Students at Ithaca College in upstate New York joined their peers at Yale and the University of Missouri Wednesday by protesting over issues of race.
“Tom Rochon, no confidence,” bellowed chants across campus Wednesday, calling for the resignation of college President Thomas R. Rochon.
Faculty joined many students in a walkout, organized in part by the People of Color at Ithaca. At least 1,000 students have joined the “Solidarity Walk Out.”
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“Our hearts are heavy with the pain of Mizzou and Yale and Smith and every person of color on a college campus simply because of the color of their skin, the texture of their hair or their ancestry. This a problem of the nation,” a demonstrator said to a crowd, the Ithaca Journal reported.
Following an incident in October where an alumnus referred to a student as a “savage” in a misunderstanding at a campus event, Rochon issued a statement apologizing for the incident, but also defending free speech, and indicating to students that they could never been fully inocculated against offensive speech.
“In general, the college cannot prevent the use of hurtful language on campus. Such language, intentional or unintentional, exists in the world and will seep into our community,” Rochon said.
The student government is planning to call a no-confidence vote on Rochon’s leadership, scheduled to happen on November 30. Students would then have the opportunity to cast an up-or-down vote on their president’s performance. The exact authority the results of such a vote would have is unclear.
