Loyola Phoenix: Students rally against racism
Item
Title
Loyola Phoenix: Students rally against racism
Description
A two-page article with several photos of students and supporters protesting on campus, written by LeeAnn Maton and photos by Tim Bloomquist and Nick Befort.
"Prompted by a Labor Day weekend incident in which a campus safety officer allegedly racially profiled a group of minority students, A.R.M. [Loyola's Anti-Racism Movement] is 'a concerned group of students who are taking action against the systemic discrimination of students at Loyola,' according to a latter from A.R.M.'s executive board sent to the Phoenix."
A.R.M. organized a march at the Lake Shore campus, attended by hundreds of students, faculty, and staff members. Chants included "We pay for education, not discrimination" and "What do we want? Change! When do we want it? Now!"
The march began with petition-signing and several speeches. Then, "the mass of people wound down Campus Road and Sheridan Road to the Sullivan Center in order to deliver a letter of protest to the office of Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., the university president." Though he was out of state that day, demonstrators tied a green armband to the door handle and slid the letter under the door.
The letter laid out eight requests, including "a set procedure for students and faculty to file cases of discrimination in such a way that the victims do not face repercussions." Other requests included "a student oversight board to work with Loyola administrators," "a faculty-student summit to draft a proposal to increase minorities in tenure track positions," and "apologize to the students involved in the Labor Day incident." Copies of the letter were also delivered to the campus safety office, the office of student affairs and the office of student diversity.
Freshman demonstrator Michelle Cruz said "You didn't see yourself as an individual. Yous aw the power of community, especially with the chants." She decided to join A.R.M after attending Monday's kickoff rally, where she saw how diverse the group was.
Director of Student Diversity Kevin Huie and Lt. Robert Fine from the department of campus safety saw the protest as peaceful and organized. A.R.M. founding member freshman Erica Granados-De La Rosa said the event was powerful, with the crows "energized, passionate, ready."
"'The atmosphere there felt emotionally overwhelming,' freshman demonstrator Olga Konyakova said in an e-mail interview, 'especially when Erica [Granados-De La Rosa] and another girl began singing the civil rights song, 'We Shall Overcome.' For a moment, I thought I could feel the passion of those people who were fighting for civil rights in the past.'"
Garanzini received the letter despite being out of town and responded by email with an apology. He met with A.R.M. and the Granados-De La Rosa felt it was "productive" and that tensions had started to clear to make way for solutions.
Outside media coverage angered many Loyolans, according to the article. A CBS 2 News story cited a segment of a university press release denying the racial profiling incident.
Granados-De La Rosa felt the movement was headed toward creating "mutual respect" between students and administrators.
"Prompted by a Labor Day weekend incident in which a campus safety officer allegedly racially profiled a group of minority students, A.R.M. [Loyola's Anti-Racism Movement] is 'a concerned group of students who are taking action against the systemic discrimination of students at Loyola,' according to a latter from A.R.M.'s executive board sent to the Phoenix."
A.R.M. organized a march at the Lake Shore campus, attended by hundreds of students, faculty, and staff members. Chants included "We pay for education, not discrimination" and "What do we want? Change! When do we want it? Now!"
The march began with petition-signing and several speeches. Then, "the mass of people wound down Campus Road and Sheridan Road to the Sullivan Center in order to deliver a letter of protest to the office of Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., the university president." Though he was out of state that day, demonstrators tied a green armband to the door handle and slid the letter under the door.
The letter laid out eight requests, including "a set procedure for students and faculty to file cases of discrimination in such a way that the victims do not face repercussions." Other requests included "a student oversight board to work with Loyola administrators," "a faculty-student summit to draft a proposal to increase minorities in tenure track positions," and "apologize to the students involved in the Labor Day incident." Copies of the letter were also delivered to the campus safety office, the office of student affairs and the office of student diversity.
Freshman demonstrator Michelle Cruz said "You didn't see yourself as an individual. Yous aw the power of community, especially with the chants." She decided to join A.R.M after attending Monday's kickoff rally, where she saw how diverse the group was.
Director of Student Diversity Kevin Huie and Lt. Robert Fine from the department of campus safety saw the protest as peaceful and organized. A.R.M. founding member freshman Erica Granados-De La Rosa said the event was powerful, with the crows "energized, passionate, ready."
"'The atmosphere there felt emotionally overwhelming,' freshman demonstrator Olga Konyakova said in an e-mail interview, 'especially when Erica [Granados-De La Rosa] and another girl began singing the civil rights song, 'We Shall Overcome.' For a moment, I thought I could feel the passion of those people who were fighting for civil rights in the past.'"
Garanzini received the letter despite being out of town and responded by email with an apology. He met with A.R.M. and the Granados-De La Rosa felt it was "productive" and that tensions had started to clear to make way for solutions.
Outside media coverage angered many Loyolans, according to the article. A CBS 2 News story cited a segment of a university press release denying the racial profiling incident.
Granados-De La Rosa felt the movement was headed toward creating "mutual respect" between students and administrators.
Date, date span, or circa acceptable
2008-02-27
File name
Loyola Phoenix, 2008-02-27, pages 1 & 4, Students rally against racism
Sources archive, University Archives and Special Collections or Women and Leadership Archives
University Archives and Special Collections
Source
University Archives and Special Collections, Loyola Phoenix, 2008-02-27, pages 1 & 4, Students rally against racism
Subject
Loyola University Chicago
Student life organizations
Student life activism
Rights
Contact the Loyola University Chicago Archives and Special Collections, archive@luc.edu, for permission to copy or publish.
