Binghamton University students held a rally on Saturday protesting racist comments made by Student Assembly representatives at last week’s Assembly meeting.
Members of Asian Outlook, as well as individuals from other student groups on campus, gathered during Spring Fling and hosted a protest they titled, “Rally Against Racism and Intolerance,” demanding those responsible for the racist comments be suspended from their Student Association and Assembly positions.
“We decided to do this protest because this event was not the first time racist remarks were made by the SA,” said William To, editor in chief of Asian Outlook and organizer of the rally. “This is unacceptable and cannot go on any longer. We need to speak out against it.”
At the Assembly meeting on Monday, April 27, after a dispute about breaking the meeting’s quorum, Assembly representative Mike Lombardi allegedly told Vice President for Finance Alice Liou, who is Asian-American, to “go eat a dog.” Liou was accused of calling Lombardi “whitey.” Campus police showed up, but no charges were pressed.
The previous day, representative and elected Student Assembly chair Ehlad Bar-Shai was accused of asking Liou how she could see with her “squinty eyes.”
“Although we were protesting what was said by Lombardi and Bar-Shai, we do believe that all comments made in this situation are wrong,” said Calvin Prashad, a sophomore who is editor in chief-elect for Asian Outlook.
During his outreach to students, in an attempt to find protest volunteers, Prashad said he realized that many students were unaware of what was going on within the Assembly.
“We saw that we were informing students, and that many had no idea what was going on,” he said.
To agreed that a main success of the protest was to bring awareness to the students at BU. He said many know that the Student Association is somewhat aloof, but unless they read Pipe Dream they won’t understand what is going on.
“I hope that students will understand that there is a good amount of discrimination in the SA, not just against race, but gender, ideology and sexual orientation as well,” To said. “I hope they understand these things are going on and people in positions of power are getting away with these comments.”
In response to the events of the April 27 meeting, the SA sent out a statement in which they condemned the actions of Ehlad Bar-Shai, Mike Lombardi and Alice Liou, stating that there is no place for racism within the SA or on campus.
“The Student Association must stand up for those whose personal civil rights have been infringed upon,” the statement read. “We cannot accept this type of behavior from a select few.”
The Student Association for the State University of New York also commented on the events that are occurring with the SA at BU.
“The Student Assembly of the State University of New York does not condone any form of racism or intolerance among its leaders and expects our campus student governments to hold that same standard,” wrote Gabrielle Magnanti, director of diversity and junior at the University of Cortland. “The issue at hand is one Binghamton University must deal with as a community, however, we are impressed with the Student Association’s timely response both in words and actions. We trust student leaders and university administration to address this matter fairly and hope that everyone has learned a valuable lesson from this incident and can continue to enjoy a safe environment throughout the remainder of the school year.”
While those involved in the rally are optimistic they got their message out, all they can do now is wait and see what the Student Association will do regarding Bar-Shai. Lombardi resigned from his position after last week’s incident.
When it comes to next year’s executive board, both Prashad and To are hoping for the best.
“I do have faith in some of the new SA executive board members that just got elected,” To said. “I hope that this won’t continue. For now I hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”