november hate crimes

#NotAgainSU ends Barnes Center sit-in

Corey Henry | Photo Editor

Protesters have occupied the Barnes Center at The Arch for eight days.

By Casey Darnell

#NotAgainSU will end its occupation of the Barnes Center at The Arch on Thursday night after eight days of protest. The group still calls for Chancellor Kent Syverud’s resignation.

The group remains dissatisfied with the chancellor’s response to its 18 demands, protesters said. Syverud agreed to an edited version of #NotAgainSU’s demands early Thursday morning without consulting the group, one protester said at the Barnes Center around 8 p.m.

“The university has not showed their competency in carrying out our demands and has fostered a campus climate of racism,” said Tayla Myree, an SU senior and organizer of the sit-in.

Myree thanked students who had continued to support the movement after more than a week. 

The university’s delayed communication of racist graffiti found in Day Hall sparked the #NotAgainSU movement that mobilized hundreds of concerned students. The movement evolved into a rejection of what protesters see as SU’s recurring inaction after racist and bigoted acts occur on campus. 

In an interview with student media earlier on Thursday, Syverud said he looks forward to working with students on the demands. 

“I will say that the students in the Barnes Center have behaved with pretty amazing restraint in my view, under stressful circumstances, so I hope to continue to work with them,” he said. 

At least 14 racist or bias-related incidents were reported on or near campus as protesters spent days in the Barnes Center. Racist graffiti. Racial slurs. Swastikas. A white supremacist manifesto. The string of hate crimes caught the attention of the city, state and country. 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo called Syverud’s handling of the incidents “ineffective.” Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer condemned the hate crimes. Former Vice President Joe Biden said he was “deeply disturbed” by the hate crimes from his law school alma mater. Sen. Kamala Harris, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, even tweeted #NotAgainSU in support of the movement.

The chancellor agreed to 16 of 19 demands from #NotAgainSU and international students, which included stricter consequences for hate speech and mandatory diversity training for faculty and staff. SU released a document Thursday morning with edited responses to three of those demands. 

Syverud said he sent back three demands with “minor revisions” for students to consider because they require approval from the Board of Trustees or may violate the law.

The decision came after hundreds of students walked out of a Hendricks Chapel forum on Wednesday night as Syverud explained that he could not immediately meet all of their demands. #NotAgainSU then marched across campus to the chancellor’s house on Harrison Street, chanting “sign or resign” along the way.

Syverud agreed to six demands from Jewish students after a meeting on Thursday morning. Some students are satisfied with the chancellor’s response. An online petition calling for him to stay as chancellor was created Thursday as another demanding his resignation reached more than 1,840 signatures. 

About 40 people remained in the Barnes Center lobby as protesters announced the sit-in’s end. #NotAgainSU also calls for resignation of Department of Public Safety Chief Bobby Maldonado, Senior Vice President Dolan Evanovich and DPS Associate Chief John Sardino.

“We cannot wait for tragedy. We demand (Syverud’s) resignation,” one protester said. “We will not stop until we get the kind of leadership we deserve.” 





Top Stories