On Thursday, Feb. 4, about 30 students gathered on the steps of Rush Rhees Library on the River Campus鈥攕ome walking out of class鈥攖o address University President and CEO Joel Seligman鈥檚 to an interim report issued by the University鈥檚 Presidential Commission on Race and Diversity.
The main focus of the gathering was the president鈥檚 decision not to ban the social media app Yik Yak from the University鈥檚 servers.
鈥淔reedom of expression must not be confused with hate speech,鈥� said Sequoia Kemp 鈥�16, president of the Black Students’ Union, in response to Seligman鈥檚 statement that banning Yik Yak from the University鈥檚 WiFi networks would undercut the rights of both students and faculty.
During the 20-minute gathering, Simone Johnson 鈥�17, vice president of the Black Students鈥� Union, read aloud the student鈥檚 previous list of demands in connection with Seligman鈥檚 subsequent responses. 鈥淣ot all of our demands have been addressed,鈥� said Johnson, who told the group that they are currently drafting an official response to the report.
The meeting ended with students taking a moment of silence to reflect on how far they have come on this issue, and how far they have yet to go.
The was established this past November by Seligman in response to a three-page petition and list of demands students felt addressed the racial climate on campus. One of the main topics of concern was the use of Yik Yak where people previously posted threatening and racist comments.
Seligman believes a ban would reduce the University鈥檚 ability to hold individuals 鈥減ersonally accountable for their hateful messages.鈥�
In his statement that went out to the campus community on Feb. 3, Seligman accepted several of the Commission鈥檚 initial recommendations and stated that further recommendations will be made in a final report once all faculty, staff, and student surveys are completed.
