Kathleen Walters, chair of Syracuse University’s Board of Trustees, expressed solidarity with the university and its students in the wake of several hate crimes and bias incidents on or near campus.

The campus community has been attacked from both the outside and from within, Walters said in a statement. There have been at least 11 hate crimes and bias-related incidents targeting black, Asian and Jewish people in the past two weeks. Most recently, a white supremacist manifesto written by the Christchurch mosque shooter was posted online and allegedly sent to cellphones of students in Bird Library.

“This is a deeply painful and unsettling time for our students and our whole Orange community,” Walters said.

The Board of Trustees, which oversees the university’s fiscal policies and institutional decisions, stands behind Chancellor Kent Syverud and SU students, she said. Walters said Syverud has been “relentlessly focused” on ensuring the safety of students at the university and creating change on campus.

Students have held a sit-in at the Barnes Center at The Arch for seven days, a demonstration that formed in response to racist graffiti being found Nov. 7 on two floors of Day Hall. #NotAgainSU, a movement led to black students, have provided a list of demands for Syverud to meet by Wednesday. The Chinese Students and Scholars Association, China Development Think Tank and Global China Connection also submitted nine demands to the chancellor.

Syverud presented his formal response to all demands Tuesday afternoon in a campus-wide email and linked document. In addressing #NotAgainSU’s demands, SU will clarify the Code of Student Conduct policy concerning hate and bias incidents, and will develop a curriculum to teach diversity, among other things. 

The document is “comprehensive and thorough,” Walters said.

“What he and members of his leadership team put forward is a plan with actionable solutions with real timelines,” she said. “That’s what our students are asking for, that’s what our students deserve.”

#NotAgainSU has called for a meeting with the Board of Trustees. Walters didn’t acknowledge the demand in her statement, though Syverud said Friday that he would provide any help to make the meeting happen.

Walters is not the first chair to provide a statement during a time of university unrest. Steven Barnes, who was chair of the board during the Theta Tau videos controversy, said in an April 2018 statement that he was “appalled and deeply troubled,” by the actions of campus community members. His statement also didn’t address students’ demands for the board to directly hear their concerns at a town hall meeting on fraternities and discrimination.

Published on November 19, 2019 at 8:04 pm

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