Walking up to the shimmering new-age ship of the Activities and Events center my heart sank seeing a man in uniform there. A gun at his hip, collapsible baton and handcuffs, he smiled and greeted everyone as they walked through the door. I’m not cynical just to be different but a flash of disgust washed through my thoughts. Why is he here? Why is he carrying a gun? My girlfriend whispers to me, “Maybe it’s for crowd control…” I don’t know about everyone else but I came to protest, not to kill, not with an instrument of death at the tip of my fingers.
We move on into the hallway and look down at the chairs, they are full and the bleachers are starting to fill up too. There are hardly six thousand people but it’s going to be what it is. I want to clarify that I am not a person of color, however I support the struggle that is being challenged by students of color and allies. I have grievances with the college regarding economic interests that supersede human interests. I have grievances with the students that passively sit in class and show no signs of critical thought. I have grievances with students being kept out of the loop and the inaction that falls out of this. These grievances are related to those that have been repeatedly aired by members of the ALANA community and supported by their allies. This evening the grievances of these students were set forth clearly and reinforced with excerpts from Thomas R. Rochon’s own book on social movement titled “Culture Moves: Ideas, Activism, and Changing Values”.
My girlfriend and I found seats at the back of the arrangement, three by five blank cards, stubby yellow pencils in our hands and jackets on our knees. We were not sure what we would need them for but she insisted that I might write something later and it would be best to have notes. Rochon’s voice rang out. His hands clutched a music stand where his speech was placed. He spoke about how when he came to office he wanted to service a more diverse student body.
During his time in office as president of IC the percentage of ALANA students went from eleven percent to twenty-one point seven percent. He went on to announce that the administration will be freezing the workforce analysis, the IC 20/20 mission and the Master-plan initiative until the present campus climate has been adjusted. At that point he opened the floor to the next speaker, one in a line of administrative representatives who were seated on stage, all prepared to engage PowerPoint presentations at us.
By this point I’m sure many in the audience understood that we were simply going to be that, an audience to their planned presentation until they were satisfied that we were saturated with the propaganda and lies we had all been sold when we signed ourselves to this institution. Then a voice rang out, shrill on the terrible red and white megaphone that has been dragged to every student protest I have seen and participated in at IC. But other voices joined, I recognized the chant first “Tom Rochon!” followed by “No confidence!’ shouted in equal measure. First from their seats and then standing up a little more than two dozen students stood and then walked up to the stage chanting, shouting.
We climbed onto the stage, my heart was pounding, my fingers and toes were cold and I began to shake a little. I was excited and nervous. The chant died down and at first the little red and white megaphone eked out the voice of the first speaker into the first couple of rows. Only a few lines into her speech an audience member shouted out, “Speak up!” Some crowd members and protesters on stage pointed to the microphone Rochon was speaking on moments before. It was pulled from its stand and handed down. I shouted out “Now the students have the mic!” It was lost in the applause and cheering but a compatriot standing next to me pated me on the back. This is when the student voice was on the strong end of the power dynamic.
Rochon had said his piece, squandered it trying to rehash an old message and in silvery words that he had smithed and sold to us a while ago. Now it was time for the new blood to be transfused into the old body. Each student speaker had their own ideas written in a packet that they addressed to everyone. The speeches were concise and to the point. Tackling contradictions in the administration’s handling of incidents relating to discrimination against ALANA students. This was the primary focus of the students’ speeches along with reminders that the power for change is no longer in the hands of the administration; president Tom Rochon no longer has the vote of confidence from many students. The group POCatIC (People of Color at Ithaca College) will be hosting its own talks and discussions about the changes students will implement at IC. This marks a powerful evolution in the power dynamic between the administration and the active body of students who feel that the complacency and bureaucratic stalling has reached a breaking point.
The protest culminated in a march out of the A&E Center amid chants and an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment. Comments overheard around the college following the demonstration threw pessimism at the protest. Such as some stated in the gossip Facebook page Overheard at IC, “I got 2 points extra credit just for going to this stupid thing”. This should not deter those of us who understand what is going on. We did not attend an event for credit; we went to validate the legitimate grievances and suffering that real people go through everyday on this campus.
Those who drown in privilege condescend on our efforts, their spirit of community is infected with hyper-individualistic interests, they cannot relate to their fellows on a human issue. This suffering is peaked by the racially insensitive comments made by a Public Safety officer during two active shooter RA training sessions. This suffering is peaked by a panelist at the Blue Sky event calling a woman of color a “savage.” This suffering is peaked by the AEPi fraternity using racial connotations to sell the theme of their party. However, this suffering is relentless for so many on campus who have to bear the weight of being a token, or for those who can’t take a walk at night because they are harassed by Public Safety, or for those who bear the blithering stupidity that bursts from the mouths of some of their fellow classmates.
POCatIC does not wish to discuss with the administration any longer because this conversation should be evident in its conclusions. People are being hurt, discriminated against and their criticisms are being rationalized and deflected but one only needs to hear their stories to know they are in pain. This institution has diverted criticism to maintain its reputation and uphold the façade that it is sustaining its diversity statement. Evidently it is not the case and as my girlfriend said the direct action that took place today is preventing Rochon from sweeping events under the rug and pushing for necessary action.
A lot of work lies ahead, with many obstacles threatening to end our progress but our hope of a better future will allow that to pass. We stood on that stage so that the power differential of height would be negated, so we would not be talked down to. We will stand on every point on campus because Free Speech Rock is not the only place we will speak freely. I support POCatIC and there is a lot more to be done.
