A statement signed by all 28 student body presidents of Jesuit universities and colleges was released March 28 stating their solidarity with students involved in the racial protests, demonstrations and online activism at schools such as University of Missouri, Claremont McKenna and others.
This released form marks the first time all 28 student body presidents collaborated and signed a statement.
The document states that the student body presidents understand students have the right to demonstrate against racial injustices, acknowledge the racial inequalities in Jesuit institutions and place extreme importance in promoting dialogue with people of diverse ethnic backgrounds.
“We wanted to say, as a collective of Jesuit schools that this is our stance on this,” said Creighton student body president, Kayman Nixon. “We think that people should be more racially tolerant; we stand with these schools that are struggling at this time.”
Nixon said that talks for the statement began last summer during the National Jesuit Leadership Conference in Buffalo, New York.
Loyola Marymount University student body president David Tassone spearheaded the formation of the document.
Creighton Students Union was one of the first student unions to aid in the collaboration of this statement as part of the school’s continual push for equal representation.
“On our end at Creighton Student’s Union, we are looking for different opportunities to have these conversations and be involved with some of our different multicultural organizations and different minority groups,” said Nixon. “Make sure we are involved with those groups, make sure we are supporting their events.”
This past fall saw a large wave in student protests and demonstrations against racial injustices sweep across American universities.
Protests at the University of Missouri concluded with the resignation of two administrators. The success of these protests led to many universities rethinking how to approach racial discrimination on campus.
“It [protests] can happen anywhere,” said Nixon. “Creighton and other universities need to be prepared for anything. We’ve taken some steps to be proactive, and we do have a really strong community. CSU has written legislation requesting to be part of the process hiring the diversity inclusion officer; we want to make sure we are addressing the issues head on.”
The statement — announcing solidarity with the students involved in the protests — does not specifically say how the Jesuit universities will take concrete steps towards equality; however, Nixon assures that this will be a continuous topic of conversation at National Jesuit Leadership Conferences.