Dear President Eisgruber and Princeton University Staff,
We have gathered here today to outline our demands for this administration so that it may be held accountable in improving the social and academic experiences of its black students at Princeton. There is no pride in being the number one university in the country when for its students of color and marginalized communities, Princeton very rarely leads but often follows.
WE DEMAND the university administration publicly acknowledge the racist legacy of Woodrow Wilson and how he impacted campus policy and culture. We also demand that steps be made to rename Wilson residential college, the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy and International Affairs, and any other building named after him. Furthermore, we would like the mural of Wilson to be removed from the Wilcox dining hall.
WE DEMAND cultural competency training for all staff and faculty. It was voted down on the grounds of trespassing freedom of speech last spring semester. We demand a public conversation, which will be student led and administration supported, on the true role of freedom of speech and freedom of intellectual thought in a way that does not reinforce anti-Blackness and xenophobia. We demand classes on the history of marginalized peoples (for example, courses in the Department for African American Studies) be added to the list of distribution requirements. Learning about marginalized groups, their cultures, and structures of privilege is just as important as any science or quantitative reasoning course. We propose that this requirement be incorporated into the Social Analysis requirement.
WE DEMAND a cultural space on campus dedicated specifically to Black students, and that space can be within the Carl A. Fields Center but should be clearly marked. The naming of this space should be at the student’s’ discretion in order to avoid naming it after a white benefactor or person with bigoted beliefs, as evidenced by the naming of Stanhope Hall.
These are demands from Black students at Princeton, who, in the words of Fannie Lou Hamer, are “sick and tired of being sick and tired.” While we are grateful for the collaboration we have had with faculty and administrators in the past, we make these demands during this unique time to expedite these processes.
So that we can ensure that these demands will be met, we will request that President Eisgruber sign [the] document.