Temple Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance created a hashtag to combat new plaza name

On Sept. 14, the unveiling of O'Connor's plaza took place during Sexual Assault Awareness Week. It was named after Board of Trustees Chair Patrick J. O’Connor and his wife, Marie as a tribute to their lifetime of leadership and support of Temple.

This stirred up controversy within the Temple community, and one organization decided to take action.

The Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, also known as FMLA, released a statement on Sept. 23 addressed to President Englert.

The statement, posted on the organization's Twitter page, tells President Englert about the disrespectful violation of survivors of sexual assault, as well as their club's beliefs. The statement demands that the Founder's Garden to be renamed, as well as O'Connor stepping down from the Board of Trustees.

Kayla Boone, Public Relations Chair of FMLA states that the hashtag was created to raise awareness and alert the Temple community about the problem with the O'Connor plaza.

"This action is against what our organization believes, and it's now our job to align ourselves with survivors of sexual assault, who were not considered in this decision," Boone states. "We plan to use the hashtag to continue our campaign, reach audiences with similar beliefs, and escalate the issue if necessary."

Bill Cosby and Patrick J. O'Connor sat on the Temple University Board of Trustees together until Cosby's resignation in December 2014. When Cosby was accused of sexual assault in 2004, O'Connor was one of the lawyers who helped negotiate the 2006 settlement.

Temple students have raised their disapproval over the name of the new plaza such as Taylor Berkoski, who is also a member from Temple FMLA.

"We should stand in solidarity with sexual assault victims and I, by no means think it's okay to just ignore what O'Connor's role was in the Bill Cosby case just because he gives our school some money," Berkoski says. "It's absolutely insane to me how O'Connor is still on the BOT. It really puts things into perspective where Temple's priorities are.
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If students wish to help end rape culture and support sexual assault victims, there will be a March to End Rape Culture this Saturday.