After widespread outcry over a racist video posted to tik tok, Westmont College posted the following image to their Instagram story at 7:24pm on May 28th, 2020:
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On May 28th, a video from @Clayton_Cardinalli surfaced on social media. In the video the former Westmont Activities Council Leader and 2020-2021 RA mocks Black Lives Matter in Blackface. The video has since been taken down. Various students emailed different members of the Student Life Office in accordance with the reporting procedures for racial harassment and hate crimes. A letter was drafted by various students. The open letter can be signed at THIS LINK or https://forms.gle/7ZFY2rMGBfzbtG9eA Dear Student Life Office,
On March 28, 2020, Clayton Cardinalli, a White Westmont student, posted a video on TikTok mocking the Black Lives Matter movement while presenting blackface, which was removed over a month later. By May 2, when a screen recording of the video was taken, Cardinalli’s video had acquired more than 470 likes and been viewed countless times. This act of racial hatred and anti-Blackness is unacceptable, and explicitly violates the Community Life Statement which is committed to “a learning and work environment free of harassment.” During the 2019-20 school year, Cardinalli was a student leader in the Westmont Activities Council and has been hired to be a Resident Advisor for the 2020-21 year. Given both his leadership position and more than 130,000 TikTok followers, the traumatic impacts of this video extend to both the wider cultural sphere of the internet, and affects the physical and emotional safety/well-being of our Westmont community, especially those who are within the Black community. By perpetrating caricatures and negatively discriminating against the Black Lives Matter movement, this video adds to the emotional trauma Westmont’s Black community faces both from the college and the world. It is unacceptable and this student must be held accountable. Having publicly violated the Community Life Statement, Cardinalli’s action falls under the Student Handbook’s statement that “Community members who have harassed, intimidated or demeaned others in public cannot expect their disciplinary action to be wholly private. Public misbehavior may involve sanctions, restitution, and apologies that are also public.” As Cardinalli is a student leader and therefore a visible representative of the Westmont community, this public act of racism is a part of a continuous pattern of behavior at Westmont that demonstrates to past, current, and future students of color that the environment that Westmont cultivates does not prioritize their safety and well-being. The continued occurrence of incidents like this (such as racist meme posts on the @blessedmont instagram page, op-eds claiming that intersectionality is unbiblical, the vandalization of student poster protests, and other events in our institution’s history) illustrates the ways in which individualized acts of bigotry and hate are connected to a wider culture of white supremacy at Westmont. The systemic violence perpetuated by this video on the Black community is enabled by the lack of clear reporting procedures and the institution’s endemic lack of accountability for instances of racial bigotry and hate. We, the undersigned, expect the Student Life Office to take appropriate actions including but not limited to suspension of leadership positions, behavioral and/or academic probation, required education on racial issues, and/or expulsion. We also expect Westmont to enact comprehensive systemic change proposed by the #westmontwhitejesus student movement in 2019. This change must include the construction of an easily accessible reporting system where students can report incidents of racism, prejudice, and bias. We expect each and every report to be thoroughly investigated and handled with serious consequences that ensures the safety of students, faculty, and staff of color. It is time we stop talking about change and accountability and start actively working to abolish the racism that exists on our campus. The video in question can be viewed at: Warning, this video contains hateful content including blackface and the mocking of Black Lives Matter https://drive.google.com/file/d/13nh9sgv1tH5FwrIQzrLrkSsVudOtnPlf/view?usp=sharing The Beloved Community Project at Westmont, "an unofficial initiative that seeks to forge partnerships and cultivate fellowship between members of the Westmont community who desire to work toward healing, equity, and justice on matters of race at our college" launched a website which can be found at THIS LINK or https://www.bcpwestmont.com/
On March 31st Ebun and Wesley published seperate Op-Ed pieces on the Horizon's website addressing generally campus racial climate and specifically the Op-ed published by Josh Phillips last week. Ebun's article "Understanding intersectionality and identity is the solution, not the problem" and Wesley's article "In defense of intersectionality" can be read below or in the links provided. Understanding intersectionality and identity is the solution, not the problem
Ebun Kalejaiye, March 31st, 2020 The week before spring break, a peaceful protest demonstrated the ability of the Westmont community, people of color (POC) and white people alike, to come together united against a campus culture that is not conducive to POC. This show of unity helped create a crack in the many barriers preventing Westmont from uniting against systematic institutions that oppress people of color. Students, faculty, and staff displayed their support for students who are being silenced and those that feel like they don’t belong at Westmont. Despite this powerful demonstration, the walls still remain on our campus and in our nation with ignorance about race and ethnicity doing its best to fortify the barrier. Understanding intersectionality, individual identity, and intersectional identity politics will help continue to break down the walls between us and finding true unity and identity in Christ. Via the Instagram stories function on March 25th, 2020, the Horizon hosted a response forum to the recent Op-Ed by Josh Phillips. They also posted a clarification for their reasoning behind publishing the opinion piece on Instagram and online on their website. [Updated 3/26 with comments] In the March 24th online edition of the Horizon, Josh Phillips wrote the following piece strongly critiquing the #westmonwhitejesus and #toxicwestmont movements alongside Intercultural Programs. The piece can be read HERE AT HE HORIZON ARCHIVE or below: In the week preceding spring break, it became evident that our campus community is split in two. Westmont’s division is not unique. This is a nationwide conflict between conservatism and liberalism; the battleground is intersectionality and identity politics...
On March 25th, Lawrence Eady wrote an article entitled Students lead protest against administration. The article was uncategorized and therefore not featured prominently on the Horizon website. Contents below or at the HORIZON ARCHIVE HERE Students lead protest against administration
By Lawrence Eady Students of color at Westmont are no longer the only voices being heard, or silenced, in their fight against racial inequity on campus. On Friday, March 6, over 100 students and faculty took a silent stand outside of Murchison Gym during chapel and then on Kerrwood Lawn directly afterward, to show their support and enact change in the system. During the stand, almost every student was clad in white clothing with a piece of duct tape covering their mouths. The white clothing was used as a symbol of uniformity amongst the group while the duct tape covering the mouths was used to physically portray the way students of color have been supposedly silenced by both the institution of Westmont and the student body that makes it up. Participating students, along with their uniforms, held individual signs with different sentences of writing on them that played off of the theme of silence and a lack of action. “We are not satisfied,” read some, along with “We stand with students of color” and more. The “demonstration of solidarity,” as it was described by participant Kayla Petersen, was an attempt for white students to join the work that students, particularly those of color, have been doing for years surrounding racial equity and lack thereof. Petersen expressed that the goal of the stand was “to create an outlet for students of color and white students to express frustration and desire for action toward the issues of racial inequity on campus.” Participants chose the chapel date for “the stand,” as some refer to it, due to a couple of different factors. First, that Friday was the largest student preview day, so not only would prospective students be present to witness the event, but also the parents of the prospective students, trustees, and the whole executive team. Because of this, it was a ‘go big or go home’ moment for those who put the event together. Preceding the chapel in question, Dr. Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize award-winning psychologist and economist, answered questions in a student-led panel. Along with the admitted students weekend, this event added to the choice of scheduling. Those in charge also chose that date in response to other events that occurred in the preceding weeks. A few days before the stand, members of the Westmont executive team sent out an email that discussed the conversation that faculty and staff are in the middle of regarding institutional changes in favor of racial inequity. Some students may view the stand as protesting the language used in the email, but according to Kayla Abeyta, the event was more of a way to “hold the executive team accountable” in their claims for change. By putting the event on display in front of members of the executive team, the participants hoped to show their desire for the enactment of the claims, as well as to show that they expected action to back those claims up. “Students of color cannot be the ones who are constantly bearing the weight of explaining themselves to people,” said Abeyta when asked how students should respond to this event. She continued, “If you know that something is wrong, regardless of your discomfort, you need to be the one to combat that.” The event stands amidst an ongoing discussion amongst faculty, staff, and the student body surrounding racial inequity, a discussion that is increasingly becoming more prominent within Westmont as a whole. As long as some feel that those of color are silenced and unsupported, this discussion will continue. Policy changes on an institutional level will be fought for by those who are not content. On March 24th at 4pm the Beloved Community Project, an initiative headed up by faculty in order to serve as a node for coordinating responses to campus racial climate met with Brendan Fong, Emily Mata and another student leader. The ongoing situation of the window was discussed alongside what community organizing could look like in an online learning environment.
After spring break, due to the COVID-19 pandemic all classes were moved online and students were asked to leave campus. Updates to the presently unfolding COVID-19 situation on campus can be found HERE or if that link is broken this link is to an archive of the page.
On March 7th, 2020 Brave Commons started a petition on Change.org. It is open to the public and you can sign HERE.
On March 6th, an open letter was penned by various alumni and sent to the Westmont Administration. By noon on March 11th, 2020 it had over 570 signatures. You can sign the letter HERE or read the contents below: To Westmont’s Administration:
We alumni have become aware of recent racist incidents on campus and feel compelled to speak out as a group in order to express our frustration, disappointment, and discouragement. We find the treatment of students, faculty, and staff of color at Westmont to be unacceptable, un-Christian, and indefensible, and as alumni, we reject these behaviors and decisions... On March 6th, 2020, a large group of students gathered outside of the President's Convocation and Admitted Students day happening in chapel. As more than 100 students gathered, they were joined by more than 27 faculty and staff. They stayed outside of Chapel until around 11:40am at which time they moved and sat in front of Kerwood until 12pm. The following email was sent to all students by Irene Neller on behalf of the President's executive team on March 5th, 2020 at 10:45pm. The statement can also be read here. [allstudents] A Message to our Westmont Community from the President's Executive Team
Dear Westmont Community, For many months our community has grappled with tensions and questions related to race and equity on campus. Various opinions and feelings have been expressed through forums, social media postings, the display of posters and artwork, and private and small-group conversations. Many have contributed thoughtfully and empathetically to these discussions, but there have also been times when comments, actions, or silence have caused frustration or pain. Although vigorous discussion about ideas at college can be healthy, we are grieved when conversations do not build trust or sympathetic understanding. Much of that pain has been experienced by students of color. As members of the Executive Team, we apologize for the ways that our own actions, comments, or inactions have contributed to this. We desire to improve how we, as leaders, can help our community engage in respectful dialogue, listen to one another, learn from one another, appreciate differences, pursue reconciliation, and promote justice and hope. Several years ago, Westmont adopted a statement on the “Biblical and Theological Foundations of Diversity” that calls us to see “human diversity as a feature of life worth savoring, a feature approved and embraced by God.” The statement challenges us to be a community where “differences are to be joyful rather than oppressive, loving rather than dismissive.” It encourages repentance, and admonishes us to “grow in grace, acknowledge truth, seek justice, show mercy, practice forgiveness . . .” These are high ideals, and we know that we often fall short, but we want to renew our commitment to hear others’ stories, and to be aware of when members of our community are hurt, feel excluded, or do not think they are free to express their views. This is a long, ongoing journey, but we have identified some immediate steps to which we are committed. First, we are working to make changes to the prayer chapel window that will allow a richer, more full expression of our Christian faith in hopes that all members of our community will feel welcome and included. To date, we’ve had several internal and external voices offer helpful perspectives on the best way forward. Immediately following spring break, members of the Westmont community, including various student groups, will help identify images that can be rotated in order to lend a consistent voice to the purposes of this worship space. Similarly, we want to continue reviewing our curriculum to ensure it incorporates more voices that have been excluded and widens our lenses on historic and systemic issues. Shortly after spring break, the provost, working with the leading faculty committees, will be seeking the input and advice of various student focus groups, or listening circles, as we assess the possibilities for changes to courses, new courses, and revised criteria for approving courses. As we undertake these tasks and confront some of the tensions before us, we are trusting that Westmont can be a place that is distinguished more by understanding and empathy than by anxiety or condemnation. We know that we will need humility and compassion and the Lord’s help to make this journey, and ask that you pray for us and for all students, faculty, and staff in the work that lies before. We will also pray for safe travels, health, and renewal during your spring break. God be with you. Sincerely, Gayle D. Beebe Mark Sargent Edee Schulze Irene Neller Reed Sheard Doug Jones Westmont Executive Team After significant uproar on social media and several concerned students replying to the previous email, Dr. Schulze issued an apology in a second all student email at 6:17pm on March 6th, 2020. The full text is below: [allstudents] An Apology
Dear Students, Throughout the day I have heard from several of you about your response to my email sent earlier today and I am writing to apologize. I have learned that my words and the tone in the email contributed to silencing students, particularly students of color. I am so sorry for how I have added to frustration, anger and hurt in the conversations and engagement around race, ethnicity and diversity. I was motivated by care for all our students - those who posted and those who defaced the posters - but I failed to recognize how my email would be silencing. I offer my sincere apology. There are events and initiatives that will occur after spring break to address race and diversity. These are intended to more widely open the conversation on our campus. Look for an email from the Executive Team tomorrow that will include comments about these plans among other things. I trust you will receive this email in the spirit in which it is intended - with humility, deep care for all our students and hope that we can move forward together. I am committed to continuing to pursue better conversations and make changes so we can be a stronger community for everyone. I also recommit to my personal journey of understanding and growth. With God’s help, I know we, and I, can make progress. Blessings, Edee At 7pm March 5th, 2020, Professors, Staff and Students crammed into the Voskuyl Prayer Chapel for a vigil addressing the campus racial climate generally and the needs of community of color. While signs were removed from the GLC bridge at roughly 1pm, later in the afternoon and evening other signs appeared around campus and re-appeared on the bridge. Update: By 9am 3/6/20 all signs had been removed again At 12:56pm 3/5/2020, signs were re-posted on the GLC bridge. Within 7 minutes (1:03pm) minutes they were removed. In the morning of March 5th, 2020 Nolan Anderson (President of WCSA) emailed the statement made in chapel to all Students, Faculty and Staff. The statement can be read HERE.
On the morning of March 3rd, 2020 all of the posters were removed from the GLC Bridge and the KSC windows. In addition the Vice President of Student Life, Dr. Edee Schulze sent out an all student email saying "Posters that are in violation of the policy will be removed. Students who are responsible for hanging or defacing posters will be held accountable for their behavior that is in violation of college policy." The full email is below: Edee Schulze9:44 AM (51 minutes ago)
to allstudents To all students, The purpose of this email is to remind all students about the poster policy at Westmont. It can be found in its entirety at this website. I am posting a portion of it below for your convenience. Posters that are in violation of the policy will be removed. Students who are responsible for hanging or defacing posters will be held accountable for their behavior that is in violation of college policy. In the bigger picture, the topic of race and diversity is a very important conversation. The manner in which we conduct ourselves is also important. Respectful and civil discourse is necessary and is demonstrative of the Body of Christ. Our Community Life Statement says: "Learning depends on truth-centered attitudes. It thrives in an atmosphere of discriminating openness to ideas, a condition that is characterized by a measure of modesty toward one's own views, the desire to affirm the true, and the courage to examine the unfamiliar. As convictions are expressed, one enters into the "great conversation" of collegiate life, a task best approached with a willingness to confront and be confronted with sound thinking." I encourage you to read the Community Life Statement in its entirety if you have not done so recently. We all, as students, faculty and staff, have signed it when we came to Westmont. It provides the framework for our community and creates the priorities and principles for our learning, discourse and life together. Please let me know if you have questions. The President's Executive Team, of which I am a member, pray consistently for our community and we will continue to do so. As Jesus prayed for his followers in John 17, may God protect us from the Evil One, sanctify us as the Body of Christ, make us one and give us great joy. Blessings, Edee Poster Policy: All posters on campus must adhere to the posting guidelines. Posting on Campus
To begin the poster approval process, please complete this form.
At 3:15pm on March 4th, 2020, these two signs were found on the prayer chapel:
Angela D'Amour (Dean of Student Engagement) and Westmont College Student Association President, Nolan Anderson give an announcement at the opening of Chapel on 03/04/2020. Audio attached below:
During Chapel on March 4th, 2019, Dr. Chris Hoeckley delivered an apology. A recording is attached below:
Over the night of 3/3/2020 - 3/4/2020 the signs re-appeared on the GLC bridge: There have been both positive and negative reactions to the signs. As of 3/4/20 at 4pm, one student saw another tear down a sign and crumple it up in anger, turning to throw it into the trash. Other students have seen notes of encouragement placed on some of the signs. Images below: |