Tense but peaceful student protests marked an Eastern Michigan-Wyoming football game last night.
The demonstrations at Eastern Michigan University began earlier this week, after two discoveries of graffiti on campus, one on the side of a building and one in a stairwell. The vandalism included racial slurs and a reference to the KKK.
Administrators quickly condemned the act and removed the graffiti. The university issued a statement saying it intended to hold whoever was behind the vandalism accountable, also offering a reward for information. But protests continued throughout the week, including one march that ended at the university president’s home.
As fans entered the Rynearson Stadium Friday night, they received fliers notifying them that it was prohibited to disrupt the game or enter the playing field and that violators may face criminal charges. Out of protest-related security concerns, Eastern Michigan University opted to keep players and the marching band off the field during the national anthem.
Fight back #TeamEMU pic.twitter.com/SFm6ARR3EB
— Cee-Cee (@Candor_c) September 20, 2016
#TeamEMU #TruEMU We came wit it today ! #BlackLivesMatter ✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/zNsKMwOcn4
— Alonzo (@AlonzoDReed) September 21, 2016
Last night, student activists, reportedly affiliated with Black Lives Matter, chanted periodically throughout all four quarters, taking to the field after Wyoming’s defeat and chanting, “No Justice, No Peace.”
#BLM student protestors at #EMU now linking arms spanning the length of the end zone. Game is still going. pic.twitter.com/IkXQlyBMyj
— John Schriffen (@JohnSchriffen) September 24, 2016
This was the scene earlier w/ Eastern Michigan students protesting: pic.twitter.com/FdaCcSt1TA
— Marty Slagter (@slagterm) September 24, 2016
afaust3: Interesting… post game protest at Eastern Michigan's gam… CBS Sport… Inside Colleg… https://t.co/r7idEGgZoK pic.twitter.com/eSRV8NNO6y
— FanSportsClips (@FanSportsClips) September 24, 2016
CBS Sports Network interviewed one protestor, who refused to give his name. He complained that no one had yet been charged over the graffiti, saying that students were afraid of being shot in class.
The goal of the protests, he said, was to “gain awareness [from] the white students. For the most part, we feel like they’re not on our side. And we need to let them know that we’re here, and we’re not going nowhere.” The protestor also said, “Administration was scared that we were going to be disruptive tonight, and that was not at all our plan.”
— Jillian Kay Melchior writes for Heat Street and is a fellow for the Steamboat Institute and the Independent Women’s Forum.
