Fear of Racial Injustices on Campus

A Saint Joseph’s University 2021 Senior discusses the racial injustices on campus and her view on how to change them. 

 

Start Talking SJU is a social media impact campaign that encourages members of the Saint Joseph’s University community to engage each other by discussing difficult, yet important topics, that are vital for a healthy, open, inclusive campus. Our current topic is Living in Fear, Striving for Hope.

 

More videos like this one on the topic of Living in Fear, Striking for Hope in 2020 can be found at http://livinginfear.starttalkingsju.com. You can also see our prior campaigns: Attacked (http://attacked.starttalkingsju.com), Belonging (http://belonging.starttalking.com), and Mental Health (http://mentalhealth.starttalking.com).

 

This video was co-created with the person depicted and/or represented in a story read by another. All persons reviewed and signed consent forms granting permission to share this story online. 

 

If you are experiencing any personal or social effects due to fear on or off campus, the university has resources that can help, including:

 

The Office of Student Outreach and Support (https://sites.sju.edu/sos/); the SJU COVID website (https://www.sju.edu/hawk-hill-ready); if you are experiencing food insecurity, HawkHub (https://clubs.sju.edu/hawkhubclub); The Bias Activity Review Group, which connects to Public Safety (https://sites.sju.edu/oid/bias/); CAPS (610-660-1090); TitleIX titleIX@sju.edu; REPP (*confidential support) 610-733-9650 (24 hr. Peer Helpline); or SJU Public Safety 610-660-1111.

 

A complete transcript of the video reads as follows:

My biggest fear is that the Saint Joseph administration is not handling um student complaints of racial injustice on campus as well or as thoroughly as they could I think that there is a solution to this problem and that would take place in like multiple steps I think to address the racial incidents that happen on campus is the first most important thing to do and then we need to create an enforceable zero tolerance policy um to deal with students that have made racially motivated attacks on other students or faculty or staff members at St joe’s. I know its a pessimistic view but i’ve been here for four years i know how st joe’s does not like to deal with controversy and they’ll do whatever they want to do to hide from it and not fully address it or not make the changes necessary i think within the school that there are people trying to change it and i hope that they succeed but i don’t think that change will occur anytime soon.