Lately at Western State Colorado University there has been a lot talk about diversity and how we promote that here. Our president, Dr. Greg Salsbury, was accused of saying that a hiring pool for a former company he worked for was "too black" (Mitchell, Denver Post). This allegations against him, true or not, have made this university I call home look bad. We are a family that supports diversity, we love each other and support each other. Everywhere you turn there is a shoulder to cry on, a place to sit and talk and people to support you through everything. I am in love with this place for how much everyone cares. The students here will not stand for what they believe in... they sit for what they believe in. On February 2nd, 2017 around 35 students sat down in the food court we call Mad Jack's with signs and silently sat down while Dr. Salsbury was having a meeting. The meeting was made specifically for the sit in, in order to ask Dr. Salsbury questions about what the next steps were for the college. Unfortunately, due to legal reasons, he was not able to tell us what that was. Students have been left in the dark about their own home, what the plan is we have no clue. This has angered many students here as they rightfully should be. Being left in the dark about such a strong and highly impactful topic helps no one in the end. We ask questions and we want answers.
It is not okay to anyone here to say things like this whether they are true or not. How this reflects on the school is what we care about, this school is amazing and that is what he want to be remembered for, not for having a president accused of being a racist. This school just hosted a "Rail Jam" which is where ICE (Innovation + Creativity + Entrepreneurship) created a snow hill with rails to slide on and made it into a competition. Yes, we have had enough snow to make that happen. This school is amazing and we all plan to make sure it stays that way. We are all proud to be called mountaineers.
It is not okay to threaten the life of someone who is a part of the LGBTQ+ community and to not do anything about it. We want this place to be safe and comfortable for people to come to. This is one of many reasons that students felt their voices needed to be heard, but even that may not be enough. It does not matter if what something you said was true or not, there have been too many things happening here on campus due to the comments that are not getting the attention they deserve. We want people to feel safe coming here and to be themselves, and for them to feel the best solution they have is to leave campus is not okay. We want our voices to be heard.
