“It acknowledges that racism does exist, but we can overcome it by becoming more willing to talk about race. It means we are better than racism, discrimination, stereotyping, and prejudice.”
— Meredith Crenca ’19
Seligman responded three days later by announcing “a series of specific steps to address the right of all in our community to be part of a community that is safe and supportive.” One of those was a presidentially appointed Commission on Race and Diversity, a University-wide group that has been meeting this spring to assess issues of race and diversity. Since getting under way this winter, the group has held several town hall sessions, conducted research, and issued a preliminary report to Seligman. The group has been posting its work on its website at Rochester.edu/president/commission-on-race-and-diversity.
Another initiative was the creation of a working group to raise awareness about and to combat racism, headed by Beth Olivares, dean for diversity initiatives, and Norman Burnett, assistant dean and director of the Office of Minority Student Affairs. The group meets weekly and is composed of deans, department heads, staff, and students.
The group organized a student video contest, asking for 3- to 5-minute videos that illustrate why racism won’t be tolerated on campus. First prize is $500, and second prize is $300. The deadline is midnight Friday, and the committee will choose the finalists. Anyone with a University Net ID then will be able to vote for their favorite video, and the winner will become part of a marketing campaign.
After much brainstorming, We’re Better Than That was chosen as the slogan in February. Committee members liked its subtle message and likened it to Nike’s popular Just Do It campaign, created in 1988, and the Obama administration’s 2014 It’s On Us slogan to educate college students and members of campus communities on preventing sexual assault.
“Sexual assault isn’t mentioned in It’s On Us,” Delinois says, “but everyone knows that’s what it means.”
Meredith Crenca ’19 says the University’s slogan “effectively emphasizes our community’s desire to fight the racism that exists on campus.”
“It acknowledges that racism does exist, but we can overcome it by becoming more willing to talk about race,” the public health and Spanish double major from Rockville, Maryland, says. “It means we are better than racism, discrimination, stereotyping, and prejudice.”
The campaign was launched at a February 27 basketball doubleheader. Hundreds of T-shirts, buttons and stickers with the new yellow-and-blue slogan were handed out in the Louis Alexander Palestra. All 500 shirts were gone before the last whistle sounded.
Soon after, Olivares and her staff began receiving T-shirt orders from different departments. March 21 seemed a natural day to wear them in a show of support. On that day in 1960, police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fired and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against the country’s apartheid laws. Six years later, the United Nations proclaimed March 21 the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and asked the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.
“The T-shirt event Monday is a show of solidarity and yet another great opportunity to raise awareness about our own antiracism campaign,” Burnett says. “Our committee will both develop and recommend a series of programs, resources, and activities designed to combat racism and hate speech at the University.”
Burnett says some of the initiatives may include:
- Educational programming focused on issues of racism during orientation and other major events
- An interactive website with a range of tools and resources designed to combat racism
- Common readings and discussions on race, bias and discrimination
- Curricular immersion
- Student, staff, and faculty diversity training with an emphasis on improving race relations
- Encourage reporting of bias related incidents via the revamped reporting system