Students from a group called the Afrikan/Black Student Alliance have taken over a building at the University of California Santa Cruz. They claim their occupation will continue until their demands are met.
KSBW News reported:
Student takeover of UC Santa Cruz building enters Day 2Nearly 200 people took over Kerr Hall, and are pushing university officials to return the Rosa Parks House to students by the fall.The protesters remained locked inside Wednesday.“The protest is peaceful, and our focus is on ensuring the safety of staff who work in the building and of the students who took over the building,” UC Santa Cruz officials said in a statement.The African/Black Student Alliance organized the protest and wants the Rosa Parks House to be painted in traditional African colors, as well as for UC Santa Cruz to offer diversity training to the student body.Currently, some students are sleeping or reading on the floor, while others are working on their laptops. Protesters stockpiled food to tide them over, and covered some windows with signs reading, “No room for anti-blackness on campus.”University Chancellor George Blumenthal plans to meet the group of students on Thursday.
Tucker Carlson spoke with one of the student leaders Wednesday night:
Santa Cruz Indy Media has more including the group’s list of demands:
Black Students at UC Santa Cruz Protest Hostile CampusWe are pushing back against the language of “occupation” in recognition of the largely white-centric and fairly recent “Occupy Movement”. We are pushing back against the language of “occupation” in recognition of the very real settler occupations that are hxstorical and ongoing, such as the European colonization and occupation of “The Americas”, as well as the current context of occupation in Palestine.We move in solidarity with Black people all over the world who are occupied by liberalism and neoliberalism’s devastating socioeconomic and political policies and materialities. This includes folks on The Continent, Palestinian people, and other Black and Brown people all over the world. While the actual actions during this Reclamation may appear the same as other “occupations” on campus and off-campus, we know that language does matter as do intentions.What We Demand:Our demands for the Reclamation are simple, for now. They are as follows:1. Similar to EOP students and International students’ housing guarantees, we demand that ALL African Black Caribbean identified students have a 4 year housing guarantee to live in the Rosa Parks African American Themed House. Guaranteeing this would provide a viable living option to all ABC identified students regardless of housing status and college affiliation. We demand a written agreement by the opening of housing applications in April 2017.2. We demand the university remove the beds and release the Rosa Parks African Themed House lounge so it can serve its original purpose. We demand the lounge be returned by Fall 2017.3. We demand that the university fund the ENTIRE exterior of the Rosa Parks African American Themed House being painted Pan-Afrikan colors (Red, green, and black) by the start of Spring quarter 2017. These Pan Afrikan colors represent Black liberation, and represent our diaspora, and the goals of our people.4. We demand that all new incoming students from 2017-2018 school year forward (first years and transfers) go through a mandatory in-person diversity competency training in the event that the online module is not implemented by JUNE 2017. We demand that the training be reviewed and approved by A/BSA board every two years. We demand that every incoming student complete this training by their first day of class.
Earlier this week, students at St. Olaf College demanded mandatory race and gender classes after racist notes mysteriously appeared on campus.
Featured image via YouTube.
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