The Independent Student Newspaper of Northern Kentucky University.

‘Do not silence yourselves’: Editor’s letter motivating students to push further

April 4, 2021

A+sticker+from+Patriot+Front.

Josh Kelly

A sticker from Patriot Front.

The acts of Patriot Front are not accidental. They are not incidentally discriminating against people.

When they came to campus in late January, they spray-painted over the names of African women as we were praising them the same day as Holocaust Remembrance Day.

That same January weekend at Xavier University, they cut a banner that said “Racism is a sin. Black Lives Matter” in half. This weekend, the same banner was cut again along with another reading “Latinx community will always stand with you. BLM.”

They’ve come to Xavier, NKU, Thomas More, Miami and several other colleges.

As a Black student, I can say confidently that Black students are tired. As a friend of several other minority communities, I know they too are tired.

When you attend a predominately white institution as a minority, you understand that you will feel pressure and, unfortunately, some form of racism from students, faculty, staff, community members and sometimes a combination of them.

As NKU continues to experience racist acts from students, faculty, staff and community members, there has been little change and little transparency with the results of these incidents. However, I have seen some change we made and to those still here next fall, I say one thing:

Do not silence yourselves.

Make your threads. Make your tweets but be the change you want the University to implement.

Join SGA. Join high levels of your fraternity or sorority. Minorities, join these predominantly white organizations with power. Majority students, support minority students’ organizations, events, etc.

Predominantly white organizations, reach across to Black, Latinx, Asian, Indigenous and International students outside of our history and appreciation months. 

But most importantly, talk to administrators. Talk to professors. Get plugged in with the actual changemakers. Students can impact the campus environment on our level, but the administration can shape our environment on all levels.

And to the administration, white supremacy is rooted in one thing. Name it and fight against it.

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