In online town hall, black students criticize Weber State over racism, student safety
In this video screen capture, student Shawnica Sanders speaks during an online town hall on racial issues on Monday, June 15, 2020.
In this video screen capture, Weber State University President Brad Mortensen responds to questions during an online town hall on racial issues on Monday, June 15, 2020.
OGDEN — Black students complained during an online town hall Monday that Weber State University administrators aren’t doing enough to respond to racism on campus and see to their safety.
“What are we really doing to prioritize black lives on this campus?” asked Terri Hughes, who was identified as a student NAACP member. “I don’t want another conversation.”
University President Brad Mortensen and Adrienne Andrews, the school’s chief diversity officer, fielded questions and alternately cited progress and acknowledged more needs to be done.
The university put together the town hall amid national tumult arising from the death of black detainee George Floyd under the knee of a white Minnesota police officer, but it was dominated by concerns about incidents and attitudes on campus.
Hughes said administrators, faculty members and other students may be hearing more now about the plight of blacks, “but they’re not black.”
“They don’t have to deal with it,” and it’s more than just that blacks are “uncomfortable,” she said. “We have to continue to be uncomfortable.”
“A (Make America Great Again) hat has replaced a white hood on your campus,” said a black student leader identified in the town hall as Nailah. “We’re not safe. How are you going to protect us?”
Shawnica Sanders, another black student, responded to the controversy over tweets by Weber State criminal justice professor Scott Senjo that among other things applauded violent police responses to protests stemming from Floyd’s death.
Senjo resigned and apologized June 3.
“This man literally sat up here educating future law enforcers and had a very racist mindset,” Sanders said. “I can only image how many people he poisoned.”
Sanders added, “My safety has been compromised. That should never happen again. I should not feel unsafe as a student.””
“We’re taking that very seriously,” Mortensen said. “It has been bringing home for us the need to redouble our efforts. There is a systemic thing happening in our society that continues to enable racism, and we need to work together to eliminate that.”
Another questioner asked if Weber State has banned the Confederate flag on campus.
Mortensen said there’s no university policy against it, but officials want to engage the faculty on the topic. “That’s something we’re working on,” he said.
Andrews said the university has taken concrete steps and accomplished “radical growth and change” to improve diversity.
She said diversity-driven faculty and staff hiring is being accomplished and more scholarships have been targeted to underrepresented segments of the student population.
“It’s never enough, and it won’t be until we all feel welcome and included,” said Andrews, who is black.
She said Weber State is also reviving an ethnic studies program.
Faculty members told the town hall that social justice teams are being formed and there’s an effort to get more minority speakers in classrooms. White faculty members are being urged to “think and think deeply and learn about these issues as individuals.”
But Hughes said the town hall amounted to “a lot of talk.”
“We are not being heard,” she said. “We are being given combative responses. I want action to happen.”
Mortensen said he could do more.
“I feel like I understand, but I haven’t taken that step to be helping as proactively as I should have,” said Mortensen, who is white. “Just know that over the course (of recent events) I’ve had a bit of realization where my own actions haven’t met up with my understanding.”
Weber State said it is holding another online town hall for black students from 5:30-7 p.m. next Monday, June 22.