Campuses throughout the country are encased by building racial tensions, and things don’t seem to be getting any better.
Between Claremont McKenna’s controversial Halloween costumes, Dartmouth’s aggressive Black Lives Matter protests, and the constant racially-charged sit-ins at University of Missouri, students across the nation are speaking out – and loudly. Now students at the University of Kansas are starting to weigh in on the issues, and three top Student Senate leaders have since been asked to resign.
KU’s Student Executive Committee is demanding that Student Body President Jessie Pringle, Vice President Zach George and Chief of Staff Adam Moon step down by Wednesday, November 18. The ultimatum comes just days after a KU town hall meeting that was interrupted by Mizzou supporters. Student group Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk presented listeners with a list of diversity demands including “hiring a director for the Office of Multicultural Affairs by Dec. 15, mandatory “inclusion and belonging” training for students and faculty and increased diversity in hiring.”
According to Star Tribune,
Senate vice president Shegufta Huma, who is also member of the committee, told the newspaper that the vote was the result of months of inaction that culminated in the officers’ reluctance to support the diversity demands. Pringle and George were singled out, with the committee saying they did not “stand in solidarity with their black peers and proclaim that Black Lives Matter” at Wednesday’s forum.
“This is part of a larger pattern and some much bigger issues that (the) Senate has been dealing with in terms of our relationship with marginalized communities at KU,” Huma said.
The three students have since released a statement saying that they plan to continue supporting minority groups and getting the word out. “Black lives matter. Black lives matter at the University of Kansas,” they wrote.
Meanwhile, John Cowan, a white 2014 University of Kansas graduate, began a hunger strike on campus this past Friday. If the activists’ demands weren’t met, Cowan vowed to “die or go to the hospital.” The sentiment mirrored the words of a University of Missouri graduate student who ended his hunger strike last week after President Tim Wolfe resigned.
“I’m kind of at an advantage because of my white privilege, so my suffering is self-inflicted,” said Cowan. “Others don’t have that choice, it’s inflicted upon them.”
But after just a few short days, Cowan ended his strike, because, food. Uh… we mean, because he didn’t want to garner attention for the wrong reasons.
The saga continues.
[H/T: New York Daily News]
