Boston University students rallied in the center of campus Thursday afternoon, calling on the university to embrace the "Black Lives Matter" movement, hire more people of color and denounce "systemic racism."

The protest began in front of BU's Marsh Chapel with chanting and students calling out the names of people killed by police.

"We're all here because we're sick and tired of the status quo," said BU senior Negin Taleb. "And we're not scared to hide from the truth anymore. We're not scared to do our own research. We're not scared to call out racism and bigotry when we see it. ... We're not scared to rise up."

The protesters published their demands Thursday in the name of the members of the BU School of Social Work Student Organization. They want the university to require incoming students to study "racial justice principles" and move away from "white-centric" and "heteronormative" lectures, readings and other media.

A BU spokesman said Thursday afternoon he could not comment because the university had not been presented with the students' demands.

In November, hundreds of BU students protested in Marsh Plaza in solidarity with their counterparts at the University of Missouri, where students rose up in protest over claims of racism on campus.

Boston University students shout into a microphone in the center of campus. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)