King says to keep pressure on

Former dean at Conn College encourages students’ protests

New London — As protests continue at Connecticut College, former Dean of Institutional Equity and Inclusion Rodmon King, whose resignation last month stoked student and faculty dissatisfaction, spoke to The Day in support and encouragement of protesters.

King, speaking by phone Thursday, said the college community should continue to make their voices heard.

“The issues the community faces are larger than me. It’s good to see the community coming together and advocating for change,” King said. “I would encourage people to sustain those efforts. If the pressure of the call for changes diminishes, things will resort back to the status quo.”

About 30 students this past Sunday locked themselves in Fanning Hall, an administrative and lecture building that houses the office of college President Katherine Bergeron.

Friday was the students’ fifth day inside Fanning Hall. Sophomore Ian Hopkins, one of the protesters, said he was prepared to stay there until their demands are met.

The students have a list of demands that includes the resignation of Bergeron, additional funding for the equity and inclusion division and a transparent search for the next college president.

King stepped down in early February due to a planned college fundraiser at the Everglades Club in Palm Beach, Fla., which he said had a reputation as anti-Black and antisemitic. King later wrote about Bergeron’s “bullying behaviors” in a letter to the college’s Board of Trustees.

“My message to the community I really want to share is that people

“My message to the community I really want to share is that people need to continue to engage in advocacy and activism until they see the change they’ve called for.”

RODMON KING, ASSISTANT DEAN FOR EQUITY, INCLUSION AND BELONGING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST

need to continue to engage in advocacy and activism until they see the change they’ve called for,” King said.

He has since been hired as Assistant Dean for Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Dozens of faculty and staff members protested alongside students Wednesday afternoon in support of their demands for institutional and administrative changes.

“I think it’s an amazing moment in this school’s history,” King said. “It speaks to how important this is to people. They are willing to risk things. That is not little or insignificant,” he added.

Hopkins, who spoke to The Day by phone, was encouraged to hear King’s remarks.

“King is the straw that broke the camel’s back. It’s very encouraging to know your morals as an activist are in the right place. We’re not doing him a disservice,” Hopkins said.

He said he is prepared to continue occupying Fanning Hall until demands are met. “I’m here,” he said. Dozens of members of Student Voices of Equity met Thursday night in Cummings Auditorium on campus to discuss Bergeron and the college administration. Several students said that the institution was not what it was promoted to be.

“This college is not all that it says it is. I have noticed that since I have arrived on this campus. It’s not getting better and that’s not OK,” said sophomore Pluto Payne, speaking about their experiences.

Students spoke about the conditions of the dorms.

“We were ignored. We have black mold, we have dirty brown walls. It’s clear Conn didn’t care,” said first-year student Ali Elbanna.

Elbanna, who is a Muslim student, emphasized that the prayer room designated for students in the college’s Harkness Chapel would make “you want to cry” due to its poor maintenance.

Kazi Stanton-Thomas, a queer student of color, urged the administration to change their dorm, because they did not feel safe in the housing the college placed them in.

“When I decided I wanted to move out, REAL staff wasn’t there,” Stanton-Thomas referring to the Residential Education and Living department at the college. “The administration’s response, told them that “It would be difficult to find a space for me.” “I have to settle,” they said. Student Voices for Equity, the official organization which oversees Occupy Conn Coll said in a statement to Bergeron on Thursday that they were “less than enthused with the independent review of the Board of Trustees.” The group conducting the investigation has not been publicly identified at this time.

“We demand your resignation,” the group said to Bergeron.

Bergeron wrote in a statement Wednesday morning that she and the Board of Trustees were “prepared to make significant additional investments in our DIEI division, programs, and practices.”

She did not comment on whether she intends to resign.