And that's the problem they were attempting to bring to others' attention.
A coalition of students of color declared Jan. 21, "A Day Without Diversity." The protest was not sponsored by any one multicultural group, but by individual members of many groups who came together and sponsored the event out of their own pockets. The protesters wore gags to symbolize the silencing of honest discussion of race issues by students or administrators. The protest was not a plea for radical change, but a stand against the complacency and inaction that often embody methods to deal with racial issues on campus and across the nation.
Protesters also highlighted problems with the general spirit of the University's Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. One protest pamphlet called the symposium "a masquerade for the persistent discrimination against students." While the events surrounding King's birthday are commendable for their academic value, they are only part of the spirit of activism that surrounds the inception of the holiday. The day's events should also encourage people to take part in honoring and reflecting on the history of the University's celebration - relentless action that made the day possible.
The symposium was born out of the Black Action Movement III, which pressured the University into observing MLK Day in 1989. BAM III, like its two predecessors in 1970 and 1975, pursued solutions to issues that concern black students. BAM was based in a strong, nonviolent activism - like that of King - and forced the community to address issues of race that the University often glossed over. In 1994, the Black Student Union protested the MLK events on campus - members felt the activist spirit of BAM was not present in the symposium. Though the University's observance of MLK Day improved significantly since, this week's protesters argued that the symposium ignored the activism King himself lived and preached.
Too often, the community reduces King's work to almost anecdotal reference. It seems easy to forget that his dream can only be born out of constant effort and pursuit of progress. As King wrote from a jail in Birmingham, Ala., "Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue." That spirit was present throughout all of King's work; in this spirit, BAM drove campus to come to terms with issues previously unnoticed.
This week's protesters focused on a vital point: Diversity does not visit once per year. Diversity does not come with a series of speakers, whose messages fill the space of a single day. Diversity is, however, a goal that requires vigilant attention and hard work. Denying of the existence of racial tensions, or sweeping them aside, fulfills no purpose. Most important, the protesters stressed that diversity is not an issue that only concerns minorities. The University must continue to increase its efforts to build an environment that is more comfortable for minorities. The University reaps innumerable benefits from all its variances. Preservation and extension of diversity, therefore, is the responsibility of the entire community.