November 1, 2016
By Nayah James
Recent on campus events have solidified that African American, Muslim, Jewish, Latino and some Caucasian students have had enough of the blatant racism on campus.
Various groups of students have come together to speak, demand, stand and fight for and with the Black Lives Matter movement as well as touching on the Swastika vandalism. Having Black and Brown lives “matter” on campus has been discussed in the open as well as in private yet hate crimes continue.
Dominican faculty and staff have tried tackling the issue but have failed and, as a result, racist acts continue to from both students and faculty.
The administrative approach hasn’t worked so RA’s and Diversity Advocates (DA) have taken a swing at it. They have put together various discussions and forums but now, they are doing something different: displaying Black Lives Matter information in the dorms on bulletin boards.
Senior RA Katie Fox has dedicated her floor’s bulletin board to the matter after eagerly asking what she could do to support the African American population on campus.
“It’s really important to me as an RA to show my support for our Black students and for the Black Lives Matter Movement,” Fox said. “As a white student, I can’t imagine how it feels to constantly feel like you are being devalued and that you aren’t welcomed in your own home solely based on the color of your skin.”
On the board Fox pays tribute to the African American’s who lost their lives to police brutality.
“The people who are on my board are just the beginning of a very long list of Black people who have been killed,” Fox said.
Originally going with stats about police brutality and how to advocate against it, Fox went with a more sentimental and purposeful idea.
“In the end I decided I wanted the board to be a memorial to remind people to say their names, not to forget about them and ultimate acts of injustice and hatred that they experienced,” Fox said.
Fox feels that it is extremely disgusting, hurtful to know that Dominican’s Black students don’t feel welcome or supported. She wants the “Black and Brown students to know and feel that they are not alone and that they are loved and valued members of the community.”
Senior DA Rachael Stewart said, “DA’s are doing bulletin boards about the Black Lives Matter Movement to raise awareness about police brutality and various injustices.”
She made a bulletin board dedicated to the Black lives lost to police brutality as well.
“My bulletin board is about the stories of those who’ve lost their lives to police brutality,” Stewart said. “We want to put faces to the stories so we can hit home for people and initiate change be because it affects more people than we think and it’s not to be overlooked.”
From police brutality in the news to the heavy institutional racism students face on this campus, it’s clear that change needs to happen immediately.
jamenaya@my.dom.edu