CCSU Rally Against Racism
2009 2009-11The page as the paper published it (Wayback Machine) →
From the paper's own web edition, recovered from the Internet Archive: the text as the paper put it online, not machine-read. The printed issue of November 2009 is also here: the scanned issue.
by CCSU activists / November 2009
Students rallied at Central Connecticut State University on Oct. 14 to protest racist actions on campus. The demonstration addressed an alleged incident during the 2005-2006 school year in which a former student cross-country runner was forced by his coach to drink human blood in the presence of teammates. Charles Ngetich filed a lawsuit in September against his former coach, claiming also that the coach had subjected him to racist remarks.
The CCSU Recorder reports that the president of the NAACP chapter at the university, Martine Bernadel, told the crowd that in the two years she’s attended CCSU, she has seen terrible acts of racism and discrimination acted upon students and friends. She asked the crowd to think about how it would feel to be far away from home and be treated in such a way that Ngetich has.
CCSU Black Student Union President Patrick Williams said, “This rally isn’t just about one issue [of racism]; this is about a constant repetitive thing that happens on campus.” CCSU Youth for Socialist Action President Marissa Blaszko began a chant by shouting, “When students’ rights are under attack, what do we do?” The crowd responded: “Stand up, fight back!”