UPDATE: Student-occupied building at Princeton U. opens despite protest

PRINCETON - Princeton University students organized by the Black Justice League group waged an overnight sit-in in the university president's office to demand changes including the removal of Woodrow Wilson's name from campus.

Other students joined the protest outside the university's Nassau Hall and slept overnight in tents.

About 40 students spent the night inside Nassau Hall, despite a threat of disciplinary action from the school administration. The building is scheduled to reopen for regular business at 9 a.m.

The sit-in began Wednesday afternoon after a protest on campus. Students met with university President Christopher L. Eisgruber and gave him a list of demands centered around improving the lives of black students at the school.

They vowed to occupy the university's Nassau Hall until their demands were met. Eisgruber declined to sign the document listing the students' demands.

Martin Mbugua, university spokesman, said the administration warned students they could face disciplinary action if they continued to occupy the hall overnight. Mbugua was not more specific about what actions could be taken.

We want to thank all those bringing in food, blankets, sleeping bags, water, juice, warm clothes, etc. it's great seeing all the love pouring in. #occupyNassau Posted by Black Justice League on Wednesday, November 18, 2015

The group wants the university to acknowledge the "racist legacy of Woodrow Wilson and how he impacted campus policy and culture," the letter stated, calling attention to the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

The group also demands staff cultural competency training and mandatory classes for students covering "the history of marginalized peoples."

The following is the full text of the demands presented to the university:

To President Eisgruber and Princeton University Staff,

We have gathered here today to outline our demands for this administration so that i may be held accountable in improving the social and academic experiences of its black students at Princeton.

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 students' 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 the 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 this document.

Black Justice League

Keith Brown may be reached at kbrown@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBrownTrenton. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.