Recognize Us, the student coalition organized last spring to advocate for minority students in the wake of the Theta Tau videos controversy, held a protest on the Syracuse University campus Tuesday night after the group said SU failed to respond to their set of demands.

About two dozen people attended the rally, which began in front of Chancellor Kent Syverud’s house and ended at Hendricks Chapel.

“By yesterday’s date, our movement requested and expected a full and extensive progress report regarding all reformation efforts and future plans for further implementation,” participant Quincy Nolan said at the protest.

While the university has given “minor adjustments” in updates via email throughout the summer, Nolan said that Recognize Us is still demonstrating because its members feel the university displays a lack of accountability and has so far failed to fully address their specific demands.

At the Tuesday protest, students held signs with phrases such as “all power to the students,” “decolonize your curricula” and “fund scholarships not frats.”

One demonstrator held a sign outlining the demands that the movement said were not met. These included a reallocation of funding for advocacy and resource centers on campus, implicit bias training for all university faculty and staff and a “cluster hire” of employees to reflect the diversity of students.

The university announced in April that all Residence Life staff, Greek leaders and student organization leaders, members and advisers would receive implicit bias training. The university has also announced a slate of diversity initiatives and new hires in the Counseling Center.

University administrators have sent out more than seven emails detailing SU’s progress on new diversity initiatives since the Theta Tau video controversy.

One of the Recognize Us demonstrators carried a sign listing the initial demands that the group asked of the university in April. Dan Lyon | Staff Photographer

About 30 minutes into the protest, the group walked toward Hendricks Chapel, chanting: “Racist, sexist, anti-gay, take your frats and go away!”

Desjah Altvater, a sophomore communication and rhetorical studies major, was walking to class when she saw the protesters at Hendricks Chapel. She was part of Recognize Us last spring, immediately after the release of the Theta Tau videos, she said, so she stopped to watch the group’s Tuesday protest.

“It’s kind of disappointing,” she said, referring to the size of the protest. “I feel like since the issue isn’t as fresh in our minds, no one really cares about it. I definitely wish there (were) more people, because the more people that there are, the more power that we have altogether.”

A protest in April drew about 100 people to Schine Student Center.

Altvater said she hopes to see Recognize Us keep demonstrating to get the attention of the student body and upper-level administrators such as Syverud.

Steve Roggenbuck, a non-matriculated graduate student at SU and a member of the school’s International Socialist Organization, said after Tuesday’s protest that the political group will continue to stand by Recognize Us.

Roggenbuck said less students attended Tuesday’s demonstration than they did during the spring protest. He added that it’s to be expected since it is the start of a new semester.

He said he’s not sure what Recognize Us’s specific plans are for ensuring the movement continues.

“I’ll be curious to see where it goes from here, but I think there’s great potential in the movement,” he said. “The students actually do have a lot of power if they make demands collectively, and if they’re coming together to exercise that power and make those demands in the directions of justice for marginalized people, that’s incredibly positive.”

Marissa Bermudez, a student at SUNY-ESF, spoke at the protest about SU’s spending on the Archbold Gymnasium renovation. The estimated $50 million project will transform the gym into a 7,000 square-foot fitness center.

“This is a failure of Syracuse University to prioritize the actual experience of marginalized students on this campus,” they said.

Once the protesters got to Hendricks Chapel, they allowed students to speak about grievances they have with SU. Dan Lyon | Staff Photographer

Recognize Us presented an initial set of demands in April, including the expulsion of both the Theta Tau fraternity and the students in the videos, as well as a town hall with Syverud, Board of Trustees members, administrators and deans. The university expelled the fraternity and hosted a town hall by April 25.

After a week of organizing, forum meetings, dialogues and student discussions last spring, the movement presented a second list of demands as a petition at the April 25 town hall, Recognize Us participant Liam McMonagle said at Tuesday’s protest. They gave the university a Sept. 3 deadline.

The group has been encouraged by changes made by the university thus far, particularly in the restructuring of its first-year forums, McMonagle said.

But in a statement read in front of Syverud’s house and Hendricks Chapel, Nolan said the group is committed to maintaining “sustained pressure” on the university to enact change.

“While we acknowledge and respect the steps you’ve taken thus far, we will not commend or thank you for dipping your toes in the water,” Nolan said. “It is time for you to jump in.”

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Published on September 4, 2018 at 11:34 pm

Contact India: irmiragl@syr.edu