On Tuesday, March 19, at 1:09 p.m. Saint Xavier University’s President Laurie M. Joyner sent out an email to students about stickers that were found in two of the men’s restrooms on campus.
The stickers that were found posted in the restrooms stated “It’s OK to be White,” but it was not stated in the email exactly where the stickers where posted at in the restrooms.
The email explained that after the stickers were found, Public Safety was contacted to investigate the incident, and then the stickers were immediately removed. Public Safety also shared the incident with the local police departments.
The email continued with, “Diversity is one of our celebrated core values at Saint Xavier. This calls us to condemn racism in any form and support everyone in our community regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, socioeconomic status or country of origin. We are stronger as a community for our diversity and strive to create a campus environment where differing ideas may be freely expressed and debated.”
When asked about the incident an SXU student stated, “SXU is composed of people of all backgrounds and a significant body of minorities. The quote, although seemingly harmless on the surface, is far from benign. It perpetuates victimhood, a quote that is relentlessly promoted by prominent neo-Nazis and Klansmen. If we spread a message like that, we begin to give power to its real meaning.”
Students are expected to respect one another and encourage growth and diversity here on campus.
Another student then stated, “It’s as if we take two steps forward as a community and some idiot drags us ten steps back. It’s hard to uphold our virtue of diversity, when there are still individuals who see the need to segregate and distance themselves for no reason than to get people riled up and start trouble. The school’s response was justifiable in a sense that they quickly addressed the incident rather than sweeping it under the rug or in some instances just issuing a statement to cover their a**es.”
Many students are not afraid to utilize their voices when instances like this pop up and take place in their learning environment.
The email ended by stating, “We ask that everyone remain vigilant in reporting any further occurrences to Public Safety or Student Affairs, so we can investigate and remove the items. If anyone has information regarding the investigation, they can report it to Public Safety, Student Affairs or through the online Bias Reporting Form.”
Saint Xavier University was founded on the Sisters of Mercy’s eight core values of respect, excellence, compassion, service, hospitality, integrity, diversity, and learning for life.
Diversity is important to have because it helps to build a community that is able to uphold an environment that is open and welcoming to diverse people, ideas and their perspectives.
The diversity here at SXU is something the University is proud of because it promotes a learning environment when different ideas, perspectives, and an array of students from different backgrounds can come together and spark a change in the world.
Kylee Rus
News Reporter