Amid student-led protests at Syracuse University over a slew of racist incidents, the Student Assembly passed a statement of support of these students on Thursday.
“The Student Assembly calls on leadership at Cornell, at Syracuse, in New York State and on the Federal Government level to acknowledge and investigate these hate crimes and allocate all resources possible to support the communities affected,” the statement read. “We look forward to seeing justice delivered.”
For nearly two weeks, Syracuse has experienced a number of racist incidents that garnered national attention. These incidents included instances of racist graffiti, depictions of swastikas and hate speech directed towards black and Asian students. Tensions heightened when students were reportedly sent a racist, conspiratorial manifesto about white genocide.
The gunman responsible for attacking two New Zealand mosques — leaving approximately 49 people dead — circulated this same manifesto, according to The New York Times.
Syracuse University has suspended all social activities with fraternities for the rest of the semester, as some members of Greek life at Syracuse were affiliated with the incidents. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) criticized Syracuse’s response and called for an investigation into the matter. Federal law enforcement is now investigating who sent the manifesto.
The statement passed seamlessly, with no discussions or debates — the S.A. unanimously voted 20-0-2.
Additionally, the S.A. passed a resolution to revive its Diversity Innovation Fund, an initiative that sponsors activities on campus to foster diversity. Previously, the United Student Body — a predecessor to the S.A. — created the fund in 2013, but the fund has not been in operation since 2017.
The S.A. will now allocate $10,000 from its Special Projects Fund for this initiative. For organizations to receive funding, they must send in an application — organizations cannot apply for funding from both the Diversity Innovation Fund and the Special Projects Fund. The resolution passed 19-0-2.