After hearing opening statements from President McGinity, ASUW President Schuler and ASUW Vice-President Emily Kath, Break-ThrUWYO presented to the forum a list of grievances and demands, and then, with a large number of students, faculty and other community members, walked out.
“If they truly want to represent us, if they truly want to support us as marginalized identities, then they need to talk to us,” Break-ThrUWYO organizer Robert West said in Break-ThrUWYO’s informal pre-forum debriefing session.
Break-ThrUWYO expressed concerns both in their written list of demands which they delivered at the meeting and via online forums that the forum would not be effective or productive in terms of creating recognizable change and that by having only one timeslot, it forces RSOs and marginalized students to compete with one another.
Their list of demands also included short term goals of more town hall meetings, an external audit of the university’s diversity policies, a detailed list of policy initiatives and greater input for marginalized students in regards to the presidential search. For long term goals, the group is seeking the establishment of a vice-president of diversity, the development of mandatory freshman courses dealing with issues relating to social justice and cultural awareness, a revision of the student code of conduct which makes hate speech punishable by the university among other things and finally that more faculty and staff that either represent marginalized backgrounds or have experience with marginalized backgrounds be hired.
After the walk-out, discussions continued, with students and RSOs voicing concerns to McGinity relating to safety on campus and institutional discrimination. Students also voiced criticism of institutional spending.
