BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) - A Western Washington University campus march in support of a more diverse school has drawn hundreds of young people.
The Seattle Times reports (https://is.gd/c0zX3A ) that officials estimate about 700 people took part in Monday’s rally.
The backdrop for the march was university President Bruce Shepard’s recent statement that the school is too white. He has said he was being deliberately provocative with the comment. He calls the lack of diversity on college campuses a national crisis.
In a convocation speech, referring to the racial make-up of the school, Shepard said, “…if in decades ahead, we are as white as we are today, we will have failed as a university.” Shepard is white. Western’s enrollment is about 76 percent white.
Several protesters showed up on campus after Shepard’s remarks with signs that read “diversity=white genocide.”
An organizer of Monday’s march says Western students wanted to counter the negative messages.
The university in Bellingham has about 15,000 students.
___
Information from: The Seattle Times, https://www.seattletimes.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.