Ken Berwitz
Important Notice: Please refer to the official Amherst Uprising website fortheir most accurate and updated list of demands. The “Amherst Uprising – WhatWe Stand For” article reflects the demands of Amherst Uprising submitted toAmherst Soul as of 11/13/15. Thank you.
Submitted by Amherst Uprising – a collective ofstudents on campus who came together as a result of the sit-In organized inFrost Library on 11/12/15.
Students shared the demands below with President BiddyMartin that same evening in Frost.
Initiate within 24-48 hours and complete by Wednesday, November 18,11:59 pm.
Please communicate this list to the Board of Trustees on behalf of thestudents.
This list includes demands not only for President Biddy Martin but forkey people of the administration –
Preamble:
We, Students of Amherst College, refuse to accept the negative socialclimate created towards our peers of color and other marginalized groups. Wehave begun this movement, Amherst Uprising, in an effort to change the statusquo for a more just and inclusive environment within our campus. We demand thatAmherst become a leader in the fight to promote a better social climate towardsindividuals who have been systematically oppressed. Student leaders acknowledgeand support the demands previously stated and currently being presented.Furthermore, we demand the College acknowledge its ethical and moralresponsibilities as an institution and community of our world. Amherst Collegeshould not be complicit in oppressive organizations and systems, no less.
We as a compassionate student body have gathered to address the legacyof oppression on campus. If these goals are not initiated within the next 24 to48 hours, and completed by November 18th, we will organize and respond in aradical manner, through civil disobedience. If there is a continued failure tomeet our demands, it will result in an escalation of our response.
1. President Martin must issue a statement of apology tostudents, alumni and former students, faculty, administration and staff whohave been victims of several injustices including but not limited to ourinstitutional legacy of white supremacy, colonialism, anti-black racism,anti-Latinx racism, anti-Native American racism, anti-Native/ indigenousracism, anti-Asian racism, anti-Middle Eastern racism, heterosexism,cis-sexism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, ableism, mental health stigma, andclassism. Also include that marginalized communities and their allies shouldfeel safe at Amherst College.
2. We demand Cullen Murphy ‘74, Chairman of the Board ofTrustees, to issue a statement of apology to students, alumni and formerstudents, faculty, administration, and staff who have been victims of severalinjustices including but not limited to our institutional legacy of whitesupremacy, colonialism, anti-black racism, anti-Latinx racism, anti-NativeAmerican racism, anti-Native/ indigenous racism, anti-Asian racism, anti-MiddleEastern racism, heterosexism, cis-sexism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, ableism,mental health stigma, and classism
3. Amherst College Police Department must issue astatement of protection and defense from any form of violence, threats, orretaliation of any kind resulting from this movement.
4. President Martin must issue a statement of apology to faculty,staff and administrators of color as well as their allies, neither of whom wereprovided a safe space for them to thrive while at Amherst College.
5. President Martin must issue a statement to the AmherstCollege community at large that states we do not tolerate the actions ofstudent(s) who posted the “All Lives Matter” posters, and the “Free Speech” posters thatstated that “in memoriam of the true victim of the Missouri Protests: FreeSpeech.” Also let the student body know that it was racially insensitive to thestudents of color on our college campus and beyond who are victim to racialharassment and death threats; alert them that Student Affairs may require themto go through the Disciplinary Process if a formal complaint is filed, and thatthey will be required to attend extensive training for racial and culturalcompetency.
6. President Martin must issue a statement of support forthe revision of the Honor Code to reflect a zero-tolerance policy for racialinsensitivity and hate speech.
7. President Martin must release a statement by Friday,November 13th, 2015 by 5:00pm that condemns the inherent racist nature of theunofficial mascot, the Lord Jeff, and circulate it to the student body,faculty, alumni, and Board of Trustees. This will be followed up by theencouraged removal of all imagery including but not limited to apparel,memorabilia, facilities, etc. for Amherst College and all of its affiliates viaa phasing out process within the next year.
8. Dean Epstein must ask faculty to excuse all studentsfrom all 5 College classes, work shifts, and assignments from November 12th,2015 to November 13th, 2015 given their organization of and attendance at theSit-In.
9. Do not threaten the jobs of the faculty, staff, oradministrators that support our list of demands. Such threats will result in anescalation of our response.
10. The Office of Alumni and Parent Programs must send formerstudents an email of current events on campus including a statement thatAmherst College does not condone any racist or culturally insensitive reactionsto this information.
11. Dean Epstein must encourage faculty to provide a space forstudents to discuss this week’s events during class time.
Please acknowledge that all of these statements of apology are not theend all – that they are only a part of short-term healing and by no meansachieve all of the goals we will set forth. We are in the process of finalizinglong-term goals which we hope to collaborate on regularly with all members ofthe community.
By no means does this start/stop with the administration.
