Students, Faculty, and Staff Demand Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

The actions of February 11th, 2022 should not be tolerated, and the overwhelming majority is looking to the administration for justice and answers. ©Mitchell Mercer

Brittney Atkins, Editor-in-Chief
March 31, 2022

Over a month after the incident that took place when members of Howard University’s lacrosse team traveled from Washington, D.C. to play the Blue Hose, students are still in the dark about the investigation into the vile, racist remarks uttered by white males.

The incident in question took place on Friday, February 11^th, 2022 as Howard University’s lacrosse coach, Karen Healy-Silcott, was escorting her players into Bailey Memorial Stadium. A group of white male students, tailgating by the gate, yelled deplorable slurs at the team members as they were making their way into the stadium.

Howard University is one of the only historically Black colleges with a NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse team, and the Presbyterian College vs. Howard University match was Healy-Silcott’s first game as Head Coach.

After the game, Healy-Silcott contacted the administration at Howard University, and they began to conduct student interviews regarding the events that took place at PC. On Saturday, February 12^th, Brian Silcott, Coach Healy-Silcott’s husband and board member of USA Lacrosse, posted a tweet condemning the incident and expressing his concern for Howard’s players.

What message does PC want to send?

By: Gabriella Evans

The incident that took place on February 11, 2022, at the Presbyterian College (PC) vs. Howard University Women’s Lacrosse game was absolutely unacceptable. A group of privileged white men, or should I say boys, decided that they were going to spew out racists and misogynistic words and phrases at the Howard University Women’s Lacrosse Team.

But, although this happened, am I surprised? Not at all, why you may ask? The reason is that Malcolm X made one of his most famous statements in 1962, “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman”.

Here we are living in the year 2022 where white privilege still runs rampid. It is very unfortunate that we live in this society and this world where many people feel as though they are above the next person. Black women have already had to be on guard when they are out in public at the grocery store, in the car, or even in the so-called safety of their homes, and now within sporting events. For years Black women have had to endure name-calling, catcalls, misogynistic expressions, and all other forms of disrespect, including racism on various levels of academia, the workforce, and sports.

But the difference between now and 1962 is that we as Black women no longer have to hold our tongue and endure the disrespect. We will make our voices heard no matter how long we have to shout from the mountain tops that equality is long overdue.

There has been an outpour among the student body to eradicate the hatred that is present on campus through various statements from student organizations such as the PC NAACP Chapter and events such as the Unity March that was organized by the Multicultural Student Union. The ball is now in the court of the administration of PC. The school has gained attention on the local, state, and national stages.

Dear Administration of Presbyterian College, if you all fail to present justice within this situation, then it is sending a message to not only the nation that they allow this behavior, but to all students of color on campus that they do not care for us and will not stand up for us. It would give off the message that the school is too caught up in connections and titles to not care about their students. Presbyterian College, now is the time to right the many wrongs this campus has committed to people of color

“My wife had her first game as the Head Coach of @HowardU yesterday at Presbyterian @presbycollege They were greeted by a bunch of boys hurling obscene and threatening insults. This is the life of black female athletes. Wish I was there, thankfully my wife can take care of herself,” Silcott said.

Students, faculty, and staff at PC received an email on Sunday, February 13^th from Kerry Pannell, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Will Harris, Chairperson of the Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council, denouncing the vile remarks and informing students that a Student Conduct investigation had already began, and that the administration took action as soon as they were made aware of the situation.

“A student conduct investigation already has begun, and any student found responsible for this reprehensible behavior during the event on Friday will face consequences,” Provost Pannell and Chairman Harris said. “Such behavior does not stand at PC.”

On Monday, February 14^th, President Matt vandenBerg sent an email to the PC community echoing the sentiments of Provost Pannell and Chairman Harris, and going into more detail about the actions being taken against the white male students, who have yet to be identified.

The email informed members of the PC community that the investigation was being conducted by an independent counsel to ensure an accurate and fair gathering of evidence would take place, and that areas surrounding sports venues, including Hoseville, would be off-limits until further notice.

“We are committed to an expeditious, thorough, and fair process and to severe consequences for individuals found responsible,” President vandenBerg said.

On Wednesday, February 23^rd, another email was sent out by President vandenBerg ensuring students that the investigation was making progress. On Thursday, February 24^th, students, faculty, and staff gathered around Neville for a Unity March in support of Coach Karen Healy-Silcott, the Howard University lacrosse players, and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Since February 23^rd, the only information students have received came this past Monday in an email from President vandenBerg that informed students about the search for the first Rogers-Ingram VP for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, a position that will work towards creating a welcoming environment for all members of the PC community. In his email, President vandenBerg reassured students that the investigation was still underway, and that the administration were still committed to seeing justice served for the Howard incident.

“PC is taking care to ensure that the in-progress investigation produces a thorough accounting of the facts and provides fair treatment for all involved. PC remains committed to ensuring that persons responsible for misconduct are punished appropriately,” President vandenBerg said.

While this investigation has taken longer than students, faculty, and staff may have anticipated, we can find comfort in the fact that an investigation is taking place, and that the current administrations response to the incident shows progress for PC.

On September 13^th, 2019, Kappa Alpha Order, a fraternity on campus, was recorded chanting racists slurs as they welcomed new members into their frat. It wasn’t until October of 2019 that the administration was made aware of the incident, and began to take action. On October 30^th, 2019, students received an email expressing KA’s apologies and the extent of their punishment.

“[The punishment included] interim suspension, a social probationary period, requirement of a chapter-specific diversity and inclusion action plan to be approved by Campus Life and DIAC, and required workshops over…several months with nationally recognized speakers on diversity and inclusion,” Bob Staton, former president of Presbyterian College, and the Leadership Team said.

After the death of George Floyd on May 25^th, 2020, Staton sent a campus-wide email denouncing racism, and expressing his desire to make PC “a more perfect union and a more perfect and inclusive campus.”

In June of 2020, the Moving Forward Together Steering Committee was created to address the concerns about race that resulted from the KA incident and in light of national events. In an email from Staton, he outlined the directives of the Steering Committee.

“[The] committee will develop a set of recommendations that set forth, within the context of the Christian faith and PC’s mission, the College’s approach to enhancing our campus climate and culture, addressing our needs and aspirations, and moving forward together to build a more diverse community,” Staton said.

After weeks of meeting, the Steering Committee gave their recommendations to Staton, which included yearly training for all students, faculty, and staff in diversity and inclusion, the hiring of a full-time, trained Director of Diversity & Inclusion, and a physical location for the Office of Diversity & Inclusion, among other recommendations.

While changes have been made over the last few years, the incident on February 11^th, 2022 demonstrate that PC still has a lot of progress to make on creating a more just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive community. Although the Steering Committee did produce necessary changes, there have not been severe consequences for students who have participated in racist acts on campus thus far.

The fact that President vandenBerg is using an outside party to investigate the incident, and his personal call for severe punishment, indicates that students can expect for justice to be served.

The impacts of the Howard incident are clear, and students demand change in PC community

By: Lauren Andrews

Over 200 students.

That’s the number of students who packed into Kuhne Auditorium in Neville Hall on February 15th to attend the Black Lives Still Matter panel, hosted by PC’s Multicultural Student Union, PC’s Bluefish, and PC’s NAACP, following the horrific events that occurred at Bailey Stadium February 11th, plus another 130 students watching the event via Instagram Live. To say students want change is an understatement–we demand it.

Hearing about the disgusting words that were said to the Howard’s women lacrosse team by my fellow students, students I’ve potentially had class with or flashed a friendly smile to in passing in hallways, was horrifying. Although I wish I could say I was surprised, I’m honestly not; there have been things like this that have occurred in the past on our campus that we’ve been forced to move on from, but it’s clear that the student body has not moved on despite the desperate urgings of past administrations. With a third of the student body population present, one way or another, at the panel, we’ve done all but forget about the inexcusable being excused.

When I first entered Kuhne that night, I was amazed and so grateful to see how packed it was: all the seats in the auditorium were filled, and students were standing along the ramps on both sides of the room, with some even sitting in the stairs beside the chairs. Folding chairs had to be brought in for people to have a place to sit throughout the event, which lasted about half an hour longer than anticipated due to eager students raising their voices. It was truly an incredible and empowering experience, some unity after feeling so torn apart knowing that some members of the student body hold such atrocious beliefs.

Despite the mostly positively charged crowd, there were still some disheartening moments, some subtleties I couldn’t ignore. A quiet laugh from one member of the audience when a student mentioned how, with no action being taken, PC’s stance on detesting all inequality and injustice appears performative; a boy literally saying, upon seeing the overwhelming and crowded auditorium as he entered the room, “I don’t even want to be here.”

The little things matter. Both of these incidents I observed were from white male students, the same description of those accused of berating and intimidating the Howard lacrosse team. I wondered why they were at the event. I wondered if they were in fraternities like the boys who harassed the lacrosse team.

Pointing out these characteristics isn’t meant to divide the student body more–I’m not saying that all white men who go to PC are racist or bigoted or should be feared. What I am acknowledging is the power that these groups have at PC; being in a community where one’s actions are validated (such as a frat in this instance, where one’s brothers can assure the others that harassing a sports team before a game is all in good fun and is a display of school spirit) only further encourages the behavior, and being a white male at a Predominantly White Institution, which PC is, means that you, inherently, have a power that many other groups lack–you feel like you belong.

This is why it is not only important but crucial for incidents such as what happened in Hoseville on February 11th to not just be condemned, but be addressed and handled so that the perpetrators are adequately punished. It’s also important that the student body knows that the perpetrators were punished and how they were punished so that students of color know they’re safe and not in classes with bigots who will make them uncomfortable, but also so that other students are deterred from having these ideologies and, especially, spewing such hatred.

As a woman, it’s appalling to see that some students don’t understand how this incident was sexist, so I can’t even imagine how scary it is to be a student of color at PC right now, where some students are denying that this incident was even racist. A bunch of white males in their pickup trucks yelling obscenities and profanity at women of color who are visiting our school is clearly a racist and sexist incident–no debate about it. And the bottom line is we can’t decide if the Howard women’s lacrosse team felt unsafe and attacked that day, only they can, and it’s quite clear from numerous reports that they left our campus feeling violated. The incident was deplorable and embarrassing for us as a community.

Action must be taken. It’s clear that’s what the student body not only wants but needs right now, especially PC’s students of color. Administration needs to show up to protect those who are vulnerable and expel those who are against what it claims it values. With a new administration, I have hope that sufficient action will be taken, because if not, the student body will not only be disappointed, but it will be in a state of disrepair as well.

A Major Opportunity Presents Itself

By: Mitchell Mercer

With the situation occurring between the Howard University and Presbyterian College’s women’s lacrosse match, I wanted to take some time to gather my thoughts about the whole situation.

My whole thought is this: it’s extremely disappointing and embarrassing that after all the achievements the College made this year and working so hard to get many high school seniors to apply, it’s own reputation across the country was completely washed away in such a short period of time.

It’s unfortunate because we are in 2022 currently and we still have people who hate others over things they cannot control.

In my honest opinion, I really don’t know why can’t we just treat others the way we want to be treated? I don’t understand why people have to judge others over every little thing they think of.

I’m not calling for every single person on campus to be friends with everyone else. But, I strongly believe that if we just treat people with respect, we would be better off, not only as a college but society as a whole. I guarantee you that 99% of the problems the world is facing right now would be either fixed or taken care off if all of us would follow this rule.

I’m not saying it’s the perfect solution, but I strongly believe the feelings of being left out, depression, sadness, bullying, racism, sexism, and other similar forms would be drastically decreased as a result, if we could just follow this simple rule.

As a person who represents PC student media, is a Stirling tour guide, and who recently got my class ring, after watching this situation unfold, I feel pretty embarrassed to represent my PC gear, knowing that this whole situation is getting covered by national media and when people see the PC logo, they are going to have a negative reaction to it.

I hate saying it, but PC’s reputation on a national level is damaged. It’s taking toothpaste out of the bottle: you can’t repair the damage.

In terms of the Howard-PC incident itself, I decided to go to the Black Lives “Still” Matter panel to see how everyone was coping with the situation.

As it turns out, a majority of the student body was absolutely furious with the whole situation. Some wanted the students/groups who caused the chants expelled. Some wanted student athletes to step up and make a difference. Some wanted everyone in the room to challenge one another and try to talk to people that are different from us. Some didn’t want to wear or represent PC gear at all.

The biggest takeaway for me was that the PC administration, including President vandenBerg, was not there at all. And as you can imagine, a majority of the audience there was furious as crocodiles.

This isn’t a shot at the president or the administration. I’ve met him a few times and he’s a good man. I see him trying to work and improve the College compared to previous administrations over the school’s history whether it’s getting his golden retriever involved with the kids or using his “Chat with Matt” series.

I understand the incident is under investigation by an independent counsel and President vandenBerg is not allowed to say certain things, but myself, along with many others, wished that he or any of the PC administrators made an effort to be at the panel.

I’m not saying that being there at the panel required him to give an update, but I do believe the majority of the student body would have gotten the impression: this guy really cares about us and is willing to listen to our problems.

There’s a major opportunity at stake. Previous administrations did not take advantage of it, and now you can cement your legacy at the College by taking a major stand that hasn’t been done in the school’s history.

While there will be some who will still be disappointed at not showing up to the panel, the administration can help heal the wound across the community by showing that they care for their students and want the campus to be a safe zone for everyone.

From the overall perspective, a major opportunity presents itself in regards to the whole situation. This may be the only time that the administration could get the trust of many students. If not, future students, current students, and alumni will look at this administration negatively 40 years from now in the history books.