University President John DiBiaggio sent out a mass e-mail to the Tufts community yesterday affirming specific sections Tufts' nondiscrimination policy, in particular areas covering self-acceptance of identity. The statement prompted the 20 students who staged a 35-hour sit-in in Bendetson Hall to end their protest and claim victory in their battle to get the administration to address the issue of discrimination on campus.
During the protest, the students, most of whom are members of the group formerly known as Tufts Students Against Discrimination (TSAD), demanded that the administration affirm two aspects of the nondiscrimination policy: self-acceptance of one's identity and the applicability of the policy to external organizations operating at Tufts. DiBiaggio met with a team of student negotiators during the day and released a statement meeting those conditions at 5:15 p.m..
"I want to state clearly and succinctly, for the record, that Tufts has a rigorous and comprehensive nondiscrimination policy that has worked well for many years," DiBiaggio wrote. "I further want to emphasize that the University's existing nondiscrimination policy encourages individuals to accept their identity on the basis of their gender, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, disability, and ethnic origin, and supports individuals in doing so, and I affirm that the nondiscrimination policy is understood to include such self-acceptance of identity."
The protestors left the admissions building at 7:30 p.m. and were met by approximately 50 students and faculty who greeted them with applause. Julie Catalano, the student whose complaint of discrimination against the Tufts Christian Fellowship (TCF) last spring started this controversy, was the second student to leave the building.
As she exited, Catalano shouted "I got my policy." Although she declined to comment specifically on the TCF, she did say that she was once again proud to be a student at Tufts.
TSAD held a brief press conference after it relinquished the admissions office, during which senior Courtney Young read a statement and the President's letter.
"This entire thing, it went like a dream. We had been planning this for two months," said Dan Barry, student negotiator. "We got the interpretation of the policy we wanted."
While students were quick to point out that the administration did not lose, they did say that both of their demands for clarification of the policy were met.
TSAD's concerns about the nondiscrimination policy came after TCUJ's decision on a complaint by Catalano that she had been excluded from a leadership position in TCF because of her sexual orientation. TCF is affiliated with the national organization InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and InterVarsity played a role in the exclusion of Catalano from TCF's leadership.
The TCUJ wrote in its Oct. 16 decision that the University's policy as it stood could not be interpreted to protect students' specific beliefs. Many students felt that this ruling voided the nondiscrimination policy because it separated identity from the belief in the legitimacy of that identity and therefore opened the community up to widespread discrimination. These students united to form TSAD, and they immediately began to demand that the administration address the issue.
The sit-in was the last in a string of events designed to provoke administrative action, including protesting on the library roof, leafleting the quad, and delivering nearly 2,000 petitions to the President. After two months of meetings with the administration, TSAD members became frustrated and made plans for the latest protest.
"We weren't making any progress we were just on different wave lengths," Young said.
The students in TSAD stormed the admissions office at 9 a.m. yesterday, vowing not to move until the administration acquiesced to their demands. Negotiations took place throughout the day yesterday, but DiBiaggio was out of town and therefore unable to participate in them.
Throughout the day on Tuesday, students say the police threatened them with arrest. As 5 p.m. approached, students say the police threatened to arrest them for trespassing. The doors to the admissions office were locked and 16 students spent the night inside. A police officer inside sat reading a book as the students slept in sleeping bags. Other students kept vigil outside, some sleeping in a tent. On Wednesday morning, students were woken by Dean of Students Bruce Reitman,
"Dean Reitman showed up at 7:45 a.m. We woke up," said Young. "We had a conference with him. He said that we could go meet with the president in his office at 1:30 p.m. We said 'no.' If we leave the building they're going to lock the doors."
Instead, DiBiaggio came to Bendetson to meet with the protestors. He emerged from the talks optimistic, saying that he expected to resolve the problem by the end of the day.
TCUJ member Alison Clarke said that DiBiaggio's statement was ambiguous because while he addressed the issues raised by the TCF case, he did not address TCF explicitly. "From what I understand, our past decision does not coincide with what he thinks the policy should be," she said. "I'm confused by the letter because I would think that if this is what he really thinks, he would want to take some action on our decision. He said that this is what the policy should mean for the future, but the policy isn't changing, so he should say that this is what it meant in the past."
Provost Sol Gittleman said that the situation is difficult because the University must balance freedom of religion with a desire to protect students from discrimination.
"We believe in both of them, we push that very hard at this university," he said. "You've got two fundamental principals facing each other…. We're working to find out if we can have it both ways. I'm looking for a little tolerance."
While ten to 20 supporters maintained a constant vigil outside Bendetson throughout the protest, not all students on campus were enthusiastic about TSAD's efforts. One senior, Mark Sutherland began ripping down signs on the quad that supported the protestors. Others said they felt that the protest was a case of activism for the sake of activism and that TSAD was making the University look bad to prospective students.
However, some passersby expressed support for TSAD's efforts and concern over the University's treatment of their friends inside. Junior Marshal Mancuso stopped en route to class. "A bunch of my friends are in there. I want to be sure no one is pistol whipping them…. I think [the sit-in] is a good idea if something actually comes out of it. I think it's good to see some kind of action being taken on campus."
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