The group – Oxy United For Black Freedom – is also demanding the resignation of Occidental College President Johnathan Veitch.
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About 400 students entered the Arthur G. Coons Administrative Center at Occidental College in Eagle Rock yesterday afternoon, bringing with them a list of 14 demands, the L.A. Times reports.
“There have been many times on campus when late at night I’ve been stopped and asked where I’m going and what am I doing around here, where many of my white allies and friends can’t really say the same”, said Chance Ward, a student at Occidental and one of the organizers of the group protesting on campus.
“We have 14 demands which include an increase of faculty and staff of color, umm, a black studies program, more funding for, umm, students of color to do more programming and room speakers”.
The protests mirror similar student actions that have led to administrator resignations at the University of Missouri and Claremont McKenna College. “While we can make decisions on our own, we know that the most meaningful change will be made by working together”. Students who sleep overnight inside the hall have plenty of bottled water, snacks, hand sanitizer, phone chargers and laptops that illuminate their protest zone at night. And sometimes, yes, a person of color might be more sensitive or understanding to those issue and consider them…when you’re having a counseling session, having the person across from you that looks like you and understands the issues of diversity and race is very important. “Umm, and so we want that by Friday”, Black Student Alliance vice president Mika Cribbs, dressed in a dashing spaghetti-strap camisole, told Los Angeles television station KTLA. “The list ranges from monetary, calling for “$60,000 allocated to DEB [diversity and equity board]”, to security, with the demand for the “immediate removal of LAPD’s presence on campus”, and the “demilitarization of campus security”.
Jim Tranquada, Director of Communications for Occidental, says they have heard the students’ demands and are considering them.
Occidental, perhaps best known as President Obama’s alma mater, has always been known for its commitment to diversity.
According to the school’s profile, half of the student body is Caucasian.
Veitch had been willing to talk to the students, but his efforts proved fruitless, as he was faced with a relentless crowd that refused to negotiate.
Veitch told KPCC earlier this week he has no intention to resign.
A few professors have been receptive and accommodated the students taking part in the protests by moving classes to the building so students would not have to leave the sit-in.
“The resourcefulness and unity on display this week has reaffirmed our belief that in our power and strength and our conviction, that you need to resign”, a female student declared to the president, after crowds of students descended upon his office.
Veitch proposed establishing “a neutral mediator to work with administration, faculty, and student representatives to help restore trust and pathways for dialogue”.
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“We’re aligning ourselves with the national movement”, said student protester Olani Ewunnet.
