Now Black students at Yale University protest racism on campus

When the biggest complaint that student protesters at Yale can muster is that the university brass has failed to create “safe space” – something that doesn’t exist on this planet – they’re backhandedly showing how much else administrators have done to promote the cause of diversity.

These students want to see their institutions promote a safer campus where they’re not susceptible to racial slurs or violence, according to The Atlantic. If you watch the clip out of context, you might miss the point.

Here’s the full story.

At Chicago’s Loyola University, student Dominick Hall says groups of white guys stop talking when he walks by, and sometimes people grip their bags a little tighter.

The students explicitly call for immediate removal of Nicholas and Erika Christakis from the positions of Master and Associate Master of Silliman College, whose emails and confrontations with students in support of free speech last week sparked the ongoing protests at Yale.

In response to Christakis, over 740 people signed an open letter telling Christakis that her “offensive” email invalidated marginalized students of color on campus. While the students at all three schools might be considered to have squelched free speech, Yale and Wesleyan championed free expression.

Lewis says almost a week after the Halloween emails, the SAE incident and the now-viral video of a student screaming her frustrations to Christakis, Holloway sent another email to students promising change on campus. Christakis needs to stop instigating more debate. “It makes them feel like they’re losing something to which they are utterly entitled, which is the right to say or do anything that’s always been said and done and not have to pay social consequences for having done so”.

I also agree with Yale student activists in that there should be a conversation about the content of the e-mail Christakas wrote. But we shouldn’t need research to believe her. These positions require living on campus and feature the Christakis being directly involved with the students there.

This reaction to a member of the faculty is both disrespectful and vicious. “I want to talk about my pain”. “If you don’t like a costume someone is wearing, look away, or tell them you are offended”.

Tuesday, November 3rd: Holloway declined to comment on the SAE incident, but the dean of student engagement began an investigation.

To put it differently, the university didn’t impinge on free speech or the ability of students to disagree with one another but simply discouraged students from offending each other.

Yale and Missouri are struggling the find their feet under enormous waves of pushback right now. Should students of color also enjoy the freedom of feeling safe and respected on their campuses?

According to the event flier, topics of discussion included “valuing women of color at Yale”, “mental health and its impact on communities of color” and “addressing white and male privilege”.

Think about that for a second. Over 1,000 students marched this week to protest what they deemed “racial insensitivity” regarding emails sent through the faculty.

Under Missouri state law, the reporter had an absolute right to cover the demonstration, which was taking place in a “free speech zone”.

Number four on the group’s list: rename Calhoun College, which is named after former Vice President John C. Calhoun, a well-known advocate of slavery.

One of the signs said “no more dead black children”.

“Ultimately, all the email did was make the pot boil over, so to speak, because there have been simmering racial tensions in this country forever, there have been simmering racial tensions at Yale ever since students of color have been at Yale”, she said. Instead of judging, let’s try listening.