Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk demonstrators trek through campus to demand action from administration
by Christian Hardy
Around 100 student protestors, led by the student group Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk, marched into the chancellor’s office at the University of Kansas on Wednesday.
The group demanded allyship and further action from the administration in addressing racial issues on campus following its organized protest on Wescoe Beach.
“We are still here,” said Katherine Rainey, a member of Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk. “We’re tired of silence from administration. We’re tired of waiting.”
The demonstration began at the School of Social Welfare in Twente Hall, where the group voiced their concerns and demanded the dean of the school Paul Smokowski to send an email to show solidarity with the group’s cause. He did send that email to staff and, later on, students, voicing his support for the group.
As planned, the group moved to Wescoe Beach to protest in front of the student body at noon. Included in the group were Student Senate Body President Jessie Pringle and Vice President Zach George. In November, Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk, with the support of the Student Executive Committee, had called for the removal of both Pringle and George, as well as Chief of Staff Adam Moon, from the senate due to the slow action on racial issues.
The group stayed at Wescoe Beach for about an hour, led by Rainey, Kynnedi Grant, Jyleesa Hampton and Caleb Stephens and supported by dozens more who held signs supporting Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk’s movement. Slowly, more people joined over the hour until the demonstrators moved to Strong Hall and into the chancellor’s office.
Hampton said the group had been excluded from multiple meetings with administration. The move to confine in the chancellor’s office was in hope that the administration — specifically Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little and her staff — would hear the message the activist group has continued to voice.
“We’ve found that administration is not coming to us,” Hampton said. “So we’re coming to them.”
The group did not, however, reach the chancellor directly. Rather, the large mass of students, still led by the same four, spoke with senior vice provost for academic affairs Sarah Rosen; vice provost for diversity and equity Nate Thomas, vice provost for student affairs Tamara Durham, and vice provost for faculty development Mary Lee Hummert.
The main frustration, it seemed, was Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk’s inhibition to make change directly to the University’s policies. Rather, they have been “filibustered” by the administration with layers of “insulation” between the administration and the students who want change, according to Grant. Overall, the group was upset with the administration’s inability, thus far, to adhere to its 15 demands, which it laid out for the administration at the town hall meeting on Nov. 11.
“Students of color are putting in a lot of labor and a lot of free work,” Hampton said. “Why do I have to be translated through an advisory board to speak to you?”
The administration in the chancellor’s office made it clear that, for instances of discrimination, the Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access is a place to turn and report those instances. Though many of the problems and instances voiced by Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk came from off-campus, the current Student Code of Rights and Responsibilities does not currently cover off-campus instances. The code is being reviewed by the Student Senate Rights Committee, including the off-campus jurisdiction of the University.
Rosen pointed out that students from the group are included on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Group, a group that was created in late November and is chaired by athletics director Sheahon Zenger. The group, Kansas said in a press release, was created to respond to “accounts of intolerance and sensitivity” on campus.
Rosen and Durham both said they could work on blocking the anonymous social media app Yik Yak on campus but, like most other things, that would take time and a long process. However, Rosen said it’s something the administration can look at.
Rainey said no members of administration have met with the group since the town hall meeting, and was skeptical that administration would follow through on any of their plans they have promised.
After Wednesday’s demonstration, which spanned over about four hours all together, Rainey hopes that attention can be centered back to their cause once again. The ultimate goal, Rainey said, is to remind administration that Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk is still there, and a voice within the administration and the discussion is something they are still seeking.
“We need them to support us as they said they would,” Rainey said. “We need them to come up with concrete plans. We need them to adhere to these demands.”
“We need them to support us as they said they would,” Rainey said. “We need them to come up with concrete plans. We need them to adhere to these demands.”
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