‘White Week’ Fliers Prompt Protest, Investigation on Kentucky Campus
Fliers mocking “Welcome Black Week” with a “Welcome White Week” posted around the Northern Kentucky University campus this week have prompted demonstrations against racial intolerance on campus and an investigation by school officials.
The fliers advertise a number of events and seminars around campus such as “White Lives Matter vs. Black Lives Matter,” “Pizza Party for Tolerance” and “L.G.B.T.Q.R.S.T.U.V. and You” in an apparent attempt to ridicule the school’s annual “Welcome Black Week” events.
“Welcome Black Week” has been a fixture on the NKU and several other campuses across the country for several years. It is intended to introduce incoming freshman to the array of programs and organizations focusing on the black experience. Among this year’s events were a BBQ with the Black Student Union and a reception with faculty from the African American Studies program.
The student newspaper at NKU, the Northerner, said some students on campus were so incensed by the “Welcome White Week” messages that they joined hands in a circle in the student union plaza early Tuesday evening and chanted that they “will not be guided by fear or defeat” and “will beat the odds that are against” them.
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 Abby Anstead @AbbyAnstead
Students gathered to demonstrate against the 'White Lives Matter' poster hung next to 'Welcome Black Week.'
6:14 PM - 6 Sep 2016 · Highland Heights, KY, United States
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The protesting students told reporters on the scene about feeling left out on campus. One student spoke about being the only black student in her education class, and another about her trouble finding study partners for chemistry.
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Abby Anstead @AbbyAnstead
Geordan Pryor gets emotional as she discusses the issues she has faced as a black student. @northernermedia
6:34 PM - 6 Sep 2016 · Highland Heights, KY, United States
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“We worked hard for Welcome Black Week in response to the lack of representation in the universal programs within Welcome Week,” said Junior James Johnson, one of the organizers of the protest. “The reason they did this [posted the “Welcome White Week” flyer] was because we had Welcome Black Week. The reason we had Welcome Black Week was because we weren’t initially included in the festivities the university has.”
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Abby Anstead @AbbyAnstead
"You know you defeat ignorance with knowledge... And overall you defeat hate with love."
- @PresidentMearns
6:42 PM - 6 Sep 2016 · Highland Heights, KY, United States
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University officials, who said the flier was in no way authorized by the school and is now the subject of an intense investigation, said they welcomed the “constructive conversation” started by the racially charged fliers.
“You know how you defeat ignorance is through knowledge,” University President Geoffrey Mearns told the gathered protestors. “You defeat despair and cynicism with faith and hope. You defeat darkness with light and overall you defeat hate with love.”
No one has claimed responsibility for posting the fliers.
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