College students across the country have shown their support for activists at the University of Missouri by staging protests of their own.
The University of Pennsylvania student group, Students Organizing for Unity and Liberation (SOUL), led a protest last Thursday in response to the events that have occurred at both the University of Missouri and Yale University regarding campus racial issues.
Campus and Philadelphia police shut down Market Street while the students walked from UPenn’s campus to 30th Street Station where members of the Penn, and also Drexel and Temple, communities performed a sit-in to show their solidarity and support for the students of Yale and Mizzou.
From 30th Street Station, the students walked to University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann’s house. The university administration responded to the protest the next morning with an email to all Penn students.
“We cannot state strongly enough that at Penn, everyone belongs,” the email read. “Whether it be race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, nationality or cultural heritage, everyone here — students, faculty, staff — deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. We are firmly committed to creating and fostering an ever more inclusive community where everyone feels accepted and respected as a member of the Penn community.”
The rest of the email explained Penn’s commitment to the First Amendment, while also addressing specific ways the university plans on “fostering an ever more inclusive community,” including an initiative called “Campaign for Community” where students and staff members will learn how to better interact with one another in the face of differences.
The protest came in the wake of a mass social media crusade where many students posted the Facebook status, “To the students of color at Mizzou. We students at UPenn stand with you in solidarity. To those who would threaten their sense of safety, the world is watching. #ConcernedStudent1950 #InSolidarityWithMizzou.”
When students were asked why they decided to post the status, answers ranged from passionate support to casual indifference.
“I shared the post because it’s important to me to raise awareness for people experiencing hate crimes on campuses nationwide,” said one UPenn student.
“Honestly, I did it because everyone else did, and I would have felt almost shunned if I didn’t,” said another student.
The University of Pennsylvania continues to remain firm in their stance to protect free speech on campus as debates on racial issues arise on many college campuses nationwide.
