ELLE NUNZIO
Special to The Leader
In this ever-changing political and social climate, the students of Fredonia’s Black Student Union are taking a stand.
A petition was started in the group’s name that calls for a Black Lives Matter street mural to be added to Fredonia’s campus.
This mural is very similar to those that have popped up all over the country in cities like New York, Seattle and Tulsa, among others.
The president of Black Student Union, Jameila Burton, emphasized how this mural could be empowering to the minority students of Fredonia.
“I think this is important because, as a student of color — I’m a senior, and I feel like I haven’t been welcome since I’ve been here,” she said.
Burton added that the mural wouldn’t just be in support of Black students, but of all minority students across the board.
The mural would be decorated with the flags of various identities across the LGBTQ+ spectrum, as well as representation for other minority students.
The petition, started by Tim Snider, was shared multiple times across social media platforms and was fairly successful. However, there has been backlash from those who oppose the movement.
“We had almost 1,000 signatures, then when I went to go check the numbers again, it had been deleted,” Snider said. They added that the petition was flagged for “offense language.”
In addition to the petition being removed, chalk graffiti was found on the ground outside of Fenton Hall earlier this week that opposed the Black Lives Matter movement.
University Police could not be reached for a comment.
However, Black Student Union is not short of supporters.
Protests and marches in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have taken place in Fredonia, both on campus and off, since early summer.
One march passed by the Lanford House, the residence of SUNY Fredonia president, Stephen H. Kolison.
The protest drew Kolison outside, where he listened and spoke to the students present, ultimately joining them in their march.
President Kolison later sent an email to the student body in support of the march and the movement.
Despite their setbacks, the petition organizers won’t back down.
A new petition has been started, and although it hasn’t yet been as successful as the first, Black Student Union and their supporters are still hopeful that they’ll achieve their goal.
Burton said that she hopes this mural will be a beacon of hope for current and future minority students on Fredonia’s campus.
“Being a Black student, it can be intimidating and frustrating at times because you feel like what you say [doesn’t] matter. Seeing that mural, it’s like, ‘okay I do matter, I do have a voice, I am able to be on this campus and feel comfortable and safe.’”
Both Burton and Snider see this as a challenge for SUNY Fredonia, as they both expressed their displeasure with the university’s response — or lack thereof — to racially motivated harassment and graffiti that have occurred on campus in the past.
They hope to see administration rise to the opportunity to support their minority students.
“It’s a test to prove whether or not the Fredonia administration is behind the students, and if they’re not, I’m happy to say this isn’t the end. [We] are prepared to keep fighting. We’re not stopping here and we’re not staying silent,” said Snider.
At the most recent count, the new petition shared on Facebook multiple times by Snider, was at just over 400 signatures.
CORRECTION: In our print edition, this article used the incorrect pronouns for Tim Snider, who goes by they/them. The changes have been made for our online version.
CLARIFICATION: The mural described in the petition is for a street mural, not a wall mural. It has been brought to The Leader’s attention that the print version of this story may lead people to believe otherwise.