Last fall, the story of six Jena High School students resonated across the nation. In a case that began the previous December, six black high school students from Jena, La., allegedly beat their white classmate and were initially charged with attempted murder. As demonstrations and protests broke out about what was called discriminatory treatment of the six students, students at Georgetown did not remain quiet. But here, a rally in September in support of the Jena Six brought to the surface frustrations and issues that had previously remained veiled.

On Sept. 20, about 40 students at Georgetown wore black and gathered in Red Square in a rally chanting, “Free the Jena Six,” and read poems from Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes. Later that night, Georgetown’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People held a candlelight vigil.

But when protests of the Jena Six’s treatment turned to protests of what was seen as THE HOYA’s insufficient coverage of the on-campus rally and vigil, a much larger problem at Georgetown was revealed.

“I think those [concerns with minority acceptance] were issues but there were usually not that many people involved in the conversation and the conversation tended to be private and not public,” said Rosemary Kilkenny, vice president for institutional diversity and equity. Georgetown, which has a historically predominantly white student body, many have criticized the campus for what they have seen as a lack of tolerance and acceptance.

But the Jena Six incident brought forward emotions that spurred some on campus into action. Brian Kesten (COL ’10) started GUSA’s Student Commission for Unity after the eruption over the Jena Six incident in order to foster dialogue about issues of race and diversity on campus.

“I guess it [the Jena Six incident] just sort of unveiled underlying tensions that existed on this campus and existed in society. People wouldn’t have made a big deal about it if it were an isolated incident,” Kesten said.

The commission organized two forums on campus this year designed to bring together students, faculty and administrators to bring questions of diversity to the table in a discussion. More than 30 student organizations hosted the events.

“I believe that the forum organized in response to the controversy was an example of how our community should respond — by bringing people together and engaging in respectful and honest conversation,” said Todd Olson, vice president for student affairs.

Looking back, some of the students who had been most vocal about their anger over THE HOYA’s coverage said that the campus actually took a step forward as a result.

“The Jena Six moment sparked conversations and debates like I had not seen in any of my previous semesters, achieving what even our incredibly stimulating Pluralism in Action event during [New Student Orientation] often has trouble achieving: It got many of us to come together as Hoyas to honestly discuss the issue of social injustice that continues to affect every single Hoya and every single American, regardless of color,” said Niara Phillips (SFS ’09), a participant in the Jena Six rally who wrote articles in response to THE HOYA’s coverage.

Ellie Gunderson (COL ’10), then-president of the NAACP, said that this year above all others portrayed the value of dialogue in promoting acceptance of diversity.

“The Jena Six incident really gave an opportunity for people to come out and talk about their opinions. Just the fact that this year that we had two successful forums just goes to show you that dialogue has been seen as valuable to the Georgetown community,” Gunderson said.

It has now been eight months since the Jena Six rally, but acceptance and tolerance continue to be issues at the forefront of the campus culture. Many of those who commended the initial steps taken by those on campus also admit there is more to be done.

“I think they have certainly room to improve [the acceptance of different students on campus] and there are things that other Catholic universities are doing that we could learn from,” Kesten said. “I’ve had to write four bias reports in one month. It seems every weekend someone is discriminated against at a party on campus. … You still walk into the cafeteria and see social divisions.”

“I think the university has taken some important first steps but I don’t think they have done enough,” Gunderson said. “Now that the administration has taken that first step to reach out, I just hope that they will continue to listen to the concern of the minority community.”
Kilkenny said that she wants to personally ensure that open conversation about tolerance continues.

“I certainly plan to collaborate with the Diversity Action Council so we can have more of these discussions with not only race but issues with LGBTQ, gender and different identities for 2009 and in the future,” she said.

Many agree that the issue of bias and intolerance, when ingrained, cannot be solved in one year. Kesten said that although significant moves have been made to promote tolerance, the work can not stop there.

“I think what we really want to aim for is not tolerance but connectedness, friendship, equality. All those things are great achievements we should strive for,” Kesten said.

While the administration has promoted dialogue about the subject of acceptance and diversity, Gunderson said that if Georgetown is to change, that change must start with students.

“The culture must change and that can only come from the students themselves,” Gunderson said.