Administration responds to “All Lives Matter” whiteboard

This past weekend in a CSB residential hall, a resident wrote a message on her whiteboard stating “All Lives Matter [ALM].” On Monday morning, the BIPOC CSB/SJU Insta- gram page publicized this, along with a previous email sent from the floor’s RA regarding erasing whiteboards. A complaint from a resident had led the RA to consult with her supervisor addressing the reoccurring erasing issue. Both were unaware at the time of what the whiteboard had said. Her supervisor recommended sending an email addressing the issue at hand, asking residents to stop erasing other resident’s whiteboards. It was only after this email was sent when both Residential Life as a whole and the RA became aware of the ALM message.

Upon gaining this knowledge, the RA issued an apology to her residents, “While I was unaware of any specific content on whiteboards when sending out this email, that does not discredit the pain and hurt it has caused many individuals and for that I would like to sincerely apologize. Moving forward I will be sure to be more con- scientious and diligent in gathering information before addressing a particular issue,” she wrote. Brian/Margretta Area Coordinator Claire Nichols-Han- son also addressed the situation.

“I urge you all to communicate concerns . . . If things are taken down or erased [Res. Life] cannot always address the root issue and miscommunications happen. We will respond to concerns to the best of our ability within the policies and procedures outlined in the Bennie Book,” Nichols-Hanson wrote via email. Nichols-Hanson also brought up the First Amendment. “This [amendment] includes the right to express views contrary to those held by others in our community and views which conflict with our Benedictine Values,” Nichols-Hanson wrote.

In a Zoom meeting with an anonymous student, she reported that she had erased ALM off the whiteboard prior to the email being sent. “I felt that the board was against the Benedictine values. I believe the phrase [ALM] is seated in ignorance, and it is a learning point for many people on and off CSB/ SJU campuses,” she said.

This racially targeted issue does not stand alone at CSB/SJU, but educational opportunities can emerge from this. In reflection of this situation, Dean of Students, Jody Terhaar, and the Director of Residential Life and Housing, Christy Brown, issued a statement on behalf of the department.

“We recognize and understand the offense and hurt people feel due to the message a student wrote on her whiteboard. We also know that this is not the only microaggression that has occurred on our campuses. In situations such as this, there are multiple levels of response needed – a response to the individual whose actions caused others to be hurt, a response to those who were hurt both directly and indirectly, and a response on the institutional level to change systems, practices, policies, climate, etc. Residential Life is committed to being actively involved in the campus-wide work being done at the college to become an anti-racist community. We are also inspired by the call for the institutions to encourage and promote critical conversations; we want the residence halls and apartments to be places where students can have meaningful dialogue, even when it is uncomfortable,” they said.