St. Thomas community members gathered at John Monahan Plaza Tuesday afternoon to denounce white supremacy and call for a culture of accountability and respect after signs referencing a known white supremacist group were placed on campus.
The event, organized by multicultural groups on campus, prompted tears and emotional accounts as students, faculty and administrators shared and reflected on racial injustice on campus.
“We never had this many people coming out here,” junior Julian Cavin said about the turnout. “This is insane.”
Dougherty Family College student Kairo Cardenas Lazos noted, however, that the crowd consisted mostly of people of color, who are being affected by white supremacy and racism.
“If a crowd is filled with those who are affected instead of those who need to learn about these issues, there can be no change,” Lazos said.
University President Julie Sullivan, who attended the event and talked to students after, called for the crowd to dedicate the following week to demonstrate to others what they stand for and denounce white supremacy.
“Don’t ever forget that no one can take our community from us,” Sullivan said. “No one can define it for us. No one can steal it from us. It is ours. And we know what we stand for.”
According to St. Paul Police, a man walked on to campus at around 3 a.m. Monday and placed “about two dozen stickers on university property as well as stop signs, no-parking signs and light poles” along Cleveland, Summit and Cretin avenues.
The university sent an email on Monday afternoon declaring “Hate Has No Place Here!” and offered support service information for community members in need.
Students at Tuesday’s gathering demanded more action by community members.
“I really think that for such a big community, more persons could have been there to support us,” St. Thomas student Kori-Ann Hermitt said. She chose to sing Common and John Legend’s “Glory” to bring a message of hope and resistance to the crowd.
Several students reminded the audience that acts of hate and racism have a history in the St. Thomas community.
“One of the members told me, ‘I’ve been here for 10 months, and I want this to be my home. But how do I make this my home if this happens every single year?’” senior Jasmine Somado said, crying.
Black Empowerment Student Association President Kevyn Perkins said they want this rally to send a strong message, especially to the university.
“Hate has no home here,” Perkins said.
Luana Karl can be reached at karl2414@stthomas.edu