A chilled crowd of nearly 3,000 students, faculty, staff and community members came together March 29 to march, to cheer, to reflect and to listen during CSUnite.
The 90-minute event featured speakers from faculty and staff, melding with student voices to address hate-related incidents that have shaken the campus community. There was music, there was sadness, and there were messages of hope that the divisions on campus can be repaired.
Blanche Hughes, vice president for student affairs, urged the crowd to use their “eloquent rage” – a mixture of anger, frustration, hope and optimism – to stand up against hate, and to let anyone affected by such incidents know they are not alone.
Participants in the solidarity walk and rally, led by the President’s Multicultural Student Advisory Council, included everyone from college deans to student activists, office staff to student athletes. Members of the football, volleyball, soccer, swimming and diving and men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as resident advisors from Housing and Dining Services and representatives from International Programs walked together and carried signs of support.
Albert Bimper, associate professor of ethnic studies and a senior associate director of athletics, gave a stirring address prior to the march, charging all in attendance to be part of CSU’s story: “There is no place for hate anywhere. There’s no place for hate in Ferguson, there’s no place for hate in Chicago, there’s no place for hate in South Carolina, Louisiana, there’s no place for hate in the back yards of Sacramento, there’s no place for hate in the front yards of Fort Collins. There’s no place for hate on this plaza, there’s no place for hate on our faculty, and there’s no place for hate in the ranks of our staff. There’s no place for hate anywhere.”
Photos by CSU Photography
