Dana Balter, a candidate for New York’s 24th Congressional District, visited #NotAgainSU protesters at the Barnes Center at The Arch on Friday to show solidarity with the movement. 

The sit-in began at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday in response to racial slurs found on the fourth and sixth floors of Syracuse University’s Day Hall. Balter, a Democrat, arrived at the Barnes Center at around 7:10 p.m. to speak with students.

“I wanted to be here in solidarity with this amazing group of students. I think that this really fantastic,” Balter said. “The way that we make change is by standing up and raising our voices and putting ourselves on the line for the things that we believe in.”

Balter announced in April that she would be running against incumbent Rep. John Katko, a Republican. She lost her first campaign for the House in November 2018. Balter previously worked as a visiting assistant teaching professor at SU.

While students were protesting on Wednesday, racist graffiti in a Physics Building bathroom was reported to DPS  on Wednesday night. A swastika was found written in the snow near the 505 on Walnut on Thursday. Later that night, writing was found in Day Hall targeting Asian people. 

The protesters have presented SU officials with a series of demands to be met by Nov. 20. Those demands include the expulsion of any student involved with the Day Hall graffiti, an open forum with the Board of Trustees and an allocation of at least $1 million for diversity curriculum.

“It is sad that it’s up to the students to be the ones to create the change, but I am so proud that it’s students who are doing it,” Balter said. “And I’m so grateful because this is hard, but it’s necessary.”

Chancellor Kent Syerud made an appearance at the Barnes Center on Friday afternoon to go over the protesters’ demands. He promised to answer the demands by the deadline of Nov. 20 at 5 p.m. Syverud also sent out a campus-wide video message in which he said he would provide “detailed responses” to student demands.

The incidents on campus over the last week are part of a “really terrible” pattern, Balter said. The students protesting are setting an example for anyone outside of SU who are not demanding change, she said.

“These students are showing us how it’s done and that’s incredible,” Balter said.

Published on November 15, 2019 at 8:38 pm

Contact India: irmiragl@syr.edu