Above Photo: Lewis & Clark College students and alumni held a sit-in outside college president Barry Glassner’s office on November 24, 2015. Their protest aims to increase safety and inclusion on campus. Kristyna Wentz-Graff/Staff.
Dozens of Lewis & Clark College students began peacefully and silently occupying rooms outside the college president’s office at about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday to send him the message they want more done to create safety and inclusion on campus. They were still there at nightfall, and planned to remain overnight.
Their protest comes after several race-related incidents on campus, including a Saturday morning attack on a black student from Rwanda who said three white men beat him while making racist remarks.
President Barry Glassner was not in his office when the students began their sit-in, but he came to the protest briefly to speak to students, thanking them for their commitment to the cause.
Catherine Gunther Kodat, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, pledged to hire diverse faculty, change curriculum to promote diversity and inclusion, and listen to any suggestions the students make. She sat quietly among the protesters, reading their detailed written suggestions and talking with a sit-in organizer.
The students presented a list of detailed goals they want Glassner and others to accomplish, including hiring more diverse faculty, creating 10 work study positions to promote campus safety and making transparent the work of the college’s diversity committee.
They also called on Glassner to hold a news conference by March 20 at which they want him to do the following:
- Apologize for being absent during the Saturday morning attack and for failing, in the students’ eyes, to speak out about the incident promptly enough after it happened.
- Commit to fulfilling the students’ demands.
- Admit what they say is his failure to prioritize the safety and security of students of color during his time as president.
- Reaffirm his commitment to the safety of international students.
- Acknowledge that Lewis & Clark is built on land taken from Native Americans, honors slave owners, appropriates Native American culture in some of its art and architecture and asserts the legacy of Anglo-American white supremacy.
Glassner did not directly respond to any of their requests. But he told them, “I am just as committed to these issues as you are,” and he pledged to continue working to make the campus safe and inclusive.
Glassner was in Washington, D.C., on Saturday when the assault was reported. He worked with Dean of Students Anna Gonzalez to write and distribute a strong, lengthy statement about the race-related incidents that day. He returned to Portland ahead of schedule and spoke with students on campus Sunday and attended an interfaith solidarity gathering in the campus chapel that evening, said college spokesman Joe Becker.
Speaking to the protesters Tuesday morning, Glassner said, “We are going to do everything we can to find” the perpetrators of racist incidents and “to fight racism wherever it shows itself on this campus.” He choked up as he told them, “We are going to get somewhere through love. It is the only way you fight hate.”
Students plan to work outside Glassner’s office all day on four things: fundraising to hire a chief diversity officer, community outreach, diversifying curriculum and implementing a permanent buddy system to keep students safe.Â
Classes are still in session.
Maya Bon, a sophomore studying environmental studies, is with the group.Â
“I feel really ashamed because I was so shocked, whereas a lot of people have been telling us it is this serious for years. And no one listened,” Bon said. “People said they were exaggerating. They have been saying for years that it’s not going to be taken seriously until someone gets hurt.
“I am here because I am making up for lost time,” she said. “I’m not going to stop until this is a different school.”Â
Kodat told the students that a hiring freeze in place last year has been lifted and the college will now hire five tenure-track professors. She said commitment to inclusive teaching practices was a requirement for all five positions, and she promised that candidates of color will be among those interviewed as finalists for those jobs.