On Friday, Oct. 8 at 3:00 p.m. DU students united in front of the free speech wall on Driscoll Green to protest the defacement of the wall and to show solidarity for black students. After this gathering, students marched together to Chancellor Chopp’s office to have a sit-in to protest the recent events that have occurred on campus.
As students gathered, the band Primarily Color played smooth tunes to recognize the uniting of numerous campus groups and individuals. Presidents from the Queer Student Alliance (QSA), Asian Student Alliance (ASA), Latina Student Alliance (LSA) and Native Student Alliance (NSA) came together to hold the Black Student Alliance’s (BSA) club flag. Several other clubs, including Divest DU, the Muslim Student Alliance, DU Hillel, the brothers and sisters of a number of minority-focused fraternal groups and more, as well as individual students, also stood in solidarity.
The president of BSA, sophomore Makia Jones, stated that the event was one of, “peace, love and unity,” and felt that the sizable turnout painted the student body as, “One DU, a united front.” She encouraged members to attend the sit-in with Chancellor Rebecca Chopp outside of Chopp’s office in Mary Reed Hall before the event ended.
The event took place until 4:00 p.m. when the group left the area and marched to Chancellor Chopp’s office to demand answers and solutions to the confusion and hurt that the black community on campus has been enduring. The group chanted “Black Lives Matter” as they walked across campus and into Mary Reed Hall.
When reaching the third floor of Mary Reed, students were instructed to gather and sit around a table located in the Renaissance Room.
Chancellor Chopp and Vice Chancellor of Student Life and Inclusive Excellence Liliana Rodriguez entered the room to sit with the students. As they sat down, students in the room put up a raised fist, symbolizing solidarity and support for black lives. The room was quiet for several minutes as students kept their fists raised towards the administrators.
Prior to the discussion, guidelines were implemented to maintain composure—including no outbursts or interruptions—by a panel of student leaders, including the vice president of BSA, the president of QSA, the president of Student Advocates for Institutional Change and more.
The discussion provoked emotions among attendees—there were tears, feelings of anger and fear in the voices of those who spoke of individual experiences and concerns. Demands were made, some of which the administration stated were already being worked on. The administration described an initiative to have a group of people examine the racial climate and environment at DU, but some administrators expressed that some ideas might be harder to accomplish than others, such as an application essay dealing with racial relations that DU’s prospective students must complete.
During the discussion, one student asked, with tears in her eyes, “What will be done to the students who defaced the wall?”
Chancellor Chopp responded that defacing has been reported and the issue is going through an intense process which administration believes has been successful in the past, but Chopp clarified that she will not be expelling anyone.
A video of the full meeting can be found on DU’s YouTube page.
