Less than a week after racist and homophobic comments posted on the Facebook pages of two affinity groups prompted a Nov. 8 rally in front of the football stadium, UGA students took their concerns to administrators Thursday afternoon.
About 100 students and faculty members, many of them carrying signs, attended the silent protest in front of the administrative office.
“We want to make it clear that this isn’t about the Facebook posts, but the climate here on campus,” said Caroline Bailey, president of UGA’s Black Affairs Council. The council and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center were targets of the derogatory posts.
After the Nov. 8 rally in front of the football stadium, someone left another racist message on the council's Facebook page, according to The Red & Black, UGA's newspaper.
“Yall (racial slur) can protest all you want it just makes you look like the monkeys you are!”
Dean of students Bill McDonald said: “Students and staff … are hurting because of the statements and images that have been portrayed in social media. Many take it personally and feel victimized by that. This gives us a chance to support one another.”
McDonald said he appreciates the courage and leadership Bailey has displayed during this time and that the university needs to continue to focus on how to improve the culture.
“We’re in a place where many different cultures and identities feel very welcome here,” McDonald said. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t improve.”
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