Kyler Sumter

Hundreds of students at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., have been staging protests over what they view as institutional racism.

In a press release sent to the local newspaper, the Olympian, the students wrote:

“What started out as anti-black comments on social media has turned into the dismissal of the rights of students and femmes of color, physical violence by police, and false sentencing of students protesting. Black trans disabled students are actively being sought out and confronted by campus police constantly; police are refusing to explain their actions and harassment. Students will not stand for this anymore, as students of color have never felt comfortable on campus and have not been treated equally.”

It all started when students planned a “Day of Absence and Day of Presence” demonstration, according to an email that surfaced on Twitter. In email correspondence between Professor Bret Weinstein and Director of First Peoples Multicultural Advising Services Rashida Love, Weinstein apparently expressed his disapproval of the event, in which white people were invited to leave campus for a day, according to the Washington Times. In the email Weinstein writes that such a day is a “an act of oppression in and of itself” and that he would protest the day by being on campus.

“If there was interest in a public presentation and discussion of race through a scientific/revolutionary lens, I would be quite willing to organize such an event,” Weinstein wrote.

According to a different press release written by student and custodian Blake Vincent, the protest began on Wednesday, May 23 when approximately 50 students confronted Weinstein outside his classroom.

“Students were understandably upset but were NOT overtly threatening or harmful in any way. Bret Weinstein began filming the students once they entered the building, but was contesting their rights to film him. The students then peppered Weinstein with questions, asking if he knew that what he did was harmful to both students and faculty of color,” Vincent wrote on Facebook.

“He replied that he did not think that he was wrong in his actions, which upset both students of color and white students," Vincent went on. "The students chanted and continued to try to make their feelings known to Weinstein, but he was refusing to listen and instead attempted multiple times to take over the discourse and make the students listen to him. During all this, some of Bret’s students were surrounding him and verbally attacking the group of protestors.”

According to Vincent, after the confrontation students began to walk to a seminar building to discuss the ordeal when campus Officer Timothy O’Dell arrived and attempted to “push through the crowd of white students protecting the people of color and those with disabilities.” After a bit of discussion the students headed toward Red Square on campus, where they were allegedly met by state troopers and Olympia police, who, students said, threatened them with mace and arrest.

“The students, fearful for their lives, began retreating towards the library and ultimately ended up in the Trans & Queer Center/Unity Lounge, trying to stay safe,” Vincent wrote. “The white students were then delegated to spread out throughout the library floor and watch for police potentially surrounding the building. The white students did see police surround the building, but as of this point most of them have retreated.”

According to the Olympian, students also marched to college president George Bridges' office, where they “lined the hallways and promised to occupy the building until their demands were met.”

The day prior, Vincent also wrote on his Facebook page about Wendy Endress, the vice president of student affairs, being involved in and refusing to apologize for some slanderous emails about a group of black students wrongfully detained by police on campus.

Students berated Weinstein and other professors who refused to participate in the Day of Absence. Students’ complaints included having an all-white administration and feeling that the school doesn’t meet the needs of students of color or treat them fairly.

Weinstein himself has written about the incident and aftermath on his Twitter account, @BretWeinstein.

Vincent posted videos on his Facebook page of students occupying faculty meetings, engaging in community discussions on anti-blackness, and protesting for the firing of Weinstein outside of his classroom over a two-day span.

In this video is a compilation of events including discussions between students and faculty and protests:

Twitter users have also erupted with criticism of the students:

Meanwhile, Evergreen State student activists are using the hashtag #ExposeEvergreen to tweet about the events and voice opinions.

President Bridges responded to student demands on Friday, May 26, saying, “We are grateful to the courageous students who have voiced their concerns.”

Bridges acknowledged that the administration has heard from students who experience racism on campus and promised to try to come together with students to learn from their experiences, build solutions and take action.

In response to students’ specific demands, including the firing of Officer O’Dell and the suspension of Weinstein, Bridges said that they will not fire any employees but will continue to investigate instances of discrimination by increasing the college’s Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Officer to full time.

Students other demands included the “immediate disarming of police services and no expansion of police facilities or services at any point in the future” to which Bridges plans to respond with reviewing police response to recent complaints and providing additional training.

Another demand was that there be “mandatory sensitivity and cultural competency training for faculty and staff.” The college will continue to require training for all staff that includes a review of the college’s non-discrimination policy.

Kyler Sumter is a Boston University student and a USA TODAY digital producer.

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.