The Coalition for Liberated Students, composed of students advocating for change, joined together to launch their coalition on Feb. 28 in Umrath Lounge. The event also announced the beginning of the coalition's "Telling You Again" campaign, which seeks to create a better campus environment for students of color.
The coalition, made up of around 20 students, advertised the launch via a large painted mural on the South 40 underpass.
At the event, the students emphasized that they were speaking on behalf of themselves, not on behalf of any on-campus affinity group they are a member of.
Speaking to a crowd of about 50 students, senior Paul Scott opened the event with a brief overview of activism history on campus. The overview led to a discussion about the overturning of affirmative action and its effects on diversity in admissions.
Junior Sonal Churiwal noted that these topics were a culmination of long-standing activism on campus, and the campaign name reflects that history.
"We spent many hours going back and forth about what we would want to call this campaign, and ultimately settled on 'Telling You Again,'" Churiwal said. "We don't want to give anyone here or anywhere the impression that the work in these issue areas is new, or that we're starting it."
Scott and Churiwal, as well as several other student speakers, outlined nine core missions the coalition will advocate for on campus and changes they want from the administration, as stated in their presentation. The core missions are as follows:
Terry Collection
In 2022, it was uncovered that the human remains studied by the Anthropology department were unethically obtained from marginalized communities. The coalition criticized the University for the delay in returning these remains, as well as the continued commemoration of Dr. Robert J. Terry, a known eugenicist, through his named lecture series.
Student wellbeing and sexual violence prevention
The coalition noted the lack of general resources the University had to offer regarding mental health and sexual violence prevention. Student speakers said that the University needs to provide accessible resources with a diverse staff to support students of color navigating mental health and sexual violence.
Ethnic and cultural studies
The coalition is also advocating for the creation of departments representative of the student body, including Native Americans Studies, Latin American Studies, and other ethnic groups that are underrepresented on campus.
Cut ties with Boeing
Although WashU is not financially invested in Boeing, the coalition called for the Univer pop sity to cut other ties with Boeing, such as scholarships and funding programs, due to Boeing's affiliations with the Israel-Hamas war.
Support for first-generation, low-income students (FGLI)
Citing a Student Life article where a student on financial aid was evicted due to lack of information about the financial aid process, the coalition demands increased support for FGLI students. This would include more help with navigating the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and bolstering on-campus resources such as WashUCares.
Caste protections
Casteism refers to discrimination and prejudice commonly seen in South Asian culture based on lineage. The coalition asked for the University to add caste protections to their anti-discrimination policy, in order to protect and support students who experience casteism on campus.
Professor Dybvig
In 2022, Olin Business School Professor Philip Dybvig faced several accusations of sexual misconduct by international students. Today, he continues to be employed by the University. The coalition asks the University to respond to repeated student protests and terminate his employment.
Data disaggregation
With the transition from WebSTAC to Workday, the coalition asks for the University to collect disaggregated data, or data on current and prospective students regarding their race, gender, socioeconomic status. They called for the collection of disaggregated data in order to do a more comprehensive comparison of the effects of affirmative action on diversity. The coalition noted colleges in the University of California system as examples of institutions that successfully collected disaggregated data, and insisted that WashU has the same capabilities.
Washington University Police Department (WUPD) presence and violence
The coalition outlined dangers WUPD's safety protocol poses to students, such as how a WUPD officer decides they have the means to draw arms on a student in a mental health crisis. They called for the development of public safety resources and a mental health crisis response team in replacement of the current policing system.
After outlining the coalition's core missions, they opened up a forum for the audience to ask questions. When asked if any events are planned to begin advocacy of these missions, the group responded that plans were in the works, and to stay up to date on their Instagram, @coalitionforliberatedstudents.
Although it was not mentioned during the event, junior Subratha Araselvan noted that space equity, regarding housing for Greek Life and affinity groups, is another one of their core missions. She said that affinity groups were granted far less space than sororities and fraternities on campus, and the coalition wants to advocate for increased space for affinity groups.
When asked about why these specific topics were chosen, Churiwal said that while the coalition felt these topics were the most relevant on campus, the points outlined in their launch were not exhaustive.
"We felt that these points captured what students need in this political moment, and built upon the legacies of activism here to formulate this campaign," Churiwal said. "We encourage students to always be doing their own advocacy in the coalition, outside of the coalition on any issues [or] any issues that may not be adequately covered."
Junior Jerry Liao emphasized that part of a coalition's role is to continue discourse on campus regarding the issues they presented. Liao pointed out that to start this discussion, the University needs to be aware of the student demands, and the coalition is meant to amplify that.
"If we can get [the admin's] attention, then we can set up meetings and we can have something productive," Liao said. "But that is also on the administration."
Senior Taryn Dixon, co-president of Washington University Native-American Student Alliance, said joining the coalition has helped her figure out the process of petitioning for a Native American Studies department.
"The coalition has offered to help guide us through that process of setting up meetings, and asking how we should interact with [admin]," Dixon said. "How do we show [that our aims are] valuable, feasible and something that should be instituted?"
Churiwal pointed out that many activist movements and coalitions on campus fizzle out after four years when members graduate. One of the goals of this coalition is to encourage underclassmen to engage and continue the ongoing legacy of activism on campus.
"Part of this coalition is really building a more sustainable culture of political education and activism so that any conversations we have outlive any one of our times at WashU."