by Katrina Custardo
As a native Minnesotan who went to a very big high school (my graduating class was 760), I have heard about a smaller college called St. Olaf. I even have some friends who go to St. Olaf. St. Olaf has around 3,000 students and, according to its website, 18 percent are students of color.From these friends, through various social-media platforms, I’ve gotten to see firsthand accounts of what is going on there. Recently, St. Olaf has been plagued by racist messages, specifically targeting students of color and international students. The latest note was put on the car windshield of a student of color and ended with “shut up or I will shut you up” — a direct threat to her life. Rightfully so, the majority of students were appalled to hear about what happened and decided to boycott classes starting Monday.
Not only are students boycotting, but a number of students of color and other marginalized groups have created “A Collective for Change on the Hill,” an online page that lists their mission, vision, and demands for St. Olaf: “Our aim is to reflect the concerns expressed by members of this group and those who are marginalized here at St. Olaf College.” The mission is to “hold the administration and students of St. Olaf College accountable for the institutionalized racism that is embedded in the structures of this campus.”
Their demands, which are laid out on the same website, include administrative changes so that there are more people of color, the implementation of a racial and cultural sensitivity training session for incoming first-years, a curriculum change to enforce a comprehensive racial awareness and inclusion curriculum that will be mandatory, a reconstruction of Gen-Ed requirements to include courses in Race & Ethnic Studies and Women’s & Gender Studies, and a strict zero-tolerance policy on racial, sexual, and homophobic epithets. These are directed at St. Olaf President David Anderson, the administration, and the Board of Regents. If Anderson agrees with the listed demands, he is expected to give a public acknowledgement in an email to all constituents of St. Olaf, parents, and alumni.
Not only are the students taking actions, but also parents and grandparents of students have created a petition for parents to sign to show solidarity. “With more students of color comes a responsibility to provide for those students. It is your duty to take care of them, to take care of us.” This is also directed to Anderson and the regents.
According to the Star-Tribune, in a news release issued by St. Olaf officials on April 29, they are doing “everything we can to catch the people involved in perpetrating these hate-filled acts. An active investigation is underway.” Northfield police are helping St. Olaf officials in the investigation.
St. Olaf is not the only college to come under fire for racial violence and hatred incidents on campus. The University of Iowa experienced an incident similar to this one earlier in the year, when the N-word was written a white board in the dorms. This incident was dealt with swiftly, but regardless, it happened. With the rise of racial, sexual, homophobic violence, among other attacks on marginalized groups, we need to be vigilant and call out hatred when we see it. We need to shut down those who think they can terrorize others. There is no room at the UI for hatred and violence.
