University students gathered yesterday at the Amphitheater to participate in Pledge FORWARD, a rally against the April 15 incident of racial intolerance on the Corner.
Leaders of various student organizations on Grounds, including Student Council and the Black Student Alliance, spoke to participants.
"This event is about reaffirming our commitment to the Jeffersonian idea of a community of trust," said Carrie Filipetti, chair of Student Council's Diversity Initiatives Committee.
Prior to the event, Pledge FORWARD organizers and volunteers stationed a table on the second floor of Newcomb Hall asking students to pledge "to protect and honor our Community of Trust," according to the event's Facebook group. By 5 p.m., they had collected more than 900 signatures.
Students, who were encouraged to wear black T-shirts yesterday, then convened at the Amphitheater to demonstrate a united front regarding the situation and listen to student leaders discuss the impact of the incident - in which two female University students were subject to racially insensitive remarks - on the University community.
"We are not arguing against the freedom of speech, but because these words are hurtful to our community, we should choose not to use them - not out of a fear of punishment but out of respect for our peers," Filipetti said.
Inter-Fraternity Council President Penn Daniel said both the IFC and the Inter-Sorority Council ensured that "members of our respective communities understood that such unwarranted and shameful conduct ... has no place at this school." He added the rally should not be the end of the discussions about the incidents.
Meanwhile, Black Student Alliance President Sarajanee Davis noted that the BSA was created to protect black students at the University during the 1970s, a tumultuous time at the University for minority students. Despite this historical context, she said it is imperative today that the organization continues to look out for this minority group.
"Even in 2010, it is still necessary for protecting black students' rights," she said.
The incident, however, affected many members of the University community, regardless of race, said Dalia Deak, Middle Easter Leadership Council president and member of the Minority Rights Coalition.
"This is definitely a subject that passes boundaries," she said. "This happens to people on a daily basis despite what background you are, what ethnicity [you are] and what you identify with."
Patricia Lampkin, vice president and chief Student Affairs officer said she was pleased students took the initiative to pull the event together to respond to last week's bias incident.
"It helps to rethink what our values are and to make good strong statements about who we need to be," she said.
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