Students brave the cold to keep sit-in strong

Photo by Tyler Wayne PattersonBy Caleb Diehl /// Managing Editor

Buffeted by gusts of wind and chilled by a morning frost, students outside Frank Manor House students this afteroon sung a cappella, pounded drums and danced to music blasted from speakers. Others dug in with sleeping bags and heavy blankets.

“I really felt like my college experience would include something like this,” said Frances Swanson ('17). “This is one of the times I’ve felt a lot of pride in being a Lewis & Clark student.”

A cross-country runner, she said she has seen almost all of her teammates come and go throughout the day. Her sociology and Exploration and Discovery classes were cancelled, and she missed French class so she could show her support all day long.

“I’ve always felt safe across this campus,” she said. “That shouldn’t be a privilege. Everyone should feel safe.”

A few feet over, Molly Kiefer ('16) sat wrapped in a down sleeping bag. Besides one break to use a restroom in the manor house, she has stayed out in the cold for the entire day. Beginning around 10:30 a.m., she listened to speeches from President Barry Glassner, Dean of Students Anna Gonzalez and Tricia Brand, among others. She said Glassner’s attempt to empathize with affected students, where he described being discriminated against for being Jewish, didn’t accomplish what she had hoped it would.

“I definitely appreciate him talking to us,” she said. “But he didn’t really address any of the transparency problems or demands.”

Huddled next to Swanson, Caroline Gray ('17) said she was motivated to come to Lewis & Clark because she thought students would be passionate about social justice issues.

“One of the reasons I came to Lewis & Clark is that I thought students would be really into justice issues,” Gray said. “Change and social action needs to intertwined into our curriculum.” Kiefer echoed that observation in describing both students and administrators.

“Some people had such strong support for what we’re trying to have a conversation about,” she said. “It’s really cool that everyone who’s been here has been so passionate.”

Student leaders are planning a debreifing for later in the week, to discuss the effect of the sit-in and how students, staff and faculty can move forward.

Story of the sit-in told through social media

In opening hours of sit-in, administrators dialogue with students

Photo by Amy Rosenheim

Barry Glassner relates personal experiences, students read demands

By Kaiya Gordon /// Opinion Editor

President Barry Glassner spoke to a crowd of students at 10:30 a.m. today outside of the Frank Manor House, detailing his appreciation for the sit-in organized by the student body, sharing personal examples of victimization and articulating a wish to work together as a community moving forward. The students huddled under blankets and heavy coats, ready to brave the cold for the sit-in organized today by student leaders.

Glassner asked the crowd to settle down, and started his speech by saying that he “is really pleased that the students have taken this initiative, taken this action, and that they care deeply about each other, about the college, and about.. our community.”

Glassner’s speech came directly after protesting students, who started their march at Maggie’s Cafe, carrying poster and banners and chanting “walk the talk,” reached the Frank Manor House, where they will remain until later tonight. The sit-in comes after a series of racist incidents at Lewis and Clark, and an administrative response that students have labeled as tepid. Glassner attempted to address these concerns by outlining his hopes for moving forward, saying that he has “complete faith in [the student leaders] in moving this forward, working together, and working with all students who are concerned about these issues and care deeply about each other and about this place.”

Glassner also tied in a personal note, sharing his experiences with victimization-particularly racism and antisemitism-growing up in a small town. “For me, its personal,” Glassner admitted, though he also made sure to acknowledge that “the same thing never happens to any two people, or [to] any two groups.” 

Student organizers, including Rita Ombaka (’14), Danni Green (’16), Musa Ahmed (’14), and Raymond Fenton (’16), met privately with President Glassner after his speech, where Glassner offered more verbal support for the students and discussed the sit-in event. No concrete plans were made during this meeting, but the group plans on meeting again for further discussion. 

Ahmed responded to the President’s comments by saying that he thought Glassner “spoke very directly and very intimately to the experiences that are taking place among the student body. The speech showed support for the students, and also for the faculty that has already joined the conversation. It was a step on behalf of the president of the institution to acknowledge the instances and join [our] discussion.” Ahmed expressed his appreciation for the administrations support, saying that many administration members had reached out to the student organizers. 

History Department chair Elliott Young also spoke at the event. Young, a member of the Ethnic Studies Steering Committee, which met last night to draft a staff letter of support for students' list of demands, said that “today it is the students who are teaching the faculty.” Young said that the Ethnic Studies Steering Committee would like to “highlight the call from students to engage faculty in these events.” The committee's letter of support will be posted online and advocates for each of the demands.  

The student march started at 10 a.m. outside of the Dean’s Office on campus. Students gathered together to hear organizers outline plans and guidelines for the event, including a thank you for the support shown by the student body. The crowd was hopeful, and many students described the encouragement they felt by such a large turnout. Karissa Tom (’16) said that “it was amazing to see a huge crowd of all different people... it shows that Lewis and Clark really is one community.” Taylor Moran (’16) agreed, saying that she was “really excited and super encouraged to see so many people.” Staff and faculty, including professors and Deans Tuajaunda Jordan and Anna Gonzales, also attended the event, and students have been shown additional support by many campus organizations. Facilities has offered to take students who live off campus home to get warm clothes, warm drinks were provided by the school and by the Law Campus, and Lewis and Clark’s College Outdoors program is providing warm blankets for protesting students. 

After the students gathered outside of the Dean’s Office, they marched to the Frank Manor House, where speeches by Barry Glassner, Elliott Young, and student protestors were given. The Black Student Union, which outlined a list of demands during their meeting on Wednesday, distributed finalized copies of their demands to the crowd of students. Green, Ombaka, and Fenton spoke to the students about each of the organization demands, to encouraging cheers and whoops from the crowd. The demands include changes in college policy, incident response, curriculum, marketing strategies and hiring practices. The full text of the demands can be found here.

The student sit-in will continue throughout the day with more speeches to continue the discussion and plans for moving forward. Ahmed expressed enthusiasm about the event, saying that “it’s a very positive energy, the campus seems like it is going to get involved in a wider discussion, a very intellectual and open discussion and that’s exactly what we want.”