© AFP /Getty ImagesUniversity of California Los Angeles students march through campus on November 10, 2016 in Los Angeles, California, during a 'Love Trumps Hate' rally in reaction to President-elect Donald Trump's victory in the presidential elections.
Cornell Students Hold A Post-election "Cry in"
Cornellians held a "cry in" over hot chocolate to "mourn" Trump's victory on campus. The Cornell Daily Sun reports that students, "sat in a circle to share stories and console each other, organizers encouraging attendees to gather closer together and 'include each other.'" Additionally, students signed posters in protest.
UT Austin Students Organize "Cocks Not Glocks" Protest
On the first day of classes at the University of Texas at Austin, students picked up and strapped on dildos to protest Texas's new "campus carry" law permitting licensed gun owners to carry concealed handguns on campus. More than 5,000 dildos, which were donated by sex shops, were distributed over five days.
UMass Students Hold A "Shit-in"
For a week, students at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst planned a "shit-in," occupying restrooms to demand more gender-neutral facilities. The "shit-in" sign up google form gave protesters the option of sitting alone or "with other sitters" and the choice of a "'Men's' rooms" or "'Women's' rooms."
UC Merced Students Seek To Disarm Campus Police
Some students organized as Uplifting People Power to Resolve Issues of Spaces and Equity, known as UPRISE, at the University of California Merced protested in favor of disarming the campus police. Why? Because the presence of campus police is "harmful to the campus climate," as reported by The College Fix.
Gettysburg College Students Sit Down Against Hate
Students at Gettysburg College gathered in November on the steps of Penn Hall to sit down in protest of hate. In a letter on behalf of the student participants, senior Joseph Charles Recupero III wrote, "Tonight we will sit, because we cannot stand for hate." The students also apparently slept against hate. The Gettysburg Recreation Adventure Board (GRAB) gave participants sleeping bags. And they had the chance to meet with the president of the college. Acknowledging that they still had to figure out the next step to destroying hate, Recupero wrote,
To be honest, I am still confused about what to do next. I have gathered all of these people, AMAZING PEOPLE, who simply want to acknowledged as equal, as worth more than the names they call us. Earlier this evening, someone told me that this is the original machine that destroys hate, and behalf of everyone out here, I am extending a hand in partnership.Smith College Students Host Anti-Colonial Thanksgiving
The Smith Students for Justice in Palestine group hosted an "Anti-Colonial Thanksgiving" to "address the parallel struggles of the Standing Rock Sioux and the Palestinians of Gaza, who are fighting to protect their water tables from the poison of capitalist imperialism." The Facebook event details reminded potential attendees that, "All of us... have seen or felt firsthand the pervasive physical and psychological violence of imperialism and colonialism."
Comment: The Anti-Colonial Thanksgiving protest actually sounds reasonable! Read more details from their facebook page:
All of us, no matter our geographic background, race, religion, or ethnic identity, have seen or felt firsthand the pervasive physical and psychological violence of imperialism and colonialism. As the Smith community approaches the Thanksgiving season, let's remember what we truly owe thanks for: not a legacy of colonization and cultural amnesia, but a legacy of solidarity and resistance. Smith Students for Justice in Palestine's Anti-Colonial Thanksgiving is an event focused on raising awareness of settler-colonialism and the cultures and peoples affected by it.
"Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that doesn't fit in with the core belief." - Franz Fanon
UChicago Students Block Michigan Avenue Traffic For Free Tuition Protest
Wearing caps and gowns, two University of Chicago students were arrested for blocking traffic by chaining themselves together to protest for free public college in Illinois. They blocked traffic outside of the Art Institute of Chicago to encourage a trustee there and major donor to Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner to support free higher education at public colleges. Nevermind that the University of Chicago is a private institution.
Oberlin Students Demand Low Grades Be Abolished
It is no surprise that Oberlin students made the list again this year. Students signed a petition asking that all grades below a C be abolished. It seems that they are struggling to simultaneously keep up with the demands of their activism and classes.
Hampshire College Students Lowered And Burned The American Flag
Hampshire College students lowered and eventually burned an American flag the week Trump won. After the flag was lowered, the administration, "made the decision to leave the flag at half-staff on Thursday out of respect for the anguish they were feeling, even while recognizing that for others in our community the flag connotes very different meanings," wrote Beth Ward, the secretary of the college, according to Campus Reform.
As a result of the flag burning, there was an empty flagpole on Veterans Day.
Faculty And Students Try To Silence UVA Founder Thomas Jefferson
After University of Virginia President Teresa A. Sullivan sent out a post-election email that included a quote from UVA Founder Thomas Jefferson to calm the University community, UVA faculty drafted a letter demanding that Sullivan stop quoting Jefferson. Signed by 469 faculty and students, the letter stated,
In the spirit of inclusivity, we would like for our administration to understand that although some members of this community may have come to this university because of Thomas Jefferson's legacy, others of us came here in spite of it.Yes, UVA faculty and students are trying to erase Jefferson from the university he founded.
As college students and their parents prepare for 2017, let's all resolve to end the ridiculousness on campuses in the year ahead.
Armed Police Protest Only 1 Valid
R.C.