After Week Of Protests, Seton Hall Student Activists Reject Offer

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ - After a week of protests, sit-ins, walkouts and confrontations the student activist group who calls themselves the Concerned 44 has rejected an offer of compromise from Seton Hall University senior leadership, according to Interim President Mary Meehan.

The offer from the University comes after a tumultuous week on the South Orange campus where students camped out in President's Hall, marched through the library, drew criticism from classmates, rallied on the green, walked into downtown South Orange and accused a professor they encountered in the Faculty lounge of assault.

SHU_concerned 44 describes itself: "The Concerned 44 represents the marginalized student body at Seton Hall University. We are standing with the Black Caucus to make our voices heard!"

In videos posted to the SHU_concerned 44 the group can be seen carrying signs and heard listing their demands which include a thorough examination and reconstruction of administration departments that handle complaints about equity and discrimination, more funding for the Latin American Studies program and Latino/Latina Studies program as well as the Africana Studies program.

"We are deeply dissatisfied with the way students of color have been treated and represented and are holding the administration accountable," SHU_concerned 44 said in a post on Twitter.

The group said they have given the administration a list of five demands that they want met as tuition paying students.

"They have been blatantly pushed to the side and disregarded and we refuse to be ignored," the group said.

According to Meehan, that has not been the case as she maintains the University’s leadership has been meeting on an ongoing basis with the Concerned 44 student protesters during the past week to address their concerns and offer realistic solutions.

"To date, the Concerned 44 have rejected all our proposed solutions," Meehan said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to Meehan, late Monday evening she alongside the executive committee of the Faculty Senate, SGA leadership, Interim Provost Karen Boroff and other senior University leadership attended a meeting to discuss the demands of the Concerned 44 have been circulated widely.

You can see them for yourself here.

"During the meeting, I once again informed the students that the University’s senior leadership has listened to their concerns. We are committed to making immediate changes that are aligned with Seton Hall’s mission and dedication to provide a high-quality educational experience for all our students," Meehan said. "Faculty are prepared to make changes in academic programs and departments, recognizing that these changes require additional time for careful analysis and study."

Meehan said the activists were presented with "thoughtfully considered and realistic responses" to the students’ demands.

"This effort is a result of collaboration by the University administration, the senior leadership of the executive committee of the Faculty Senate, and SGA leadership," Meehan said.

The following is the response, on behalf of the University administration, the Provost, the Faculty Senate Executive Committee and the Student Government Association executive board, to the demands of the Concerned 44:

1-2.

• The College of Arts and Sciences faculty, with the support of Dean Peter Shoemaker, will immediately begin a search for a full-time English faculty member specializing in Latin American, Latino/a literature and culture for Fall 2019. In addition, the Dean will immediately approve a hire for a director with a faculty appointment whose responsibilities are to direct and grow the Africana studies program, beginning in Fall 2019. The faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences also will begin immediately to plan with interested students the enhancement of Latino and Latin American Studies and Africana Studies, developing specific timelines. Future hires will be made as demand for seats in classes grows.
  
• We also agree that our goal is for our faculty to proportionately reflect the students we serve.

3.

• We commit to a thorough review of the offices of EEO and Title IX compliance and to enhanced training for all members of the University community. This review will include recommendations to clarify and enhance disciplinary procedures. It will be completed, with recommendations implemented, by Fall 2019.

4.

• The University agrees to create a line item in the next University budget, funded with an additional $20,000 for student-planned activities during Black History, Hispanic-Latino History, Women's History, and Islamic History months and other multi-cultural celebrations. This will be effective in the July 2019 (FY20) budget.

5.

• Interim Provost Karen Boroff has secured a commitment from the deans of all colleges and the executive committee of the Faculty Senate that will include student input in all full-time faculty searches. This is effective immediately.

"These actions represent the culmination of many discussions among many constituencies this past week," Meehan said. "The Concerned 44 shed a brighter light on issues that needed to be addressed. The University is committed to these actions and will immediately initiate them. Hazard zet Forward!"

Meehan said she believes that the actions listed above address the group’s primary concerns and are in the best interests of the entire University community.

The activist group has drawn its share of criticism as well as praise on campus this week. Students reached out to Patch sharing their concerns with the SHU_concerned 44. These students, fearing retaliation, asked to speak anonymously.

"I have friends who agree that their protests interrupting classes and screaming at passerby’s are intimidating and inappropriate," one student said. "I also know that on their Instagram that they mentioned that our Interim President’s response to their demands wasn’t good enough but many questioned why that is."

A sophomore at Seton Hall wrote an open letter to the protesters and shared it with Patch. In the opening remarks the student describes the disruption to student life.

"Running into them is now unavoidable. The group has been noticeably seen openly protesting outside of President’s Hall as well as in the university library and in multiple classroom buildings including Stafford Hall. While I am supportive of peaceful protests, this protest is anything but peaceful. Being screamed at while walking to and from class, having classes be disrupted by vocal protests, and being unable to focus and study for midterms while in the library are just some of the problems caused by these protests. You cannot preach about wanting to enhance the university and the experiences of students while disrupting the education of others around you," the letter said.

The characterization of the group as less than peaceful was also used by History Professor Williamjames Hoffer, who had an altercation with the group in the faculty lounge.

Hoffer said it seems as if the protesters believe they are engaging in some sort of civil disobedience akin to Ghandi or Martin Luther King, but that isn't the case.

"What they are doing is much more aggressive," Hoffer told Patch. "They are not engaging in civil disobedience. What they are doing is provocative and meant to create an exacerbation of tension and chaos."

Hoffer was accused of making physical contact with Miles, one of the movements organizers. An exchange that Hoffer says has been mischaracterized.

The Twitter page for SHU_concerned 44 posted:

"During our PEACEFUL protest Professor Williamjames Hoffer here at Seton Hall University, shoved a student and had to be held back by his faculty members... This is WHY we are protesting! The security has been "protecting" the provost while the students are being attacked!"

Hoffer told Patch the contact was inadvertent contact when he attempted to students from trespassing in the University Club. Hoffer said that when he saw the group approaching he put his hand up with a stopping motion like a police officer and tried to block them from entering and the group ignored him and went into the room.

"In the process my hand came in contact with the shoulder of a female student," Hoffer said. "I was not attempting to harm or shove anyone."

Seton Hall University spokesperson Laurie Pine said the University was informed of an alleged incident between a faculty member and a Concerned 44 student protester while protesting inside the Faculty Lounge.

"The University takes allegations of this nature very seriously and urges the student involved in this incident to come to Public Safety so the matter can be investigated," Pine said. "Seton Hall's top priority is to provide a safe and welcoming campus environment where all members of the University community feel respected."

The Concerned 44 have been posting to social media frequently, describing what they call intimidation tactics and threats by the University. Meehan characterizes those exchanges differently.

"The Concerned 44 were informed on Saturday that they had violated their original request to hold a three-day sit-in of Presidents Hall from Oct. 24-26. This request was originally approved in keeping with the University’s Student Protest Policy," Meehan said. "The group, unfortunately, violated its initial approval, continuing the sit-in. When I met with the students last evening, I once again informed them of this violation and requested that the group end the sit-in, or the students would be subject to disciplinary action."

Meehan said that those decisions are about balancing the need of all members of the campus community.

"We must balance the needs of all members of our campus community. It is important that we continue to provide a safe environment that is conducive to learning," she said.

Messages to Miles and other members of Concerned 44 have not been returned.

(Photo courtesy of Google Earth)

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