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Published on October 29, 2020
The Black Student Union (BSU) at Eastern Connecticut State University held a peaceful on-campus protest on Oct. 15 to campaign for social justice. Beginning at the Fine Arts Amphitheater, the rally consisted of 30-40 students who marched to Webb Lawn, the Sports Center and back to the Fine Arts building. In keeping with Eastern’s COVID-19 protocols, participants wore facemasks and adhered to the University’s social distancing guidelines.
Over the past summer, thousands of protests took place across the world supporting the Black Lives Matter movement; this fall college students are now taking up the cause. As Eastern students attending the Oct. 15 march walked around campus, they were greeted with claps and cheers of support from fellow students and faculty and staff.
One of the students who spoke at the event, Fashion Forward President and SGA Senator Ymari Rigby, said, “I am a young black woman who fears for her life every single day. I fear that at a routine traffic stop I will never make it back home. I fear that my little brothers will not know the right thing to do when confronted by the police. At this rate, there is no right thing to do when you’re black.”
Another student who gave a speech at the march was Organization of Latin American Students (OLAS) President Britney Acevedo. “It’s not just black lives matter,” said Acevedo. “It’s black healthcare matters, black mental health matters.”
About the BSU:
The mission of the BSU is to highlight black excellence at Eastern by creating a community of students dedicated to promoting black achievement through civic engagement, community service, history and high academic performance.
Written by Bobbi Brown