Here’s some the press that we got yesterday for the walkout. We somehow made it onto the AP Wire, which was huge. From MassLive:
Students at Hampshire College staged a walkout Monday to protest what they say is the administration’s inaction on issues of institutional racism and campus diversity.
After the walkout and a series of meetings with students, the private liberal arts college’s president issued a statement pledging to address issues including funding for student groups and training for faculty, staff and students.
Someone always manages to say it better than you, something that I concede (haha) in the moment. I feel a little bit in the thick of it. Queer Kid of Color, however, a fellow WordPress user, has some excellent and heartfelt coverage of the walkout, as well as some great pictures. When the clock struck 11AM, over 350 students converged on the Library Lawn – keep in mind that Hampshire’s student population hovers around 1300, so more than 25% of the campus participated in the action. People stayed for a long time, even though freezing snow was falling.
2006 alum Seth Wessler has also written a post on Racewire (the Colorlines Magazine Blog) about the walkout, placing it in the context of the upcoming election, as well as the larger state of race relations in the United States. He writes:
Change will not come without the many dedicated efforts of people working, organizing, writing, agitating and advocating together toward these ends. Lets hope that this one institution’s administration makes the changes demanded of it and, in so doing, sets an example for the country. And let’s, the rest of us, follow these students.
Someone also mentioned that we made it onto the Barack Obama campaign website, but I can’t seem to find it. Anyone know where it is?
3 Comments
26 April 2008 at 9:46 pm
Many of the students, half, actually were not in class and just joined the walkout in their off period. some of the demands were met by default because – well – there ARE NO CLASSES on Martin Luther King Day or Colombus Day!
27 April 2008 at 4:26 am
Hey HG,
Yes, actually, the entire country already observes MLK Jr. Day and Columbus Day; they are national holidays. However, many of the students involved feel that the former’s meaning has been lost, and that the latter’s observance is problematic at best. If you read carefully, you will see that institutional funding for trainings on that day is what students are asking for.
As for the walkout coverage, I’m glad you were there, and able to keep track of everyone’s attendance!
Thanks, and keep reading!
love,
joyce @ forletto
22 November 2008 at 11:43 am
just so everyone knows, cause our followup was terrible:
victory was declared after three meetings with the administration when they released this binding Action Plan:
http://www.hampshire.edu/offices/7838.htm
its hard to go through it and see what exactly they are saying, but all in all many of the key demands were met and wonderful precedent was set for future students to made demands on the college/hold them accountable