By TESS McGARVEY, age 10
A University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada) student prepares to protest in solidarity with black student activists at Mizzou. PHOTO: Sonali Patricia/Flickr
Across North America, college students are protesting racism on campuses. A group called We the Protesters has compiled a list of more than 51 schools that are organizing protests demanding sensitivity training, more diversity for professors, the creation of cultural centers and more.
At the University of Missouri, known as Mizzou, students endured racial slurs and even a swastika smeared on a bathroom wall. After weeks of protests and a week-long hunger strike by student Jonathan Butler, the entire football team threatened to quit, which would have resulted in a $1 million fine. The school’s president, Tim Wolfe, resigned within two days.
At Ithaca College in New York state, students are pushing for the removal of President Tom Rochon. He failed to respond after an African-American alumna, Tatiana Sy, was repeatedly called a “savage” by fellow alumni, including Bob Kur from NBC News.
Students at the University of Mississippi voted to remove the state flag, which includes the battle emblem for the Confederacy, from the campus. For many, the flag represents a history of racism in the South. In response to protests, the university took down the flag.
A common misconception is that these protests came out of nowhere, says University of Missouri senior Alanna Diggs.
“It was not an overdramatic reaction by a couple of angry black students, but a moment built up over time,” she told the Huffington Post. “The movement is not over. This is the beginning.”
