Boston College students say school officials have failed to respond to the recent racist incidents. (Photo by WBZ-TV/Twitter)
School leaders’ lack of action after a number of racially charged incidents on the campus of Boston College prompted hundreds of students to walk out of their classes Wednesday, Oct. 18, in protest.
Over the weekend, two Black Lives Matter posters in a residence hall were defaced to read “Black Lives DON’T Matter,” while a photo with racial slurs posted to Snapchat made its way around the campus community, CBS Boston reported. School officials say police are looking into both matters and assured students that such racist acts would be dealt with.
“Boston College condemns all acts of hate and is committed to holding any student who violates our standards accountable,” Dean of Faculties David Quigley and VP for Student Affairs Barb Jones said in a statement Monday. ” … We call upon all members of the [BC] community to treat each other with respect and to stand united against intolerance in any form.”
Wednesday’s protest, organized by student group Eradicate Boston College Racism, started shortly before noon as dozens of students walked out of class and gathered at the center of campus, according to the local news station. Demonstrators chanted “No justice, no peace. No racism at BC!” while other students held up a large banner that read “No such thing as neutrality. #TakeAStand.”
RIGHT NOW: @BostonCollege students walking out of class, rallying against hate. School expected crowd of 50 – appears larger than that #wbz pic.twitter.com/hrrE4y7RVU
— Jim Harrington (@jejharrington) October 18, 2017
Walkout protest happening now at Boston College @cbsboston pic.twitter.com/4EwDuyIveV
— Lisa Gresci (@Lisa_Gresci) October 18, 2017
Students argued that the school has failed to respond to the racist incidents, saying they feel BC officials don’t care to address their concerns.
“We’ve shown them ways in which they can be a more culturally inclusive campus and they continue to deny that there is a problem at all,” student Kimberly Ashby told CBS Boston.
Fellow student Tchorzky Eugene agreed, saying, “I think the school’s silence has only enabled [this] behavior.”
A solidarity rally is reportedly planned for Friday, Oct. 20, on campus.
Boston College officials didn’t respond to requests for comment.
