A demonstration held by three cultural fraternities drew crowds of curious students to the foot of the Library Tower Tuesday afternoon.
The brothers of Phi Iota Alpha, MALIK Fraternity Inc. and Lambda Sigma Upsilon, Latino Fraternity, sponsored the demonstration, called “Take a Stand.”
The aim of the event, according to the mission statement handed out to onlookers, was to, “unify our people at Binghamton University, to remember those we have lost through oppression and to take a stand on issues that are being overlooked.”
Students participating in the demonstration, which included both males and females of multiple ethnicities, donned brightly colored T-shirts and signs and addressed the crowd through a megaphone.
“It is time for us to see past the limits of color,” said one demonstrator into the megaphone. “It is time for us to take a stand.”
The signs carried, in colors including baby blue and orange, bore slogans such as, “Despierta Latino- wake up,” “take a stand” and “the application of knowledge is power.” On-lookers were invited to use the extra materials provided by the demonstrators to construct their own sign and join in.
A main topic addressed during the demonstration was the lack of funding received by the Latin American and Caribbean Area Studies and Africana Studies departments. The LACAS program suffered severe budget cuts in 2003 and it shares most of its professors and classes with other departments.
“If we’re the future of this country, then why are we being denied access to materials that will teach us about other countries?” questioned a demonstrator through the megaphone.
A typed sheet handed out to the crowd during the event further outlined the aspects of the issues being addressed by the event.
“Through its actions over the last ten years, the University has declared war on students and students are shut out of any student input to decision making, especially when it comes to issues of black and brown students,” said the sheet.
The demonstrators and mission statement also addressed the lack of diversity in Residential Life and the housing system, the lack of cultural representation in the faculty and staff of BU and the disunity and discord between organizations on campus.
“It is not the issue of a black man; it is not the issue of a Latino student. It is the issue of a student,” said a demonstrator into the megaphone.
The demonstrators fell into spouts of chanting throughout the event, raising their fists in the air and stating, “take a stand” to the crowd of on-lookers, who enthusiastically repeated the slogan back to the group.
The initial phase of the demonstration, which started around 1 p.m. at the fountain, moved into a silent march around the brain at 3:30 p.m. Demonstrators encouraged all present, regardless of ethnicity, to join in their fight and follow.
The event ended with a vigil at the Dickinson Amphitheater, intended to remember those lost, specifically Rosa Parks, Filiberto Ojeda Rios, Mimi Del Valle, victims of the violence in Haiti and the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the earthquakes in Pakistan.