Community members took to the streets to protest the renaming of the Center for African American Studies, the LGBTQ+ Office and the International Student Office to the Access, Connections and Engagement Center Saturday, April 26.
As a result of an executive order signed by Gov. Patrick Morrisey, the three offices were merged and renamed to Access, Connections and Engagement to ensure the university’s compliance with the order.
Casey Day, the organizer of the protest, said she was motivated to organize the protest after hearing about the changes made to Marshall University’s intercultural offices.
“I was very upset about them basically closing the intercultural center and them basically morphing it into something so nondescript as ACE – that is so generic that I can’t even remember what it stands for,” Day said. “I think there needs to be a lot more representation and visibility. It makes me really sad that I noticed they literally scrubbed Marshall’s website of any of those so-called ‘woke’ terms.”
Day said she wanted to raise awareness and ensure the community’s voice was not silenced.
“I want to make sure that we’re not scared. That we’re seen and not afraid to fly our pride flags,” Day said. “I want students to know what we are still allowed to do and be encouraged to not have this awkward silence where we feel like we’re standing out too much and that there’s an implication we should be silenced.”
Day said she is an advocate for DEI policies and encouraging diversity and believes it is important to continue pushing back against anti-DEI policies signed by the government.
“I’m a really big advocate for diversity and DEI. I think DEI is very important,” Day said. “I just want to encourage the administration, the community, the students, everybody just to keep pushing back against the Trump administration and anybody on this anti-woke and anti-DEI nonsense.”
“We’re not going to be silenced, we’re not going to be erased, we are still here, we’re going to keep fighting and we’re never, ever going to give up,” Day said.
Matthew Lebo, participant in the protest, said he was motivated by his anger at the state’s anti-DEI policies.
“I am angry about the changes West Virginia is forcing upon Marshall. I am a bi man, I have a lot of queer friends and I have an immense love for Marshall. I have an immense love for West Virginia,” Lebo said. “It is heartbreaking to see my state wage war against me and the people that I love.”
Lebo drew a comparison between the recent DEI protests and other protests throughout Marshall’s history, including the movement in 1969 to create a cultural office for Black students.
“I am a history major going through my capstone right now, and I’m looking at Marshall’s reaction to student protests during the 1960s and ‘70s,” Lebo said. “In early 1969, there was a group of, I believe it was about 70 black students, most of them affiliated with Black United Students. They were all carrying a bunch of red bricks, and one of them was carrying a black brick, symbolizing construction and symbolizing the growing Black movement. They marched right through the halls of Old Main and piled their bricks up.”
Lebo said Marshall’s intercultural offices are a significant part of Marshall’s history, having been around for decades following student movements to establish them.
“A group of about 70 or so white students repeated that same march and piled the same bricks there. The Black Cultural Office that became the Office of Intercultural Affairs is a meaningful part of Marshall’s existence that has been around for over 50 years.”
Lebo said he believes the DEI protests are the latest in a long legacy of student movements for social justice at Marshall University.
“Students like me fought for that office to exist because they knew it was worthwhile to show people they are included, that they are welcome,” Lebo said. “That is what our state is trying to take away from us. We are part of a long legacy of Marshall students fighting for justice.”
Ashton Pack can be contacted at [email protected].
