• About
  • Editorial Board
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
The Wellesley News -
  • News and Features
    • First-Year Students Reflect on Their Expectations for College, One Semester In
      First-Year Students Reflect on Their Expectations for College, One Semester In
    • “We Want to Fundamentally Change the Culture,” International Student Union says
      “We Want to Fundamentally Change the Culture,” International Student Union says
    • No image
      Students Reflect on Spring 2021 Move-in
    • News
      • News in Brief
      • Nation & World
      • President’s Corner
      • Senate Report
    • Features
      • Alumnae Spotlight
      • Eye on Science
      • Faculty Focus
      • LGBTQIA+ Column
  • Opinions
    • Wellesley, why can’t you meet our dietary needs?
      Wellesley, why can’t you meet our dietary needs?
    • The block system is a joke
      The block system is a joke
    • Spineless nonpartisanship: how the Girl Scouts convinced me they no longer care about girls
      Spineless nonpartisanship: how the Girl Scouts convinced me they no longer care about girls
    • Staff Editorial
    • Letters to the Editor
    • The Elephant in the Room
  • Arts
    • Harry Styles de-typifies masculinity in Vogue’s December Issue, but is this enough? (spoiler: it’s not)
      Harry Styles de-typifies masculinity in Vogue’s December Issue, but is this enough? (spoiler: it’s not)
    • Music Performance Courses Adapt to an Altered Semester
      Music Performance Courses Adapt to an Altered Semester
    • Ben Wheatley’s adaptation of “Rebecca” fails to deliver compared to its classic counterpart
      Ben Wheatley’s adaptation of “Rebecca” fails to deliver compared to its classic counterpart
    • Arts In The News
    • Reviews
    • Music Peek
  • Health and Wellness
    • No image
      Athletic impacts of Covid-19
    • No image
      A new kind of PE
    • No image
      Maintaining wellness as the cold sets in
    • Athlete of the Week
    • Boston Sports Update
    • The Vegan Digest
    • The SHE Corner
  • Miscellanea
    • No image
      Remote students experience existential crises; change class years in email signatures
    • President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
      President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
    • Your next on-campus romance isn’t going to work out
      Your next on-campus romance isn’t going to work out
    • The Artichoke
    • The Dose
    • The Olive Branch
    • Multimedia
      • Galleries
      • Infographics
      • Videos
By Ethos Political Action Committee Letters to the Editor, OpinionsNovember 12, 2015

Letter of Solidarity to #ConcernedStudent1950 and Call of Action to Wellesley College

Over the course of this semester, student activism has sprung forth on a number of different college campuses, most recently at the University of Missouri. Student protests and rallies have been conducted at Mizzou, drawing attention to the racism that has historically pervaded the campus. In the wake of particular incidents that have arisen this academic year, a group of 11 students, named Concerned Student 1950 in recognition of the year which the first Black student was accepted to the University of Missouri, drew up a list of demands for the college including a request to hire more faculty as well as call for the resignation of college president Tom Wolfe who had been quiet about addressing student concerns. This week, in a victory for this student led movement, Wolfe resigned from his position. However, in the wake of this resignation, Black students at Mizzou have been targeted and threatened for their successful activism.
To #ConcernedStudent1950, in response to your courageous organizing of Black students at the University of Missouri, we, the Black community at Wellesley, extend ourselves in gratitude and solidarity. We recognize and identify with your struggle to cultivate a space of inclusion at an institution that was not built for you, but was built on your backs. Our hearts are heavy with the knowledge that it took Black members of the football team refusal to play, Jonathan Butler compromising his body through a hunger strike, and media attention for the members of the administration to respond to your concerns.
We rejoice at the resignation of Tim Wolfe. We are saddened that the previous organizing and concerns of our Black siblings, specifically the Black queer women of Mizzou, that gave momentum to the demonstrations of Jonathan Butler and the football team were ignored by Mizzou administration. Black bodies should not have to be abused or compromised, be it in the form of a hunger strike, protesters getting hit by the vehicle that Tim Wolfe was in, or the Mizzou student athletes going on strike, in order for Black people to be respected.
We recognize that the inadequacy of the administration of Mizzou to respond to the needs of its Black students is not an isolated event. A culture of unresponsiveness to Black issues has existed for a long time in institutions of higher education. We, similarly, have fallen victim to administrative unresponsiveness to our concerns regarding racism at Wellesley College.
Mizzou, we appreciate every aspect of your organizing, no matter to what degree the general public deems it “respectable”. We honor your fight and want to show solidarity by furthering your effort. We, like you, will not stand silent.
Wellesley College, you are not exempt. It is time that we reflect on how we are complicit in an institution that excludes and ignores its students of color, particularly its Black students. The $500 million fundraising campaign, the Wellesley Effect, claims to promote “Intellectual Community,” “Affordability and Access,” “A Sense of Place,” and “21st Century Impact.” To the Wellesley administration, how do you plan to make these ideals reality without engaging your current students of color? Are you actively reaching out to and recruiting students of color, or are you okay with having a population comprised of a measly 6% of Black students? What are your plans for making Wellesley more affordable? Providing students with a greater loan package? When will you create a “Sense of Place”? How will you create this without sufficient spaces of gathering for students of color? We ask Wellesley to do better to actively include and protect us, the Black students of Wellesley College, as integral parts of this institution. We will not be diminished to statistics to fulfill quotas. If you want diversity, Wellesley, you must create it by working harder to admit students of color and creating an environment that affords us the resources necessary to thrive.
We ask our peers to engage and stand with us. We encourage the entire Wellesley community to wear Black tomorrow, November 12, 2015, to show their solidarity with students at Mizzou and with Black students everywhere who are fighting against “administrative neglect, abuse of power, and a lack of adequate resources.” The resignation of toxic officials at the University of Missouri will not resolve the racist culture at your institution, but could be the beginning to structural change that would allow you to live freely as students and as people. We are concerned students and we stand united.
In Solidarity,

Ethos Political Action Committee

Wellesley College

November 11, 2015

#ConcernedStudent1950

#BlackCollegiateSolidarity

Share on

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Google +
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Previous articleThe diverse value of a Wellesley conservative
Next articleLetter to the Editor

You may also like

A piece of pizza missing topings.

Wellesley, why can’t you meet our dietary needs?

The block system is a joke

Spineless nonpartisanship: how the Girl Scouts convinced me they no longer care about girls

1 Comment

  • Pingback: Wellesley College students stand with Mizzou | The Swellesley Report

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

Top Articles

  • First-Year Students Reflect on Their Expectations for Colleg...
  • Harry Styles de-typifies masculinity in Vogue’s December Iss...
  • “We Want to Fundamentally Change the Culture,” International...

Recent Tweets

Tweets by @Wellesley_News

The independent student newspaper of Wellesley College since 1901.

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

  • About
  • Editorial Board
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
COPYRIGHT © 2021 THE WELLESLEY NEWS
Back to top