When attendees walked into the #SpeakUpSU event on Friday, they were handed a sheet of paper. Printed in black and orange letters was the theme that brought people of all races and backgrounds together.

#ITooAmSU.

Over the next three hours, as Syracuse University students and faculty spoke their mind about issues of identity and discrimination on campus, each person listed out things that they believed defined them and made them different.

At the end of the event, they gathered for a photo holding their paper, brought together by what makes them unique.

The SU chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People organized the #SpeakUpSU event in Grant Auditorium to provide a space for students, faculty, staff and community members of all backgrounds and ethnicities to express their opinions on the Hanna Strong video and other problems on campus.

The forum was a direct response to students who attended a meeting in Goldstein Student Center the night after a video of Strong, a senior midfielder on the SU women’s soccer team, using derogatory language was posted on Instagram.

Many students at that meeting asked for an open space to talk about issues people on campus are facing. The forum was moderated by Kim Williams, a Ph.D. student, and Valerie Martinez from the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

In addition, they received a card with ground rules for speaking. The guidelines included saying “I” not “we,” addressing comments and not attacking specific people, actively listening and not repeating comments and using respectful language and tone.

At the front of the room, NAACP executive board members introduced themselves and went through the series of events related to the Strong video. They showed the video itself, in which Strong calls a person behind the camera a “f*ggot-a** n*gger.”

They also showed statements released in response to the video by Director of Athletics Daryl Gross, Dean of Student Activities Rebecca Reed Kantrowitz and Chancellor Kent Syverud, as well as Strong’s apology. Twitter reactions to the incident were displayed on the screen as well. One tweet that featured the hashtag #StrongLikeHanna drew laughter from some in the crowd.

But despite all the background given on the video, much of the forum focused on campus identities and how to promote change as opposed to Strong herself.

“This happens on college campuses everywhere, it’s about a larger issue,” Williams told the audience. “We want to be able to have dialogue about Hanna Strong and about what happened on our campus, but also about the larger issues.”

Students began making their way to the two microphones at the front of the auditorium. Angela Diaz, a member of the Pride Union executive board, talked about realizing that there wasn’t just a racial slur used in the video, but also a homophobic slur. It’s one that is used on campus often, she said, and both should be recognized as hurtful.

“Why do we have to put emphasis on one identity versus the others?” Diaz said. “We all have multiple identities.”

Derek Horn, a senior communications design major, echoed Diaz when he said that offensive words are used all across campus. But, he said in order to act on the problem, it should be addressed right away when people use derogatory or hurtful language.

“Even though it’s uncomfortable in the moment, we need to stop and call people out when we hear these words,” he said. “It maybe will upset your friend but I think if we really want people to change the way they’re thinking we can’t let it slide anymore.”

Other students agreed with Horn’s comments, saying that offensive comments should be addressed in the moment, while others offered potential reasons why that might not be possible or reasonable.

At times, speakers became emotional, often drawing reactions from the crowd. Taryne Chatman, a freshman political philosophy major, shared a poem he’d written titled “I too am SU,” raising and lowering his voice with emotion as he spoke. When he finished, much of the audience stood and applauded.

A few students shared their experiences of feeling marginalized in school settings, specifically within classes in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Multiple students came to the microphone as the forum went on and said they felt inspired by others sharing their stories.

The discussion eventually shifted from reactions and personal stories to ways to act and actually implement change. At that point, Martinez, one of the mediators, encouraged students to dig deeper when thinking about how to create action points moving forward.

Many said they believed the university administration needed to be involved. A few attendees even said they initially thought the #SpeakUpSU event was the forum that the chancellor had said in an email to the campus that he’d be arranging.

Some administrative members were in attendance, including members of the Division of Student Affairs, Tiffany Steinwert, dean of Hendricks Chapel, and Sheila Johnson, director of equal opportunity and inclusion at SU.

Johnson encouraged students to do their part to speak up and prevent situations like the Strong video from being repeated.

Brandi Williams, a graduate student in the School of Education, pointed out that the student leaders in those types of forums and the people attending events similar to #SpeakUpSU tend to be the same on a consistent basis.

“The students who are not here are also the ones who need to be hearing this,” Williams said. “Professors and administration who are not here, they also need to hear this.”

After the meeting, Williams said that there’s still more to be done for change to actually occur on campus. But she said she thought that the event provided an opportunity that didn’t exist before.

“This provided a space to come together to address some systematic issues on campus,” she said. “It provided a space this campus doesn’t have to have dialogue and talk with one another.”

Published on September 15, 2014 at 12:15 am

Contact Brett: blsamuel@syr.edu | @Brett_Samuels27