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A group of young activists comprised of students at Boston College have been engaged in a series of protests and meetings to discuss how best to address instances of racism across the campus. The group was slapped with a disciplinary warning and told that if they continue their that they will face stiffer penalties.

As reported by Think Progress, Eradicate Boston College has gathered frequently since 2015 and have strategized in various meetings and other gatherings in order to get the administration to address their concerns regarding racism. But it appears that the group has attracted the ire instead of the attention of higher-ups.

During the month of December, the group sang an adapted Christmas carol that called out the school’s board of trustees  with one lyric stating “we’re walkin’ through  a white man’s wonderland.”

.The administration met with the protesters and said that the caroling was a violation of school conduct because of a lack of a permit based on the group’s recollection of events. They further said that if they were to continue protests that suspension and other actions will be enacted.

From Think Progress:

The activists say that calling them disruptive is an example of the administration trying to shift focus away from the campaign’s message and toward the campaign’s tactics — allowing the college to avoid answering questions about how to correct the problem of racism on campus.

“The conversation around tactics is a way to sidestep the issue that so the administration will respond with disciplinary warnings. It’s super effective,” Kevin Ferreira, an applied developmental and educational psychology Ph.D. candidate who is involved in the ongoing student protests, told ThinkProgress. “In the ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail,’ [Martin Luther King Jr.] was responding to people criticizing his tactics and he said, why are we not criticizing white power structure that gave us no alternative? So we’re saying, why has Boston College given us no alternative but to go to the board of trustees, to carol this way?”

Plus, activists say that institutional racism is quite disruptive to student learning.

Boston College officials set a Jan. 19 deadline to convene a committee on race discussion, but the deadline has passed without any further plans to address the matter. Eradicate Boston College Racism said that the school’s lack of inaction is indicative of the racism they’re aimed at combating.

SOURCE: Think Progress | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty

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South Africa’s President Condemns “Demon Of Racism” In Response To Online Posts

Boston College Students Warned Over Racism Protests  was originally published on newsone.com