Will a million students march?

by Matt Caulder, NC Capitol Connection, November 12, 2015.

In the wake of protests resulting in the ousting of the University of Missouri’s president and its chancellor earlier this week comes an energized national day of protests by universities across the nation as part of the Million Student March.

Here in North Carolina, protests are planned on at least three University of North Carolina (UNC) system campuses, including UNC-Greensboro, UNC-Charlotte and Western Carolina University.

At the Charlotte event, 24 people said they were going. At Western Carolina six people said they were going, and the Greensboro event page was pulled down.

The national group boasted that across the country groups were holding protests at more than 150 colleges and universities.

The Charlotte event was sponsored by 49ers for Bernie, a pro-Bernie Sanders group.

Students are rallying around the causes of tuition free public college, the cancellation of all student debt and a $15 minimum wage for all campus workers.

The protests are being fueled by the recent success of student protests at Missouri, which prompted President Tim Wolfe to resign.

Wolfe resigned Monday after many of the school’s football players threatened to not dress for the game against Brigham Young University this weekend.

Shortly following Wolfe’s resignation came that of Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin.

Protestors called for Wolfe’s resignation over perceived inaction against racism and discrimination on the campus.

Students/faculty block access to public areas in the name of creating a “safe space”

During the protests in Missouri students and faculty cordoned off a public area of the campus, forming a tent-city that they called a “safe space” which they declared a media-free zone.

The students formed a human chain and blocked the view of photographers and were hostile to journalists, even going so far as to yell at them and push them back, walking forward in a line.

Some have said that the protesting Missouri students have “weaponized” the “safe space” mentality.

The use of the “safe space” mentality to infringe on the First Amendment rights of journalists in a public space was an unheard of application before this week.

A faculty member in the Missouri Communications Department, with ties to the School of Journalism, was among the faculty keeping student journalists from exercising the Freedom if the Press.

Melissa Click, the communications professor, apologized for her role in the protests and resigned her appointment to the School of Journalism, but is still a communications professor.

She said in a statement that she has apologized to the journalists and regrets her actions.

Safe spaces gaining traction in NC

The idea of “safe spaces” has grown on college campuses in the past few years, usually centered around the LGBTQ community.

Opposed to blocking access, “safe spaces” at North Carolina universities are about facilitating access to LGBTQ services on college campuses.

Here in North Carolina, both UNC-Chapel Hill and Davidson College maintain “safe space” training programs for faculty, staff and students, to train them to be sensitive to LGBTQ issues and to be able to refer interested parties to the proper resources for counseling and other needs.

At UNC-Chapel Hill, “safe space allies” are given signs to announce their areas as “safe spaces” for LGBTQ needs.

http://nccapitolconnection.com/2015/11/12/will-a-million-students-march/