UPDATED: Nov. 21, 2019 2:28 a.m.

Hundreds of people filled the pews of Hendricks Chapel just after 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Forty minutes into the forum, only around 150 people remained.

Students, faculty and administrators had gathered at Hendricks to discuss Chancellor Kent Syverud’s response to student demands aiming to protect minority students and change campus culture. #NotAgainSU — a movement led by black students — previously presented Syverud with 18 demands and gave him until 5 p.m. Wednesday to agree to and sign them.

The chancellor released his response to the demands in an email sent Tuesday afternoon. But he had not signed them by the time the forum began. In his opening remarks, Syverud said he couldn’t agree to every word of the demands without consulting other university officials.

“Sign or resign,” protesters chanted as they headed to the chapel doors. “Sign or resign.”

Syverud would later meet separately with some #NotAgainSU protesters and international students. The chancellor announced early Thursday morning that he agreed to 16 of 19 demands, as written.

After many students walked out of the forum, SU community members continued to share their experiences, fears and concerns — all without knowing the state of the demands and the #NotAgainSU movement.

The forum began with senior Jett Cloud and other #NotAgainSU representatives speaking about the movement and their concerns with SU’s response to hate crimes and bias-related incidents that have been reported in the last two weeks. Cloud called on Syverud, Department of Public Safety Chief Bobby Maldonado and Dolan Evanovich, senior vice president for enrollment and the student experience, to resign if the demands weren’t signed.

“The present situation is only the latest incident in the unfortunately long timeline of students of color consistently being under attack on this campus,” Cloud said.

Cloud was one of the many students who marched out of Hendricks. Those who remained asked questions and told stories that echoed what he had expressed: the university has not done enough.

The chancellor said he believed an agreement with the protesters will be met either Wednesday night of Thursday morning. Ali Harford | Senior Staff Designer

In response to #NotAgainSU’s fifth demand, SU said they would implement revisions to the university’s Student Code of Conduct by August 2020.

“Why not now?” one student asked.

Dean of Students Marianne Thomson said August 2020 was the timeframe chosen because students have to sign the code at the start of each year. Changing it during the school year would be unfair, she said.

One student asked about the white supremacist manifesto allegedly sent to students’ cellphones Monday night in Bird Library. DPS said the manifesto presented “no direct threat” to the SU community in a campus-wide email sent Tuesday. One student at the forum asked how that was possible.

Maldonado said he is unsure how the manifesto made its way to campus. The FBI, Syracuse Police Department and New York State Police determined that the manifesto did not pose a threat, he said.

A Chinese international student said they did not understand why certain professors canceled classes in response to the manifesto, but schools and colleges remained open. John Liu, incoming interim vice chancellor and provost, said he will be working on the issue of class cancellation with other university officials Wednesday night.

Addressing Syverud, one staff member said students’ parents are paying the university to keep their children safe in a “world that hates them.”

“You have students over there standing in front of you, and you were asked one question: yes or no?” The staff member said. “I feel sorry for everyone up here because you couldn’t say yes.”

#NotAgainSU’s third demand is to revise SEM 100, a first-year seminar that teaches diversity and inclusion. Amanda Nicholson, assistant provost and dean of student success, said at the forum that the course was originally structured in a way that was never meant to be “long term.” Students have repeatedly expressed that the course has been insufficient in promoting diversity.

“We were trying to do something quickly, and we had eight weeks to get it done,” Nicholson said.

About 20 people addressed SU officials at Hendricks, but many in attendance still had questions when the forum ended around 9:20 p.m. on Wednesday. Syverud emerged from his meeting with #NotAgainSU protesters at that time and addressed the students in front of him, many still waiting for answers.

“Something is going to happen on this tonight or tomorrow morning,” Syverud said at the forum’s end. “That doesn’t solve the things I heard tonight.”

This post has been updated with additional reporting. 

Published on November 21, 2019 at 1:09 am

Contact Natalie: nrrubiol@syr.edu