protest against what they say is the school’s failure to ensure diversity and inclusion, rallying online with the hashtag #ConcernedStudent1950. Among the students’ many demands is a call to increase black faculty members and staff by 10% by 2017, as well as increasing diversity resources and support for the school’s counseling center, and social justice centers on campus.
Inspired by the campaign’s wins so far—including the resignation of the football coach, the chancellor, and the president in short order—student at Northwestern seek to build from that momentum.
“I didn’t know if we’d have our voices be heard. But I was so happy that, as we were painting signs at the Black House, I looked out and saw so many black students and so many other ready for this solidarity action,” said activist Gwendolyn Gissendanner. “It was clear that they didn’t want to hear us. There were a lot of faces in the crowd that were upset with us, and there were some faces that were trying to listen and learn something.”
As students left their site of protest, they chanted: “You can’t stop the revolution.”
After the group had left, Northwestern University athletics director Jim Phillips took the stage and started the proceedings again. Phillips praised the students’ activism, noting that he’s “proud” of working at a place where students can express their opinions and beliefs safely. In later remarks, Schapiro said he was proud the school fosters independent thinkers and leaders.
“At first, obviously, we were caught off guard because we weren’t expecting it. But I think it was presented not probably the best way, but the students expressed their concerns and their frustrations,” said Glenn Bullock, a Northwestern student. Bullock said it was important for other white people to pay close attention to these kinds of demonstrations – even if they don’t immediately understand what’s happening.
“I think if you’re white or Caucasian, you can’t begin to imagine what it’s like,” he said. “And so there has to be a dialogue to address [diversity] concerns.”
