By Anastasia Pumphrey
Students In Action (SIA) read aloud a list of three demands from the College during the sit-in yesterday, prompting administration for a response by October 26 at 5 p.m.
The letter was signed by Students In Action as a whole, but within the group there was a writing subcommittee called “Our Why” that was composed of 13 students.
“We're speaking for every human being on campus who deserves and needs a safe place to learn and call home here at Stonehill without the fear of being judged or discriminated against. It's why we're fighting,” Junior Shane Hurley, one of the chairs of the writing subcommittee, said.
“We based the original demands on Sadé Ratliff’s personal demands she wrote and posted on social media,” Senior Maddy Pimental, another member of the subcommittee, said. “A lot of people shared those demands and we centered the letter around that… We wanted to be as clear as possible about our platform, which is why Sadè and Glendy read the demands together at the sit-in.”
These demands were sent to President Rev. John Denning, C.S.C., Dean of Meehan School of Business and Interim Co-Provost Debra Salvucci, and Dean of Tom and Donna May School of Arts and Sciences and Interim Co-Provost Peter Ubertaccio in the form of a letter.
“We know that each student and faculty member have their own reason for demanding change at Stonehill’s institution. Many of us have been affected by racism on this campus well before the release of this letter. Although students and faculty of color have verbalized their need for administrative support and change in the past, we have all failed to see tangible results of DEI [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] on this campus,” the letter said.
The demands listed are as follows, “We demand the formation and funding of more safe spaces on campus that directly reflect Stonehill's commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion… We demand that the college create a select committee of students that participate in the hiring process of professors and faculty… We demand that student involvement be centralized within the General Education Task Force and be informed about the intentions of involving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into a revised General Education curriculum.”
These demands were read aloud to a crowd of nearly 300 students and faculty members on the quad, who all sat socially distanced, as well as a peak of 265 people joining in over Zoom. They were met with applause and left the College with decisions to make on its response.
“The Stonehill Student Body demands the above changes in order to create the just and compassionate Stonehill community that our mission claims,” the letter said. “The above demands should be standards in Stonehill’s goal to be anti-racist. For Stonehill College to reflect their mission, Stonehill administration must actively practice anti-racist activism in order to create a community where everyone feels safe to pursue a liberal arts education that educates both the mind and the heart.”
The letter also said that SIA refuses to be met with no response, and as a final demand just wants “communication and transparency” about the issues on campus surrounding diversity. In particular, SIA highlighted the issue regarding the controversial letter that was circulated around campus this fall and written by four professors over the summer.
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