In light of the recent national coverage of the University of Missouri incidents, colleges across the country have reached out to show their support for the Missouri students’ demonstrations and protest in the name of their cause.
They have sent support in the form of hashtags, several trending over the past week such as ‘#InSolidarityWithMizzou’ and ‘#ConcernedStudent1950.’ In response to the peak of media coverage surrounding the football players’ refusal to play and the resignation of both the chancellor and president, other campuses began movements towards discussing their own racial tensions.
On Friday, Nov. 13, a group of Longwood students from the Black Student Association (BSA) and the Hispanic Latino Association (HLA) put on a ‘blackout’ at the men’s basketball game. Dressed in all black and carrying posters, the students stood to support Missouri’s cause and their own.
“We saw the things that the students at Missouri were going through and some of the grievances they have are some of the grievances that we have here at Longwood as African-American students,” said Quincy Goodine, the president of BSA. “The way they were able to come together as a community, not just as an organization, but a community, is something that we can strive to do here at Longwood aswell.”
What happened at Mizzou?
Many instances of racism appeared on Missouri’s campus since they first began allowing African-American students in 1950. Last year, following the unrest in Ferguson caused by the Michael Brown controversy, three students decided to form an activist group in his name called, MU for Michael Brown.
From this small beginning, the group transformed into the name known today, Concerned Student 1950, acknowledging the year African-American’s were first admitted.
Over the past year, the racism was not confined to only attacking African-American students, but other minority groups as well. From reports of racial slurs being yelled on campus to swastikas drawn on school property, Concerned Student 1950 decided to take the next step in their nonviolent protests.
After repeatedly sending messages to the university’s administration, Concerned Student 1950 used their homecoming parade to nonviolently disrupt the event by standing in front of University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe’s car on Oct. 10.
The student group then called for Wolfe’s resignation and after another swastika appeared on campus, Wolfe met with the group. Concerned Student 1950 said that Wolfe wasn’t going to meet any of their demands, which led to one of their members, Jonathan Butler, a graduate student, going on a hunger strike.
The news of the hunger strike brought more attention to the group’s cause and continued for six days. Four days after the hunger strike began, Wolfe issued a statement showing concern for Butler’s health.
The next day, Nov. 7, 30 Missouri football players announced they would not participate in the rest of the season unless Wolfe resigned or was fired.
On Nov. 8, Wolfe announced his resignation and called for the campus to listen to each other while taking “full responsibility for this inaction.” The university’s chancellor also resigned shortly after Wolfe’s announcement.
Since Wolfe’s resignation, Michael Middleton, the university’s African-American deputy chancellor emeritus, was named as Missouri’s interim president. Middleton is a former civil rights attorney.
How did Longwood react to Missouri?
A week following the ultimate resignation of Missouri’s president, Longwood’s BSA and HLA began their hashtag, ‘#LUStandsWithMizzou,’ following suit of other Virginia schools, such as Virginia Commonwealth University and Christopher Newport University.
Deciding at their meeting the day before the basketball game, Nov. 12, to demonstrate their support for the model Concerned Student 1950 was setting. Their posters read different phrases ranging from ‘Awareness without action changes nothing’ to ‘Does my blackness offend you.’
“What’s happening at University of Missouri just isn’t right,” said Brenda Pereira, HLA vice president and sophomore, then went on to explain HLA’s motivation for joining with BSA on the cause.
“It’s not fair what’s going on, being a fellow minority being in a PWI (Predominately White Institution), we understand that it’s not right and we aren’t just going to sit around and not say anything.”
Dr. Tim Pierson, Longwood vice president of student affairs, responded positively to the students’ decision to show support for Missouri’s campus, stating, “Humans are a community.”
“I appreciated our students standing up for that,” said Pierson. “This is a way for students to say gosh, we are a part of this too… It’s just understanding and appreciating one another.”
Could Mizzou happen at Longwood?
The blackout participants expressed their own frustration with Longwood’s handling of racially motivated actions.
The university’s Yik Yak feed has come into question in the past with racist statements. Last year, Curry Hall saw racial slurs written on its sixth floor bulletin board and piece of rope tied similar to a noose was found in front of the Commuter Lounge in the Student Union.
“It happens every day, and we don’t say anything because we feel like nothing’s going to be done,” said Russell Reed, “Things have happened to us here and the university just does enough to make us be quiet and we always make the mistake of being quiet.”
Pierson felt that due to the small size of Longwood, the network built between the different areas allows the administration to hear of when these actions occur. The issue, he explained, was finding the source when the majority of cases are done anonymously, calling this a “cheap shot.”
“What’s the response that’s really going to be meaningful without empowering somebody that really doesn’t deserve that,” said Pierson, “The ones that I have felt most powerful about were the ones that students stood up together and said this will not be tolerated here.”
As a university, Longwood has continued to develop ways to address issues revolving around diversity.
Currently the university is working on creating a new diversity subcommittee within its Central Budget Planning Committee, likely to be headed by Dr. Naomi Johnson, department head of the Communication Studies, and Jonathan Page, director of Citizen Leadership and Social Justice Education of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, according to Pierson.
“This is pretty fresh and will be announced,” said Pierson.
Along with Longwood’s initiatives, Goodine said BSA has “things in the works” and plans to continue its activity.
“I definitely think it will grow,” said Goodine. “I think they all see this as something bigger than themselves.”
Longwood BSA president and senior Quincy Goodine (pictured) holds a sign during the students' 'black out.'
