St. Thomas’ Black Empowerment Student Alliance and Muslim Student Association held a “die-in” during convocation hour Thursday on the second floor of the Anderson Student Center to raise awareness of the Black Lives Matter and Muslim Lives Matter movements.
Junior James Mite, head of BESA, said the event was in part a response to the three Muslims who were killed near the University of North Carolina earlier this month.
“I saw that those three students at UNC were killed, and I was like, ‘What does that mean for our campus?’” Mite said. “I just wanted to jump on something that was recent and could combine our clubs together and have that unity and solidarity.”
The participants of the die-in held signs saying “UST Silence = UST Consent” and “Blackness is beautiful, not criminal.” The group remained silent for 20 minutes to commemorate the lives lost before beginning a group discussion on the movements.
“I really just wanted people to get in that mode of thinking, ‘What does this actually mean for me? Why am I here?’” Mite said. “Everybody had a purpose for being here, and I wanted them to have that time to think about it and then lead into the discussion.”
Sophomore Nieves Sibri said she and members of the Latinos Unidos club on campus cancelled their scheduled meeting in order to attend the demonstration.
“It’s something important,” Sibri said. “We’d rather spend our time supporting something that’s bigger.”
The die-in drew the attention of students filing through the student center. Mite said he hoped the demonstration made students more aware of the issue, no matter what their opinion is.
“We’re actually conscious of this. We’re actually aware of what’s going on,” Mite said. “Maybe some people were offended; maybe some people felt uncomfortable.”
Freshman Katie Ballalatak said the signs that participators were holding drew her attention and support.
“They make you stop and really think,” Ballalatak said. “We’re a Catholic university, we’re Christian and we should definitely promote loving everybody.”
Junior Leah Tisdale said she appreciated the passion of people who showed up to support the demonstration.
“Everyone of all different cultures and backgrounds came to support the cause,” Tisdale said. “It’s a good way to get the word out.”
Sophomore Matthew Michels said it’s also important to look at social issues and not just racial issues.
“There’s a lot of truth to saying black lives matter and Muslim lives matter. In the Twin Cities it’s a huge issue,” Michels said. “When we can start looking at problems having to do with social classes instead of race, we start to include more people.”
Mite said the main goal of the demonstration was to bring the community together to discuss the issue. The group had paper and markers available for anyone who wanted to join.
“Our hope is that more people would feel comfortable enough or welcome enough to come and sit down and have this conversation with us,” Mite said.
Michels, along with several other students, joined the demonstration. He said the passion that the group demonstrated made him want to learn more about the issue.
“I give them a lot of props, a lot of congratulations for standing up for what they believe in,” Michels said. “I’d love to start talking to them a little bit more and see what they have to talk about.”
Rebecca Mariscal can be reached at mari2162@stthomas.edu.