By Victor Ordonez

Faculty and students chanted “white silence is white violence” on Friday at an anti-white supremacy rally. Organizers Megan Townsend, FCRH ’18, and Walter Burnett, GSB ’18, gathered a crowd on McGinley Lawn to condemn hate and bigotry. They said they saw it as a way to welcome new students to campus.

“To be clear, this is a rally, not a protest,” said Townsend. “I thought that freshmen coming here might feel uncomfortable going to college after knowing what happened this summer. Political times are pretty trying and specific. I thought of myself as a freshmen and thought I would be comforted if I saw something like this.”

The rally served to establish a space for dialogue regarding the topic of white supremacy, according to both organizers.

“We want to encourage conversation and push people to think outside of their comfort zones,” said Burnett. “Whether an event like this one takes place at Fordham or anywhere else, we want to set a standard of conversation.”

Townsend said that events that saw racially-incited violence, like in Charlottesville, had directly influenced her decision to arrange the demonstration.
“I don’t want to put this all on one event, but Charlottesville certainly provoked this rally,” said Townsend. “[Racism] has always been a problem in this country, but Charlottesville prompted a response. I wanted to return to a campus that was angry and active.”

Recently, a swastika was found in a Tierney hall bathroom, according to a university-wide email sent from Public Safety the day before the rally.
Public Safety is working to find the perpetrators, according to the email. It also noted that cases like these often pose challenges.

“These types of crimes are notoriously difficult to solve without a witness or video footage, neither of which are available in a restroom stall, and are difficult to prevent for the same reasons,” said the email. “Regardless, such expressions of hate are an intolerable insult to the University community, and to their intended targets. “

Burnett said that the incident fit into a pattern of hate symbols found at the university.

“There are great intentions at Fordham, but there are going to be people everywhere that intentionally seek out to make others feel uncomfortable,” said Burnett. “To say that Fordham is perfectly safe would be to ignore that events like this transpire. However, the more you talk about this, like we are today, the more prepared you will be for it.”