MRC Student Coalition Demands

"Classrooms which encourage healthy academic discourse. This includes dissent, assumption of best intent, and dismantling of micro-aggressive tendencies in students and educators. Classrooms which reflect best practice, engage in multiple narratives, and welcome different learning styles are necessary to the holistic growth of individual students. Classrooms must also provide space to discuss how readings may be problematic and which actively teach counter-narratives that are contemporary, relevant, and connective to modern issues." Aren't you just saying that the only academic discourse worth discussing is what you want to talk about? You have socratic discussions anyways, how would this be enforced? Every time the discussion doesn't talk about racism, there's a buzzer?

Solidarity from UW black activists We see you, we hear you, we are with you!

We need to be hear we have been put aside and ignored, this needs to stop

It is completely unnacceptable for the dean of a HUMANITIES college to lack understanding and empathy to this who have been oppressed and to further oppress individuals!!!

What a bunch of entitled narcissistic crybabies. "Micro aggressions" What a joke, as are these students. BTW; Seattle University is a private Catholic university and the students knew about the curriculum before they enrolled did they not?

10 years ago Featured

As a 2010 alumnus of Seattle University, I strongly support the MRC Student Coalition's demands. These are issues that have been on-going since at least my time (2007-2010) at Seattle University, and it is frankly shameful how resistant the administration has been to these demands.

Much needed after so many years!

sending love and support from UC Irvine :-)

As someone who works in higher ed, I wholeheartedly support SU students' push for curriculum change and a more critical and inclusive learning environment!

As an alumn of Matteo Ricci College, I demand Jody Kelly's resignation and wholeheartedly support every single one of these demands. In addition, Seattle University President Fr. Sundborg and Provost Isaah Crawford need to be held accountable for the fact that at least for the past eight years, in spite of having full knowledge of these issues, allowed former Deans Fisher and Andrews, along with Kelly in her capacity as Associate Dean and other MRC faculty, to continue to intellectually, psychologically and emotionally abuse and manipulate students of color (many of us who also identified as women/femme, queer, gender non-conforming, trans, working-class and/or public-school educated). A form of restorative justice and true healing for those of us who survived MRC will only occur when these demands are fully met. MRC is far from offering a teaching program, what they have is, at best, a money-making and POC-token-quota scheme that they have used to cheat students out of a real education. Aldo U. Reséndiz Ramírez M.A. in Applied Linguistics Teachers College Columbia University '16

Standing in solidarity with you all!

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I graduated from Seattle U ten years ago. The place changed my life, and I will always be profoundly grateful for those changes. At the same time, ask me to tell you the stories of white male professors (and other school leaders) and how they regularly and routinely excluded and demeaned me, as a single mother. Seattle U, committed to social justice, has long needed an adjustment in perspective. I'm so grateful for the action of these students.

SU grad student in solidarity with MRC student demands!

The Pope would be greatly disappointed.

I agree with much of the intention laid out in this petition, but I am consistently hung up on the logistics of removing microaggressions. I think the term is just now getting used on the macro level and because of that it's meaning is not set in stone yet. Some people can use microaggression as a term to attempt to enact social change, but often the literal application ends with the silencing of any disagreeable opinions. As I see it, hate exists in the world, and demanding that the language around hate be quieted on campus only serves to make people more comfortable. It only delays our inevitable interaction with the disagreeable. Do we not need to learn how to stand against hate, debate it, and hold our own? Once we walk off this quiet campus there will be no administrators or evaluations to protect us from aggression (both macro and micro) and what service does it do to simply delay our interaction with people that disagree with us? I would appreciate any/all comments that disagree with me. Please, if you can, try to change my mind. Here's my email address if you'd rather contact me privately; [email protected]

Thank you for being the voice of change.

As an alumni of Seattle University and a Matteo Ricci Drop out, I fully support the demands and concerns of the students. This has been long overdue!

The official response should be as follows: "The students involved were arrested and expelled from the University."

This needs to go through