Bucknell students demand ‘no toleration’ of election hate in letter to the President
‘We demand that you publicly state that the university will not tolerate the hate elicited and legitimized by the recent election cycle’
Students at Bucknell are in the process of crowd sourcing a letter, addressed to University President John Bravman and Provost Barbara Altmann.
The letter, released on Facebook on November 16th, demands the University “take a stance against racism, misogyny, homophobia, and the mistreatment of minority groups and the environment, and we demand that you publicly state that the university will not tolerate the hate elicited and legitimized by the recent election cycle.”
Emma Downey, 20, History and Political Science, who signed it, encouraged all Bucknell students to sign:
“The demands listed affect every single student on the campus in some way-whether that be bias, educational freedom, investment in renewable resources, etc- and they all would have positive effects on the campus community. That’s why people should sign it. Not because you hate Trump. Not because you want to prove you love everyone and hate none. Sign because you care about our community, and the community of the United States as a whole.”
“The administration works closely with donors (many of whom are open Trump-supporters) which makes it especially difficult for them to respond to the needs of students as in doing so they risk losing support of their major donation incomes.”
The letter follows a week of student activism on Bucknell’s campus, including a student walkout.
The demands stated in the letter are that:
“1) Bucknell become a sanctuary for all marginalized community members who have chosen to pursue their education here.”
“2) The university become a sanctuary for open dialogue of political discussion and practice regardless of ideology, barring hate-speech, personal attack, and/or threat to the safety of individuals and groups. Faculty should be able to verbalize opinion or discontent in regards to social justice, and there must be a university wide announcement to this effect.”
“3)The University also becomes a sanctuary for environmental progressivism: Publicly reaffirm the University’s commitment to the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), which pledges the University to achieve climate neutrality by 2030.”
Beneath each of these demands in the letter, actions are described as to how the University can remedy them.
If the University does not respond these demands by the 29th, “the undersigned, commit to engaging in daily acts of nonviolent, spontaneous disruption.”
So far, the letter has been signed by 18 students and alumni, and is available here for all students, faculty, and alumni to sign.