By Jessica Petrocchi
Honors first year students have a discussion about inclusiveness on campus. Photo by Jessica Petrocchi.
Faggot and whore, two words you wouldn’t expect to see in big, bold letters on flyers posted around campus, caught Elon University’s attention this past week. These signs were meant to spark discussion about Elon’s “inclusive community.”
Students involved in protest on Phi Beta Kappa Commons during College Coffee last Tuesday claim that it’s not over. Demonstrators lead by senior Jasmine Whaley shouted, “Your silence is acceptance.”
“The goal was to get the students attention to talk about what we perceive to be a campus culture that’s largely apathetic when it comes to instances of discrimination,” Whaley said.
Whaley mentioned to two main things that the protestors wanted to accomplish were first to make people aware and that it’s important for us to engage in this type of dialogue
But to be truly over, campus would have to be completely inclusive. Can that goal ever be achieved 100 percent?
“I think Elon is very inclusive for some people and much less inclusive for other people,” Philosophy professor Stephen Bloch-Schulman said, “And I don’t think in a school as large as we are we that you can ever be inclusive to everybody.”
Photo tweeted by @elonpendulum of the signs posted around campus
But both student activists and administrative strive to lead the school further from bias and discrimination on campus.
Why have this demonstation now?
“There was no single event. It was a culmination of a lot of different factors,” Whayley said, “it was mostly fueled by individual experience that we’ve had or that our friends or people close to us have had.”
Was this demonstration the best way to confront Elon’s inclusiveness issue? It wasn’t subtle. Students yelled profanities publicly at college coffee in order to increase awareness off the problem. But the reaction of students ranged from dismissive, to hurt that they weren’t enough of an effort, to intrigued according to Professor Leigh-Ann Royster.
The idea behind the demonstration, start discussion among students, is almost unquestionably a positive one.
“It was positive because these were students who felt so moved to protest,” Associate Dean of the School of Communications Kenn Gaither said, “and it was students who were doing it. It wasn’t top down. It wasn’t the administration coming out saying were gonna build a perfect Elon.”
“It’s not over” protestors took a much more aggressive stance compared to the “Not on our campus” campaign that has been around Elon’s campus for a while now. On Tuesday, May 14, this message was posted as an open letter to all Elon students.
The open letter too students said, “Many of you may think we have bee too aggressive and made people too uncomfortable. We intend to cause discomfort.” Too some extent, discomfort can lead to discussion and curiosity. But too much aggression and discomfort can be off putting to students in the majority who may feel attacked about their lack of action.
“It’s failing if the majority begins to feel like they are excluded,” Professor Gaither said, “It has to be for everybody. Not just minorities.
Elon is trying to move toward becoming a home to more mature and open discussions about campus diversity.
Associate Dean of the School of Communications Kenn Gaither. Photo by Jessica Petrocchi.
“I grew up in the south and that means southern hospitality,” Philosophy professor Martin Fowler said, “You disagree and you don’t really settle anything. You simply say things that are nice to each other and let it go. That’s a part of the old culture and Elon’s maturing to a university culture in which they can be brave enough but also sure enough in themselves to be host to that kind of conversation and disagreement and still be together belonging with others.”
Elon isn’t the only campus dealing with this same issue.
“Most of what happens at Elon is happening at college campuses around the country,” Geither said. He mentioned specifically incidents at University of California San Diego, University of Missouri and Dartmouth.
While that is certainly not an excuse for lacking and inclusive community, it is an important aspect to keep in mind and watch the progress around the country.
“I think like most institutions of our size and history we do some things very well and we continue to face ongoing challenges in terms of deepening our …commitment and understanding of diverse people,” philosophy professor Ann Cahill said.
Reporting by Jessica Petrocchi 