Letter to the Editor: We Wear Beanies Too

By: Sara Villalobos, Sade Allison

Anger, fear, frustration and action are the words that come to mind when thinking of the incident that occured on campus Oct. 31. The posters that were placed in designated areas, with the saying “It’s okay to be white,” threatened the safety and security of our ethnic and racial minority students, staff and faculty. It has also outraged minorities and allies across campus, and has brought to light once again the dangerous racism that has been perpetrated on campus within the past year.

We Wear Beanies Too worked last year to implement new anti-bias policies on campus. However, the necessity of such policies has clearly not been understood. Therefore, we call upon the administration of Concordia College to make the creation of anti-bias policies one of its top priorities ​immediately.​​ We Wear Beanies Too has been advocating for this change since last year’s incident in partnership with the Student Government Association, and other campus clubs and organizations. It has been a year of meetings, meticulous revisions and process of acceptance, with little change taking place. Actions like the posters should not go without consequence.

We Wear Beanies Too will ​not ​​tolerate these posters nor the hateful message behind them. Hate speech may be protected speech, as we are so frequently reminded on Concordia’s campus, but we will not stand back and be complacent. We will not be another email, another post or another story to be disregarded a week or two from now. The time to take action is now.

We fully support the walk out that took place on Friday, Nov. 2 in the atrium and its message to empower minority students who were affected by the incident prior to the protest. The ability to make a statement, to be uncomfortable and raise awareness has been long overdue. The understanding that there is no justice in simply acknowledging the situation is proven through this movement of courage and bravery. Concordia is lucky to have students driven with such leadership and passion for the betterment of its community. It is more than a poster, more than an email and its significance will lay in the history of Concordia forever. We look forward to continuing this work alongside Concordia’s students and organizations as partners, allies and friends.

We Wear Beanies Too will not compromise when it comes to the well-being of Concordia’s marginalized and voiceless. Our mission is to advocate for the spread of diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus. This means advocating for minorities that are put in harm’s way. We will continue to do just that. These posters, the message behind them and individuals emboldened by them will not become Concordia’s newest tradition.