In early November, controversy on the campuses of the University of Missouri and Yale University began to make headlines. Protests surrounding issues of racial inequality resulted in, among other acts of solidarity, hunger strikes and a refusal by the Missouri football team to play until President Tim Wolfe stepped down, which he did, followed hours later by Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin. At Yale, protests came as a result of allegations of racism on campus as well.

On November 11, 2015, following the events at Yale and Mizzou, President Mitch Daniels sent an email reminding students of our "shared values," and how important it is to stay true to the culture of "a welcoming, inclusive and discrimination-free community, where each person is respected and treated with dignity" at Purdue. Recent events, however, suggest that not all of Purdue's campus agrees with the statement that we are a "proud contrast to the environments that appear to prevail at places like Missouri and Yale."

You may recall more than two weeks back, on Friday, November 13, the Solidarity Rally held outside Class of '50 pertaining to racial inequality and racism on Purdue's campus. Students spoke about injustice they've experienced on campus, performed spoken-word poetry, and unveiled a list of 13 demands to address racial insensitivity at Purdue.

The demands read as follows:

1. We demand that administrators, specifically President Mitch Daniels, acknowledge the hostile environment caused by hateful and ignorant discrimination on Purdue’s campus. We also demand that he apologize for his erasure of the experiences of students of color in his email to the student body, where he asserted that Purdue is in “proud contrast to the environments that appear to prevail at places like Missouri or Yale.”
2. We demand that Chief Diversity Officer be reinstated as its own position, with student involvement in the hiring process. Additionally, we demand supporting positions be instated for this role. The positions must address diversity and inclusion of faculty, staff, and students separately, in order to address the unique needs of each group.
3. We demand that Purdue create and enforce a required comprehensive racial awareness curriculum for all students, staff, faculty, administration, and police. This curriculum must be vetted and overseen by a board of diverse students, faculty, and staff.
4. We demand the release of a statistical report, using defined metrics, of the concrete impact of diversity and inclusion initiatives implemented on campus.
5. We demand that the university more actively and effectively advertise and utilize the Report Hate & Bias program.
6. We demand that the free speech policy be revised to address hate speech in person and through social media. We demand the university to follow harassment policies consistently to protect students from hostility.
7. We demand that the university and the Purdue Police follow through with their commitment to form a police advisory board, which will be made up of diverse students, faculty, staff by the end of this fall semester.
8. We demand that there be enforced extensive background checks relating to sexual offense, hate group membership, and discriminatory offenses of all faculty, staff, and police officers.
9. We demand that there be a 20 percent increase of underrepresented minority faculty and staff by the 2019-2020 school year.
10. We demand that there be a 30 percent increase of underrepresented minority students by the 2019-2020 school year.
11. We demand that more merit and need based aid be given to students.
12. We demand that under represented faculty and staff receive more resources, funding and support.
13. We demand that Purdue Student Government and Purdue Graduate Student Government instate C.O.R.E. seats in their representative voting bodies.

The Purdue Exponent reported that President Mitch Daniels held a closed-door meeting in which the Purdue Social Justice Coalition presented their list of demands. In response to the format of the list, President Daniels said "Most people, and you I'm sure will be the same, respond far better with suggestions, recommendations or constructive proposals than what they are told are demands; just a modest suggestion." And so the discussions began.

Students were invited to express and present their concerns on the floor in the room in Hovde Hall. As the meeting went on, President Daniels stated that he is in strong agreement with the students, and promised that diversity initiatives are currently of utmost importance. He recognized that anything to be of concern with the students of Purdue regarding the topic of racial inequality is a concern to him, and will be treated as such.

However, he hasn't promised anything in writing just yet, saying that "you might like to [see things in writing], but I'll decide if you will get something in writing or not" and, "it's just not easy."

Although it is unclear whether another meeting will be held to discuss more concrete solutions, organizers hope to meet again in December to discuss.

As this topic unfolds at Purdue University, it is evident that both parties are searching for answers. In an official statement, President Daniels says he will meet with "the heads of more than 30 other student organizations to discuss these important matters." It will require respectful discussion to find mutually agreeable solutions that are also realistically achievable. Now, more than ever, it is important for the administration and the student body to work together to find a solution to racial injustice at Purdue.