The campus gathered Thursday afternoon to declare St. Thomas as an anti-racist community, following the discovery Wednesday night of a racial slur in Ireland Hall.
“As a community whose mission statement calls for us to think critically and act wisely for the common good, you have a responsibility. If you aren’t willing to embrace it, you shouldn’t have come because that’s who we are,” Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Yohuru Williams told the crowd.
Less than 24 hours after the discovery, the CAS and the School of Education hosted a Teach In/Speak Out event in the O’Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium to allow students, faculty and staff to reflect and unite.
Williams and Kathleen Campbell, dean of the School of Education, led the two-hour conversation. Among those who spoke were newly hired Inclusive Excellence Vice President Kha Vang, Executive Director for Campus Inclusion and Community Patricia Conde-Brooks, student presidents from the Black Empowerment Student Alliance and African Nations Student Association, St. Thomas Alumna and former BESA President Amira Warren-Yearby.
St. Thomas senior Malcom Lawson noted he has endured racist incidents on campus throughout his college career.
“It’s number four for me. That’s not something I should celebrate, though I can’t say it without hardly crying,” Lawson said.
Given his experiences, Lawson advised students on how to respond.
“Do not allow this to change the way you act. Do not act irrationally. Currently, you control the narrative,” Lawson said.
English professor Todd Lawerence said he can’t recall how many times something like this has happened in his 17 years here.
“I lost count,” Lawerence said. “If we are doing stuff and it’s easy to do, then it’s not enough. If we’re doing stuff so that people see that we’re doing stuff, then it is not the right stuff.”
President Julie Sullivan was away from the university Thursday, according to Williams.
“She actually wanted to be here. This is very important to her. This is very important to our institution,” Williams said.
First-year student and Brady Hall resident Isaiah Allen was invited to speak to the crowd.
“I’ve always wanted to be a Tommie,” Allen said, “and this is the first time ever that I’m questioning if that’s the right decision or not.”
Samantha HoangLong, Carly Noble, Kat Barrett, Abby Sliva, Rachel Torralba and Justin Amaker contributed to this report.