(Norman, OK) A group of University of Oklahoma students announced Wednesday that they are going on a hunger strike to demand actions after recent, separate incidents involving professors using a racial slur during class.
On Monday, university Interim President Joseph Harroz released a statement that a history professor offered a “trigger warning” to students before saying a racial slur while reading from a historical document.
The OU Daily reported Tuesday the professor, Kathleen Brosnan, apologized to her students. Brosnan then defended her action by saying she used the slur so her students would recognize the ugliness that exists in U.S. history.
The incident comes about two weeks after a journalism professor, Peter Gade, used the racial slur in class, comparing its use to the use of the phrase, “OK, boomer.” Gade has since issued an apology to students and faculty members and has stepped down from teaching his undergraduate class.
Members of OU’s Black Emergency Response Team gathered for a rally at 8 a.m. Wednesday at Evans Hall. During the rally, students announced that they will go on a hunger strike until their demands are fully met.
Here are the demands listed by BERT members:
- Provost Kyle Harper resigns from his position as provost effective immediately, with contingent plans on how the university will do what students said Harper has not
- Mandatory equity training for all faculty
- Shift the one-time diversity experience training to a semester long class taken by all incoming and transfer students
- Create a multi-cultural center for all marginalized groups on campus
The students went inside Evans Hall and sat down for a silent protest, holding signs demanding actions.
