A crowd of approximately 100 University of Vermont anti-racism protesters, waving signs, chanting and forming a human chain, caused rush-hour havoc Thursday in Burlington by demonstrating in the middle of Main Street.
Police shut down the busy roadway near the South Prospect Street intersection after students set up a roadblock around 5 p.m. and refused to leave until they met with UVM president Tom Sullivan. Diverted traffic flooded side streets in an effort to get to Interstate 89 after the demonstration began.
Many of those protesting said they stood in solidarity with John Mejia, a UVM staffer who has vowed to refrain from eating until the university and the city of Burlington address a list of nine demands.
The assembled included second-year graduate students from the Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration program who staged a walkout and didn’t sit for their final exam.
“Everybody has to sacrifice something in the movement,” Doretha Benn said. When asked if she was worried about failing her class and not being able to graduate, Benn said, “I think we should never be penalized for standing up for what we believe in.”
As the evening wore on, the students distributed hand warmers, scarves, coffee and food. A handful of UVM staffers also mingled with the students.
Shortly before 8 p.m., UVM’s vice provost for student affairs Annie Stevens addressed the protesters. “President Sullivan isn’t available tonight,” she said to a chorus of jeers and boos from the crowd. “He does want to meet and will reach out to whoever you want him to reach out to.”
The announcement ended the road blockade, and vehicle traffic on Main Street resumed. The students then marched their way to the Waterman Building to reconvene. Once inside, organizers pledged to continue with their protest actions until their demands were recognized.
Waterman was also the site of a protest Tuesday, when students gathered to decry several racist incidents on campus and urge university administrators to heed Mejia’s demands, which include permanently flying a Black Lives Matter flag on campus and increasing funding for anti-racism events.
In response to the latest demonstration, UVM spokesman Enrique Corredera said in a statement that the university “does not condone any activity that can result in serious unintended consequences.”
“Taking over a major intersection in the city of Burlington, and impacting the lives of thousands of individuals and families is such an activity,” he wrote.
Corredera said that Sullivan “welcomes” a meeting with the organizers and vowed “to continue a dialog with students.”
“The university will remain focused on the work it is doing to advance its diversity and inclusion goals, and will continue to speak out against every form of racism, bigotry and injustice on our campus,” Corredera’s statement read.
Related Stories
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
Wrong again we are all right. Affirmative action says minoritys can take any class they want and are usely moved to the front of the line when it comes to admissions at colleges and universities over white students that come from similar financial backgrounds. Just ask Elizabeth Warren she claimed to be Native American so she could get into Harvard. The only people that seem to be discriminated against in this country now a days is white males. But no one cares about them as long as they keep working and paying for everyone elses free ride.
“I’m talking about the POLICIES that led to some groups of people having fewer options than others, and the lack of current POLICIES that lead to change.”
I have asked you repeatedly to name one of these policies – and you have yet to do so.
Snow Creek, I’m not talking about how people dress or what kind of vodka they drink. I’m talking about the POLICIES that led to some groups of people having fewer options than others, and the lack of current POLICIES that lead to change.
The difference in your situation is that white rednecks have the ability to take a chemistry class if they want. The people of color do not have that choice.
“I certainly hope the police were issuing fines. Blocking main street hundreds of yards from the entrance to the biggest hospital in the state shouldn’t be condoned.”
You’re saying that one group’s constitutional right should be violated because there’s potential that someone could die? I’m just spitballing here, but I wonder if there’s some other topical issue that this could apply to?
We are all right please tell me the % of minoritys that make up the UVM student body and also the % of minoritys that make up Vermonts population. Not very big numbers at all. You need to change your screen name once again to something like l am uneducated . But you my friend havent been right in any of your post.
The hypocrisy of these protests is unbelievable. This “movement” is nothing more than a group of insulated, coddled, upper middle class children, the majority of whom are white, taking up the latest trendy “cause” for their own self-promotion and self-righteousness. Most have never experienced racial injustice or prejudice in their upper middle class lives. Their attempts at protest are nothing more than to be on the right and “politically correct” side of the trendy BLM movement. They want to exercise their right to free speech while condemning and even preventing the speech of others simply because they disagree with it. How is this not hypocritical?
Part of college used to be about open-mindedness and learning about new perspectives. Now it seems that students only want to hear reaffirmations of what they already believe. They are swaddled in political correctiveness and spoon-fed their own carefully chosen opinions. This is not open-mindedness. It certainly isn’t tolerance. It is not progress. It’s movement cannot even be charted. The revolution has eaten it’s children.
Yet another reason to stay out of Burlingstad! It appears we need another wall, separating Burlingstad from Vermont!!
part 2
They do just fine
Why?
Because no one tells them to be a gangster or a redneck. They are told they are smart and successful. And go figure- they turn that positive message into a positive reality.
Of course there are other factors such as the loss of the nuclear family that also contribute to poverty- but none have anything to do with racism.
I am done for the day.
“income inequality disproportionately affects non-white people. Why do you think that is? “
The same reason you see so many poor white people- they adopt the culture that has been advertised towards them. They are brainwashed by what they think a black person should be in the same manner a white redneck is brainwashed by “larry the cable guy” into thinking thats the kind of person they should be. The problem is- P Diddy isnt drinking his vodka onstage – he is drinking water out of a ciroc bottle as a form of advertising. Much in the same way “larry the cable guy” isnt actually getting anything done- he is making money off of being a fictional characters. These people are pretending to live a lifestyle to make money and too many young folks wind up tragically living out those fictional lives in actual reality with tragic results. The “gangsta” culture glorifies violence and prison. Yet few actually live those lives. The few who do- wind up in prison or dead. Just look at DMX or Tupac (a classically trained pianist raised middle class) as examples.
When entire allow fictional characters to dictate their behavior as is seen with the rap and redneck cultures you wind up with poor people being used as pawns in a money making scheme.
If you want to see a minority culture not affected by this because there likely is not enough of them to be a worthy demographic to mine for profits- then look no further than Asian Americans….
part one continued on part 2
I certainly hope the police were issuing fines. Blocking main street hundreds of yards from the entrance to the biggest hospital in the state shouldn’t be condoned.