A group of Creighton students from various on-campus organizations have developed an initiative called, “Restructuring Race,” which aims to inspire dialogue and action regarding race issues at Creighton and in the nation as a whole.
The Restructuring Race Initiative grew out of student frustration following the lack of indictment in both the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases, and the subsequent demonstration at the steps of St. John’s last semester.
“There was some frustration that we had not heard anything from the Creighton administration,” said Mike Rios, a graduate assistnt at the Creighton Center for Service and Justice. “There was nothing about the families of these cases or about what’s going on in the nation.”
“It felt like it was just kind of silent here.”
Rios soon found himself in contact with Arts & Sciences senior Ozioma Aloziem, who said she was also frustrated with the lack of indictment and the lack of response from the Creighton administration.
“We met with Fr. Lannon last semester and voiced our concerns,” Aloziem said. “He was very supportive. He explained that it wasn’t that [Creighton administration] didn’t care, but that they didn’t know what to do.”
Rios said that this prompted students to take action on their own and stage the Black Lives Matter demonstration outside of St. John’s.
“That was a real grassroots thing,” Rios said. “While we started with somewhere between 30 and 40 people at the beginning, by the end we had over 100 people standing at any given time.”
“We wanted to have an event where we could stand in solidarity and spread awareness to students who are passing by.”
Before the demonstration, a group of administrators expressed their support to the students. Among these administrators was Vice Provost of Student Life Tanya Winegard, Ph.D.
“I became aware because of the concern that Creighton administration wouldn’t be supportive of students doing some sort of a gathering or protest,” Winegard said. “I wanted to communicate quickly with them that not only did I want to be supportive, but how could I help and be a part of it, that it wasn’t an adversarial situation between two groups.”
The official Creighton policy on race is in the Creighton policy on Diversity and Inclusion:
“To this end, Creighton faculty, staff, students and administrators seek to foster an environment of awareness, inclusion, and compassion for everyone in our community and our guests, regardless of age, culture, faith, ethnicity, immigrant status, race, gender, sexual orientation, language, physical appearance, physical ability, or social class,” the policy says.
Aloziem said that the demonstration both exposed an interest in race on the part of the student body and a highlighted a disconnect between Creighton and the Omaha community. She said it left many feeling a need to follow up and continue the conversation.
“Out of that, a few students formed the Initiative and named ourselves,” Aloziem said.
The Restructuring Race Initiative is not alone on Creighton’s campus in its discussion of identity, race and ethnicity. Organizations such as the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Lieben Center for Women and the CCSJ provide opportunities for advocacy and reflection for members of the Creighton community.
“We recognize that there are already great things going on on-campus; we don’t want to reinvent the wheel,” Rios said. “So we are just a dedicated group of people who want to help with promotion and help link those people together and get co-sponsors for events and get OMA events to be more regularly attended.”
“People care about this stuff, but when there are lulls and there are needs, I think the Initiative wants to step up and create an event.”
Rios said that much of what the Initiative hopes to do is provide tools to students for affecting change, such as how to write letters to Congress and who to talk to about policy on Creighton’s campus.
“I think the problem is students don’t know the right avenue to say something about it. No one is giving the resources, tools or methods to make the change,” Rios said. “A vague demand for change doesn’t mean anything to a student. That’s when apathy can come in; that’s when inaction can happen.”
Aloziem said that the Initiative focuses not only on making campus more racially equal in terms of access and programs, but also on trying to make sure that ideologies are not harmful.
“I think people misunderstand how racism can express itself and how implicit and pervasive it can be,” Aloziem said. “We wanted to make sure people were grasping that. We’re all about increasing awareness and also education so we can correct and dismantle those
harmful norms.”
While Rios feels encouraged by students’ recent interest in race issues, he said that many will still need guidance in taking action.
“College students have a lot on their plates,” Rios said. “Whatever we can do to help them along this journey of making change and being advocates for justice, I’m totally fine with taking someone’s hand and walking them somewhere.”
“That’s what we hope this young, infantile group can do.”
Winegard expressed similar optimism.
“I think our students have tapped into an issue that’s important to their peers and it’s worthy of continuing this discussion,” Winegard said. “This should not be a one-and-done initiative.”
Arts & Sciences senior Taryn Beard participates in the Black Lives Matter Demonstration in front of St. John’s.