Administrators at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota cancelled classes today after a weekend of peaceful protests took over the school’s cafeteria in response to a number of expressions of racism against students of color.
The most recent incident came just hours before the demonstrations, when a black student reported having found a note on the windshield of her car that read: “I am so glad that you are leaving soon. One less n‑‑‑‑‑ that this school has to deal with. You have spoken up too much. You will change nothing. Shut up or I will shut you up,” according to The Washington Post.
Some students had announced the intention to boycott classes Monday, but administration decided to cancel then instead. St. Olaf spokeswoman Kari VanDerVeen said classes would not be held “so that we may have time for faculty, students, and staff to continue the discussions about racism and diversity on our campus.”
“It’s been something that’s been going on all year,” Samantha Wells, a senior who said she found the racist note, told fellow students during the weekend demonstrations, according to the Northfield News. “We’ve done so much digging and this stuff has happened for decades. There’s one thing that happens and it stops and then it happens again and then it kind of stops. I think the big message is we shouldn’t let this happen again. The administration needs to do something that stops it indefinitely.”
During the current school year, there have been nine reported acts of hate speech on campus — three incidents during the first semester and six during the second semester — according to the college, which has an enrollment of about 3,000.
