Students Confront Racism At SSU
Campaign posters for two student body president candidates, Jonathan White and Derek Pierre, were marked with racial slurs April 10.
Pierre, who is black, found his movie posters painted over with a racial epithet.
White, who is white, found the word "power" painted onto his posters.
The two candidates joined forces last Monday in an anti-hate rally held on campus, which drew more than 400 participants. "An attack on any member of our campus is an attack on each and every one of us. We are all in this together," White said in an online message before the rally.
Two days later, Pierre was announced the winner in the election.
White is urging participants to "take the next step" in resolving the racial attacks at Monday's town hall meeting, hosted by Sonoma State's Center for Culture, Gender and Sexuality.
Students continue to pass the word through online social networking sites like Facebook.
University spokeswoman Susan Kashack said Saturday that any student effort would have to be coordinated through the summer if it were to successfully address the issues.
"Racism is often on the back burner. I hope students continue to talk about this even though finals are coming up," she said.
Faculty members have expressed strong concern as well. The SSU Affirmative Action Committee, representing the California Faculty Association Council for Affirmative Action, issued a statement condemning what it called "a hideous, overt racist act."
The committee described the vandalism as "a message of racial hatred and white power" and said faculty members were adding their "outrage and condemnation."
April 20, 2008
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