Chants of “No Justice, No Peace” and “What do we want? Change! When do we want it? Now!” rang out through the crowd of government officials, administration, faculty and students that had gathered on Friday, March 2 on Western Carolina University’s campus for the ground-breaking ceremony of the new Tom Apodaca Science building.
These chants were then followed by a resounding statement of “We will not be silenced! Whee Matter!”
This is the outcry of more than 120 WCU students who have joined the #WheeMatter movement and organization. Since the first incident in January, the movement has continued to grow at a steady rate and now represents students from every minority, including the Latin, Muslim, and LGBTQ+ communities, while still maintaining a focus on the black community at the moment due to the recent incidents.
Antonio Oakley leading a group of students to protest at the ground-breaking ceremony. Photo by Brannon Mahaley. March 2, 2018.
It all began on January 15, 2018 when a racial slur was shouted at participants of the MLK Unity March around campus. Tenae Turner, one of the students in attendance and co-founder of the #WheeMatter organization, was shocked by this deliberate slur.
“There were families from different backgrounds present but we were all affected the same, or so we thought, until administration did nothing,” said Turner. Thus, leading the black community here at WCU to speak out about this mistreatment and address this ever-growing social issue of discrepancy between races by creating the #WheeMatter movement. Only a junior, Turner took it upon herself to become the change she wanted to see on this campus.
“We simply want change to happen, and we will make sure it does,” said Turner.
Antonio Oakley, also a co-founder and student leader with the same realization, quickly began to understand that what minority students really needed was not just the freedom of speech, but the protection against hate speech.
“Our message is very clear, we are protesting the fact that we won’t be silent and that we have not deviated from our goal,” said Oakley. “We protest because we feel that as minority students on this campus, we haven’t had the support from the university when it comes to making sure we are protected from the bigotry, racism, and the hate that we as students experience every day on this campus.”
These issues have become more and more prevalent over the last couple of years, spreading these behaviors across the country and eventually bleeding into the student life here at WCU. It is an issue that cannot be put aside any longer.
“Western’s history of isolating and/or ignoring racial incidents has gone on long enough and it will not continue,” said Turner. “And that’s what we are tired of. Administration doing nothing to combat the racism and anti-diversity on campus.”
Many members of the #WheeMatter organization and students involved with Intercultural Affairs on campus are disheartened to see that regardless of how many strides the campus takes forward, incidents such as these seem to push back with an even greater force.
Melanie Flowers, a student activist in the #WheeMatter movement who continues to be heavily involved with ICA activities, only wants the best living environment for every individual on campus. With just over 11,000 students, Western has testified that they provide the best environment for diversity, but as of late, many students are starting to question that.
“Western continues to claim a campus that values diversity on paper, but on campus it is evident that isn’t always the case. If it were, #WheeMatter wouldn’t exist,” said Flowers.
Students are making sure that their voice is being heard from the bottom of the totem pole to the top. Oakley led a group of approximately 15 students to the ground-breaking ceremony to accomplish just that.
With many politicians, department heads and the acting chancellor in attendance, they thought this to be the opportune moment to make sure that their voice was heard. Of the attendees, the target of the protest was Margaret Spellings, the UNC system president.
“We had a message that we wanted to get to the board of directors and to Margaret Spellings, who was among the officials who were in attendance,” said Oakley. “We felt that it was the best time and place to get the board of directors’ attention and the most effective way to get our voice heard.”
It is the students’ turn to become the teacher and educate their elders. By demanding the application of policies that concern free speech and hate speech, the student population is stepping up to the plate and they are ready to bat. Now it is up to the administration.
“We want to challenge everyone’s values and morals. We want to set a standard and protect the future students who are a part of the minority and not a part of the majority,” said Oakley.
Free speech does not mean free speech. It never has and it never will. Hate is unacceptable in any environment, especially a campus atmosphere.
The victims of these incidents involving bigotry are devastated. Not only does it affect them, but it involves the campus as an entity. “At this point it’s becoming a form of terrorism,” said Turner.
To become involved in the #WheeMatter movement, email Turner at ctturner1@catamount.wcu.edu or stop by ICA on the second floor of the UC.
