On September 8, The Dickinsonian published an article on the change of the name and mission of the Student Liberation Movement, formerly known as Why We Wear Black. While the Movement appreciates The Dickinsonian updating the Dickinson community on our progress as a movement, we, the writers of the Student Liberation Movement, including but not limited to organizers Brady Hummel ’17 and Teryon Lowery ’19, would like to clarify a few things.

As stated on our Facebook page:

“The Why We Wear Black organizers examined the progress of this past year by discussing strengths and weaknesses, as well as defining our mission for this upcoming year. Among those things, we discussed our purpose and whether or not the name of our movement correlated to what our goals are. The movement formerly known as the Why We Wear Black Movement is now the Student Liberation Movement. We root our movement in the issues faced by students of color on Dickinson’s campus and their intersecting identities. We do, however, acknowledge, advocate, and are allied with the lived experiences of students of color, women, students within the LGBTQ+ spectrum, students with disabilities, and students who are members of any other marginalized group. We aim to establish and bring unity amongst marginalized groups. In doing so, it is important that we acknowledge the many roles within this movement as some people may want to be in the forefront, while others’ activism may take different shapes and forms. For the sake of transparency, we would like everyone to know that they can be a part of this movement even if they are not an organizer, as an identifier, or an ally. All of these roles are important to ensure that the movement is effective and holds the institution accountable to its students.”

We are more than just a student group. We are a community of diverse individuals, with different backgrounds bonded together by the fact that we are aware of the issues in our College community and want to do what we can to address them. What we testify and protest are not allegations but experiences, lived experiences of fellow Dickinsonians and fellow human beings. Our goals are not self-serving but aim to hold the administration and Dickinson community accountable for the institutional biases and blind spots that exist on this campus. If we need to make noise to shatter the apathy shown when addressing issues related to marginalized and underrepresented students on Dickinson’s campus, then we will do that.

We refuse to be silent. We refuse to be idle. We refuse to let our campus remain ignorant of the injustices that exist here. And while protesting is a key aspect to our movement, we do much more than that. We continually work with the administration on policy changes that will promote and foster inclusivity and uphold the values that we, as Dickinsonians, strive to attain.

We are not a club. This is not our hobby. We do serious work and we will continue to do this work as long as there are students whose voices are ignored. We will be heard.