Students, faculty and community members gathered outside the Binghamton University Union on Wednesday in support of Ana Maria Candela, an assistant professor of sociology who has recently come under fire for a policy in her syllabus.

The rally, held in support of Candela and her policy, was organized by the Latin American Student Union (LASU), featuring students, sociology faculty and community organizers speaking in support of her and the policy. On Candela’s syllabus for her Sociology 100: Social Change: Introduction to Sociology course, Candela included a section saying that she would practice a “progressive stacking” model in the class, a model that would prioritize calling on nonwhite, female or shy students during class discussions. This prompted a student in the class, Sean Harrigan, a junior majoring in economics, to file a Title IX complaint for gender discrimination. The University then told Candela to write a statement clarifying the policy, which the University never released.

The Title IX complaint was covered by several news outlets, such as Campus Reform, The Guardian and Fox News. In response to the news coverage, Candela has been on the receiving end of hate mail and harassment, according to a blog post from the sociology department.

Candela said that she was grateful for the support that she’s been receiving from colleagues, students and friends, and attended the rally to support the student groups that have been supporting her.

“I wanted to support LASU, [the Women’s Student Union (WSU)] and the other student groups organizing the rally because their statements connect what is happening to me with a broader set of problems that plague students and faculty of color, women and LGBTQ folks within the University,” Candela wrote in an email.

Melanie Ibagon, political correspondent of LASU, main organizer of the rally and a sophomore double-majoring in music and linguistics, wrote in an email on behalf of LASU that they felt it was not the first time the University has not prioritized defending campus community members of color.

“We are holding this rally because we are tired as [people of color] at this university to have to constantly be overlooked and for the administration to continue ignoring us and assume what we want,” Ibagon wrote. “What happened to Prof. Candela was only the breaking point for so many [Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC)] students and faculty. [BU] has made it evident that they will always choose to protect their white students rather than their own faculty. We held this rally because we know it’s time for [BU] to implement a change with the way their students and faculty of color and women are treated and because we refuse to be ignored.”

At the protest LASU E-Board members read aloud a list of demands for the University, calling upon the University to make an official statement on how the use of progressive stacking violated the Faculty-Staff Handbook and why this claim was addressed immediately compared to other Title IX claims, to acknowledge that the situation was handled poorly and to have progressive stacking implemented in more classrooms.

Donald Neiman, the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, responded to some frequently asked questions about the situation in an email letter, stating the issue was with the language in Candela’s syllabus. According to the letter, the language violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which guides the University and its employees. The letter also said the policy went against the “principles of effective teaching” contained in the Faculty-Staff Handbook.

“The University supports the goal of inclusive teaching, and all good teachers strive to ensure that all students have a voice in their classes,” the letter stated. “Undoubtedly, that was Professor Candela’s intent, and we applaud her for it. However, the controversy was not about Professor Candela’s intentions or even her actual teaching practices; it was about the language she included in her syllabus which is inconsistent with Professor Candela’s and [the] University’s obligations under federal law.”

According to the letter, the University never told Candela to change her syllabus, and that was a decision made by Candela herself. The letter also said that Candela never faced any sort of disciplinary action for her syllabus policy, but instead had a conversation with Celia Klin, the dean of Harpur College of Arts and Sciences, about why the language was problematic.

Candela thanked the University, specifically Klin, for checking in on her regularly, but also wanted to place accountability on the administration for how they handled the situation as a whole.

“The University has, thus far, made no declaration recognizing me as a respected and valued member of the University, nor has it made a declaration affirming the principles of academic freedom that protect what we teach and how we teach,” Candela wrote. “While they have shown concern for the fact that my removed web profile communicates mistakenly that I was subjected to disciplinary measures, they have yet to express any concern for the damage to my reputation as a junior scholar without tenure. There is no plan of action in place for mitigating the immeasurable damage to my reputation. That I must face on my own, and that is daunting.”

Candela also spoke at the rally, where she thanked both those in attendance and those who have reached out to her sharing their positive experiences with the progressive stacking policy.

“The syllabus upheaval is not the main issue — it is just the catalyst that has released all the fury that is continuously building on this campus,” Candela said. “Every moment that there is an act of racism, students and faculty rally. Every time that there is an overt case of sexual harassment or violence that gets shared, students and faculty rally. We call for town halls, we call for the administration, we have conversations with them. They start to put out more policies, more statements, more verbiage and it does nothing. It does not change anything. It does nothing to help the people who have to inhabit the lives that are victimized by all of this.”

Gladys Jiménez-Muñoz, an associate professor and chair of the sociology department, also spoke at the rally. Jiménez-Muñoz called for students to be attentive to the dialogue and debate around the issue, and expressed concern for potential implications in the classroom.

“I’m concerned about people telling me what to teach in the classroom and how to do it,” Jiménez-Muñoz said. “I’m concerned about books that can be censored, about issues I cannot talk about. I don’t think that is right.”

Toward the end of the rally, Ibagon thanked other student groups, such as WSU, the Asian Student Union and the Student Association, for putting out statements in support of Candela.

“It’s really overwhelming to see this amount of support from you guys,” Ibagon said. “To [Professor] Candela, even though I did not take your class, I want to thank you for giving the opportunity to women, to Black, Latinx and Asian [and] BIPOC on this campus and other students of color at this predominantly white institution [(PWI)] to have the opportunity to feel comfortable to use their voices and create a space, [in an environment] where we don’t always feel comfortable to say what we want to say. I genuinely wish other professors would implement your practice because I genuinely would feel so much safer that way.”

Jacqueline Frazer, a fifth-year Ph.D. student studying sociology, was one of several students who brought signs to the rally, with hers reading “SUNY BING PROTECTS RACISTS.” Frazer said that she wanted to attend the rally to criticize the administration’s handling of the situation, as well as show support for Candela and her policy.

“I think it’s an inclusive policy that encourages students of color, women and generally shy students to speak up in settings that sometimes don’t allow them to or don’t foster that,” Frazer said. “I don’t think it’s something that’s exclusionary, but inclusionary and that contradicts the narrative that’s coming out from the student that had the problem with it.”

Ah’Janae Johnson, another attendee at the rally and a sophomore majoring in linguistics, also criticized the University’s response to the situation, and said she wanted to attend the rally to let Candela know that students at the University support both her and her progressive stacking policy.

“To hear all the backlash that the professor got was upsetting,” Johnson said. “We don’t have people like that, especially professors at a PWI to protect us, to take care of us and all that stuff. So I wanted to show up, even though I didn’t take the class, to let her know that I was here for her.”