On Wednesday November 18, 2015, students, faculty, administrators gathered in front of Gasson to initiate a sit-in calling for more AHANA faculty and administrators. President of ALC (AHANA Leadership Council) James Kale II spoke about the significance of the fountain outside of Gasson and how it is representative of our community. As unique individuals, we are all branches that contribute to our living and breathing community. The demonstration then moved into Gasson 100, the heart of our campus and students were welcomed to share their stories about discrimination on campus and particularly the importance of increasing the number of AHANA faculty on campus.
As a member of AHANA community, I can say that increasing faculty of color on campus is incredibly important to improving race relations on campus and improving the experiences of all students, not just AHANA students. We come to higher learning institutions like BC so that we can be exposed to a variety of people and experiences and grow in conversation. But how can we truly do that if the majority of professors and administrators come from similar backgrounds? How can we truly do that if AHANA students feel like their stories and voices are being silenced? In light of recent events at Mizzou, Yale, Ithaca, and so many other universities, this is the time to call on BC to invest in concrete solutions to dealing with race issues and other issues of discrimination on campus. For ALC President James Kale, an increase in AHANA faculty is important for two reasons, “We need to have more faculty that we can go to for advice and for support. We need to be able to see ourselves in the front of the classroom instead of just seeing ourselves in the help.”
By launching the new campaign #BCTakeNote in conjunction with a letter campaign to demand more faculty of color on campus, ALC hopes to continue a dialog about how the events taking place at campuses across the nation are reflective of changes that needed to be made here on the Heights. The idea for the campaign came about last year and was finally able to come to fruition in the past few weeks. In order to participate in the campaign, students are asked to use the photo below as their Facebook cover photo and include a story about any form of discrimination that they’ve experienced on campus. Movements such as #BlackLivesMatter and #SayHerName have proved again and again how powerful social media can be, so use the hashtag #BCTakeNote and have your voice heard.
Sources:
Additional photos provided by Joon Park