Brandeis group #FordHall2015 on 12th day of sit-in

J.D. Capelouto | Boston University

Monday marks the 12th day of a sit-in by student protesters at Brandeis University, and the group, Concerned Students of #FordHall2015, says it won't move until all demands are met.

The sit-in has so far lasted a day longer than one held at the campus in 1969 at then-Ford Hall. The school's current activists have named their group after that protest.

#FordHall2015's sit-in started on Nov. 19, when some 50 students entered interim-President Lisa Lynch’s office. They have since taken on the motto, "We will not be moved."

Some individuals have left, however, for short periods of time; for instance, a few have attended classes, said #FordHall2015 activist Alexandria, who asked that her last name not be used. Some professors, she said, have held "teach-ins" on the steps of the building.

The 13 demands include increasing the amount of full-time black faculty and staff to 10% across all fields; mandating diversity and inclusion workshops for faculty; appointing a vice president of Diversity and Inclusion; and increase admittance of black students to 15%.

Black students make up 5.15% of Brandeis’ population, according to Forbes.

The sit-in continues. We're still here. Waiting in community peace, & love for our demand to be met. #FordHall2015 pic.twitter.com/UhUE4binxe — FordHall2015 (@FordHall2015) November 28, 2015

Chad Williams, chair of the Department of African and Afro-American Studies and a supporter of the protesters, told USA TODAY College, “I think everybody on the Brandeis faculty as well as the administration will recognize that Brandeis, just as pretty much every other college and university in the country, needs to be much better when it comes to issues of diversity, issues of inclusion, or students of color in the classroom."

Williams said he and other faculty members are “incredibly proud” of the students fighting for change.

Anita Hill, who's a professor of social policy, law and women's studies at Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management, was one who stopped in to see the protesters:

The activist group says no one action propelled them to occupy the space, but that “the struggles that black students face in universities across the country are so similar in nature, and so striking in how they affect black students, that all it takes is one brave group of individuals (Concerned Student 1950 at the University of Missouri) demanding a change to serve as the catalyst for another group.”

The sit-in staged at Brandeis in 1969 was due to rising racial tensions on and off campus. Activists presented 10 demands, including that the university create an African and Afro-American Studies Department. The department was approved that April.

In addition to the Department of African and Afro-American Studies, the group has the support of other faculty, students and community members.

“We note that the tools to confront racism, exclusion, and othering in the university and in our societies – including the discourse and bureaucratic practices of ‘diversity’ – have only partly addressed the intransigent problems at Brandeis and other institutions,” reads a statement from the Department of Anthropology. “In fact, these tools have sometimes contributed to a continuation of the status quo and a bracketing of possibilities for change.”

“They have sacrificed a great deal," said Williams of the protesters. "These are students who are serious about their academic success, but most of all these are students who care deeply about Brandeis, they care deeply about trying to create a new university.

“What they are doing should be commended, even if well-reasoned people do not agree with every single demand, they deserve our respect and admiration.”

On Thanksgiving, the activists threw a “Friendsgiving” celebration with donated food.

Brandeis administrators did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



J.D. Capelouto is a Boston University student and fall 2015 USA TODAY College correspondent.

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.