Seton Hall Students Protest For Diversity Funding

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ - Armed with signs, slogans and a series of chants, dozens of students at Seton Hall University took to the administration building demanding better treatment for minority students and increased funding for courses on diversity.

Thursday marked the second of five days of protests planned. The first two days included a presence outside of interim President Mary Meehan's office. The Twitter page for SHU_concerned 44 posted that the group will complete three days of sit-ins Friday with an additional planned protest on Monday on the University Green. All will culminate Tuesday with a walk out from the University Green to the South Orange Village.

SHU_concerned 44 describes itself: "The Concerned 44 represents the marginalized student body at Seton Hall University. We are standing with the Black Caucus to make our voices heard!"

In a video posted to the SHU_concerned 44 the group can be seen carrying signs and heard listing their demands which include a through examination and reconstruction of administration departments that handle complaints about equity and discrimination, more funding for the Latin American Studies program and Latino/Latina Studies program as well as the Africana Studies program.

"We are deeply dissatisfied with the way students of color have been treated and represented and are holding the administration accountable," SHU_concerned 44 said in a post on Twitter.

The group said they have given the administration a list of five demands that they want met as tuition paying students.

"They have been blatantly pushed to the side and disregarded and we refuse to be ignored," the group said.

Laurie A. Pine, director of Media Relations for Seton Hall said that the South Orange school is one of the most diverse Catholic schools in the country.

“Seton Hall is proud to be one of the most diverse Catholic universities in the country, a community enriched by the diversity of people and ideas both inside and outside of the classroom," Pine said. "As a Catholic university, Seton Hall upholds the dignity and respects the rights of every member of our campus community. We are dedicated to promoting inclusion and diversity among our student body, faculty and staff."

Pine said that during the past six months, senior university administrators have been working with a committee, which includes students, to enhance inclusion, diversity programming and dialogue on campus.

That was not enough for the SHU_concerned 44 group, who posted to Twitter their dissatisfaction with the process.

"We do not want committees, we do not want to talk or negotiate," they said.

Despite the difference of opinion Pine noted that the University affirms unequivocally the students’ right to express their concerns.

"We welcome continuing, constructive dialogue to address the issues they have raised, and we are always interested in exploring new ways to enhance the diversity of our campus culture and academic curriculum,” Pine said.

Maplewood's Christian Duran, one of the student leaders of the protest, told NJ.com that students believe Seton Hall has failed to appropriately respond to incidents involving racism or bias.

"The reason why we have taken this direct action is because students generally feel that all options have been exhausted with the administration," Duran told NJ.com.

(Photo courtesy of Google Earth)

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