TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)– Dozens of Indiana State students gathered for the first listening session hosted by the university Tuesday– but many never said a word.
Students are continuing to raise concerns about the administration’s response to a racist video posted by a student in March. The listening and discussion forum, sponsored by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Belonging was announced last week to help ease some of those concerns, and address what could be done.
But Tuesday, many in attendance came with duct tape on their mouths, refusing to take part in the activity. Jalen Day, the President of the Indiana Youth and College NAACP Chapter, was in attendance, and he said he was moved by how his fellow students reacted.
“I’m very proud of the student body here at Indiana State,” he said. “Students said they wanted their voices heard, but the person they wanted to hear their voices wasn’t actually present and wasn’t going to be present. If we’re not going to talk to somebody who’s actually going to make a change, why speak at all?”
Day said those on campus hoped to speak with ISU President Deborah Curtis– or incoming President Mike Goddard– to bring up their concerns directly, but when that wasn’t possible, many were disappointed.
“This is a conversation about ISU in general. Not only do students feel silenced, but also learning that faculty felt silenced as well,” he said. “That was something where as students, we had to take a step back and realize that this might be a bigger issue, hence the silent protest.”
ISU Provost and Vice President of Student Affairs Christopher Olsen provided a statement, which is posted in full below, defending the forums.
“Students can protest however they want. These sessions are about hearing from the community and figuring out what’s best to do going forward. The video is horrible and we all know that. This is about having a meaningful dialogue about what is needed for students, faculty and staff, and we want to hear from students in that process.”
Another session is planned for Wednesday, while one tailored towards faculty will take place Thursday.
For Day, he hopes what happened on Tuesday can make a difference in how the administration approaches this issue.
“18 days ago, we had this video make its rounds on social media. It took 10 days before we got the statement from ISU. Just the timeline of things sums up the mood of students,” he said. “Building that relationship between administration and students is important because if there was more transparency on what was going on behind the scenes, I do believe that a lot of this conversation would be mitigated.”
