Students Show Solidarity at SVE Organized Testimonies

Photo courtesy of Zoe Dubelier ’23

After a relatively calm Thursday morning and afternoon following a busy, energetic Wednesday, Student Voices for Equity announced a town hall style testimony reading from 6-8pm in Evans Hall. On March 2, 2023, faculty, staff, and students were invited to share their stories, anonymously or not. The testimonies were also live streamed on Zoom to be inclusive of and accessible to the occupying students along with the general public.

Adrien Prouty ‘25 and Niamani David ‘25 started by reading a letter in response to President Katherine Bergeron’s email. They reiterated that SVE explicitly demands her resignation, along with the seven other demands. The SVE letter is published in full on The College Voice.

After the reading, Lyndon Inglis ‘24 invited speakers to come to the empty microphone to share their experiences. Even in the safe, familiar space of Evans, the silence was daunting, as was the bold, black-and-white projection of “Occupy Conn Coll ‘23” just behind.

Alex Reyes ‘23 bravely walked up first to a round of applause. She shared her experience of being “no stranger to whiteness,” especially as the daughter of Filipino immigrants growing up in a predominantly white town. “As much as Conn is a place that I have grown, it has also broken my heart,” she confessed. “Was I simply a statistic? A diversity point?”

Reyes’ testimony opened the floodgates as more students bravely took the mic. A theme for the following speakers was the idea of Conn “choosing” students. Owyn, sitting with their service dog Delia, spoke about their experience at the admission office before coming to Conn. Owyn stated that they felt Conn “would be choosing me and my disability altogether.” Owyn ended their testimony by saying, “We deserve a president and a college that chooses us… over their own bank accounts.” An anonymous speaker followed, expressing confusion over “why did Connecticut College choose me to be here?” if they were not willing to provide the resources necessary to support them. Another anonymous speaker reflected on their experience being “chosen” by Conn but being told to transfer if they wanted more accessible spaces on campus. There was a clear connection between many students, despite their differences, feeling “chosen” by Conn, but unsupported upon arriving on campus. 

This lack of support and a feeling of isolation was further explored in depth by many speakers. Owyn continued their testimony, sharing a story of being bullied online by other students. As a result Owyn felt isolated and alone until other students began to reach out to them. They noted, “I choose those students like those students chose me.” An anonymous student shared this feeling of isolation by sharing that Conn’s lack of support for muslim students made it difficult to practice their faith. Saying, “I don’t know if I can celebrate my faith or be the best muslim possible because of the lack of support from this school.” In response to these sentiments, both students shared quotes of resistance. Owyn addressed the BoT declaring “stop choosing her” and the anonymous student stating “At least I’m not gonna let Conn tell me who to be or…tell me to bleach my skin and be quiet.” 

Going hand-in-hand with isolation was a collective necessity for self-advocacy in order to survive. When Owyn was left behind by the administration and struggled with a vast lack of support and safety for both themselves and Delia, they admitted, “I had to go by myself” to various health appointments and meetings. “I did it alone.” Other anonymous students concurred with this sentiment, including several queer students of color who collectively shared experiences with microaggressions, racist comments and actions, and exhaustion with having to constantly self-advocate when others didn’t. One speaker began by asking the live audience, “Which people of color are tired? Which queer people are tired? Which religious minorities are tired? Which disabled students are tired? Which people with multiple intersecting identities are tired?” After each question, there was a pause for listeners to raise their hands and see that they were not alone. Another speaker opened up about their experiences having to call out their peers on offensive language and activities because they would not learn on their own: “It always takes a gay person to tell you what’s homophobic, a black person to tell you what’s racist, a disabled person to tell you what’s ableist […] what does that say?” 

Another significant grievance with the College was how much time it takes for the administration to fix pressing issues, such as the bathrooms. One student spoke about voyeurism, which has been a recurring problem on this campus. Although since the seniors’ first year at Conn incidents of voyeurism have happened twice, it took the administration three years to build full privacy bathrooms, which are still not in every dorm. Additionally, the insufficiencies of the Title IX process were also emphasized, especially how traumatic, long, and ineffective it is to experience a case, whether as a victim, witness, or other.  

Many speakers shouted out important faculty and staff members who were vital to their survival both in and out of the classroom, including Noel Garrett, Dean Erika Smith, former Director of Sexual Violence Prevention and Advocacy Rachel Stewart, and more. Others also called out directors and staff members who perpetuated problematic systems at Conn, including the Office of Study Away. One international student expressed their struggles with international visas and other hurdles specific to international students. They also shared experiences of macroaggressions, including racist stereotypes and accusations, as well as the Office’s problematic centering of European study away programs.

Although many people confidently and courageously shared their own stories of which we have shared here, we want to recognize that some members of our community are unable to share their stories publicly. A student shared experiences of staff members, who felt they could not come forward, but wanted to express support. Other students, because of their status as undocumented or international students, had to share their testimonies privately in order to remain safe on this sanctuary campus. 

Niamani summed up the general sentiments expressed through the testimonies stating, “I’m learning that they’re hurting too.” Through this statement Niamani recognized the departments, divisions, and people who shared their perspectives that all connected on the theme of being hurt. Niamani passed on this connection urging the BoT to open their ears and learn about the hurt experienced by so many students on Conn’s campus. Going along with this feeling, another speaker, Pluto, noted at the beginning of their testimony that they “have never felt more seen and heard.” This feeling has been expressed by many students across campus and as Niamani said SVE is serving as a “megaphone” to share these sentiments with the administration and the BoT.