Student activists who took over a Syracuse University administration building this week to protest racist incidents on campus rejected a request from officials to end their sit-in, the school said in a statement Wednesday.
What We Know:
- The self-described black-led movement #NotAgainSU launched the sit-in at Crouse-Hinds Hall with about 30 students early Monday afternoon to protest the administration’s response to a spate of racist incidents on campus dating to 2019.
- After students ignored a warning to leave the building before it closed Monday night, the university issued interim suspensions to all of the protesters who remained.
- About 30 students have received interim suspensions up to this point, according to senior associate vice president for communications, Sarah Scalese. The reason behind the students’ suspension was “not for protesting, but for violations of the building occupation policy,” she said. The university has since moved classes out of the building due to the protests.
- In Wednesday’s statement, Rob Hradsky, the vice president for student experience, said the university had spoken with the student demonstrators Tuesday and made several offers to “find common ground”.
The widely publicized racist incidents at the school last year included slurs against African Americans and Asians scrawled in marker at a freshman dormitory and a swastika drawn in a snowbank at an apartment complex where students live.
