Police officers from Hamden take a picture with protesters at Quinnipiac University.
By: Brenna Oricoli, Krislen Freed, Hannah Cotter and Morey Hershgordon
Outrage from the racially insensitive viral snapchat that surfaced earlier this week initiated a protest on Saturday, September 24, 2016 at Quinnipiac University. Members from the school, as well as outsiders, held a silent protest in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. They were in front of the Arnold Bernhard Library located on the Mount Carmel campus. Many of the protesters were dressed in black and dark colors. A few days before, on Thursday, a flyer to “Take B(l)ack the Quad” was sent out to students who were interested.
Some protesters, affiliated with the school, are also apart of the Quinnipiac Christian Fellowship group. Friday night, they held a long night of prayer in the Carl Hansen Student Center. Below is a timeline of the day with pictures and videos:
8:00 a.m. – Six protesters start assembling on the Quad for a protest on the Quinnipiac University Arnold Bernhard Library steps during Open House. Most protesters are wearing black shirts and black pants.
9:45 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. – Q30 reporters interview a few protesters.
Gobari Idamkue, sophomore Health Science major: “We all come from different organizations and different communities, but we are all here for the same reason.”
Colby Putnam, a 2015 Quinnipiac alum, spoke about intentionally holding the protest during an open house: “I mean, we’re a university, right? So we are, by definition, a marketplace for ideas. And this is an idea that’s very important, that’s very prevalent and we see it all over the news. So if we allow Quinnipiac to be a place where real discussion can happen, that should totally draw people in of any background. You know? If we’re suppressing conversation, are we living up to the name of the university? Are we doing what we’re supposed to be doing as an educational institution? I don’t think so. And so the fact that we’re here and we’ve been allowed to be here, that’s a great thing and I think that speaks volumes.”
Putnam: “I work for intervarsity Christian Fellowship, the Christian Fellowship on campus called Quinnipiac Christian Fellowship. One of the big things that we talk about is multiculturalism in the kingdom of God, and how all cultures are valued. And right now, we see a culture that is really suffering in this country and on this campus is the black community.”
10:31 a.m. – The group of students grows. A student holds a “Black Lives Matter” sign.
10:45 a.m. – The Christian Fellowship Group joins on the library steps.
11:15 a.m. – 11 people expands to 14 people, four men and ten women. Quinnipiac Public Safety tells protesters that they cannot block the middle of the stairs because of the school’s Open House. Protesters listen to public safety and form two smaller groups on the sides.
11:49 a.m. – 24 people are on the quad, 17 women and seven men. Student-athletes from the men’s basketball team, Danny Harris, Peter Kiss, Andrew Robinson, Aaron Robinson, and Mikey Dixon, join in. More white students join the protest.
12:00 p.m. – 30 protesters are now on the quad representing different races, ethnicities and religions.
1:50 p.m. – 10 more students arrive increasing the protest 40 people.
2:00 p.m. – The protest ends.
Follow Q30 Television and Q30 News on Twitter and Facebook for more updates. An interview with Chereace Marcellin, the president of the NAACP Quinnipiac chapter, will be on our website soon.
