(OPINION) The Petersons & 'Blue Lives Matter': Students Reveal A Pattern of Racism among Skidmore Faculty and Staff

Editor’s Note: Under appropriate review, this story has been updated to more precisely depict that while this faculty-member was indeed in attendance at the ‘Back the Blue’ rally, he was not present while Black Lives Matter protesters, including Skidmore students and alumni, were teargassed by SSPD as the story originally stated.

As Skidmore students return to campus this fall, many are still pondering the next steps that the College will take towards the injustices that have expedited throughout the course of the past few months. The Black community and many alumni were deeply upset by previous President Philip A. Glotzbach and current President Conner’s inadequate responses in ensuring the safety of their Black students and supporting students of color on campus. Recently, a "Back the Blue'' counter protest occurred in Saratoga Springs, and live footage from the action showed Skidmore Art professor, David Peterson, and partner, Andrea Peterson--standing with the Blue Lives protesters. Black Lives Matter protesters, comprised of both Skidmore students and alumni, were tear gassed and threatened by the Saratoga Springs Police Department later that evening.

On August 24th, Past the Mic’s First-Day Protest and phone zap called for action towards ending racism on campus, as well as several other demands, including the immediate firing of David and Andrea Peterson. However, discussions of boycotting David and Andrea Peterson's class for the fall semester had begun weeks prior to the first day of classes. Many students continue to share information publicly about alternative classes to take to replace the Petersons’ courses. 

Recently, I reached out to David Peterson in the hopes of receiving clarity from him on the evidence of him and his wife seen with Blue Lives Protestors. I posed the following questions to him via email as a reporter for The Skidmore News

1) Why were you and your partner standing with the Blue Lives Matter protesters? Were you protesting with them?

2) How have you been holding yourself accountable during this time as a professor who does teach students of color on campus? 

3) After all that has occurred, what steps—as a white man— can you take to better reconcile with students about the evidence that has been seen of you and your partner recently? Also, how are you taking actions to make spaces safer for Black students with the intensity of our political climate? 

The following was David Peterson's response:

"Thank you for reaching out to me.  Believe it or not, you are the first student to contact me for clarification amidst all of the rumors now in circulation.  There have been a number of false assumptions about that evening that I am happy to shine some light on.  Firstly, I want to be perfectly clear that we did not in any way stand “against Black lives”; we were not standing against anything.  We did spend a short time in Congress Park that day observing the rally and the counter-protest.  Why?  That’s simple.  We were curious about what was going on.  Given the painful events that continue to unfold across this nation, I guess we just felt compelled to see first-hand how all of this was playing out in our own community.  Maybe we’re just naïve, but we did hope to witness something along the lines of a dialogue; a willingness to learn and work toward a common goal.  Personally, I think it would be a far more humane world if we would all pull back from our knee-jerk assumptions about one another.

I can’t deny that the social media campaign against us has had quite an impact.  The spurious claims being leveled have been deeply hurtful to both of us and the boycott of my classes has decimated my once robust enrollments.  I especially regret that the students who are no longer on my roster will now not have a chance to work in the amazing facility we’ve built over the past three decades.  I’m a real believer in the personal empowerment that comes from learning how to make things, and make them well.  Metalsmithing can be pretty demanding, physically and intellectually, and it’s not everyone’s cup of tea; I know that. But it awakens and nourishes those abilities to be intentional, precise, and creatively curious that are absent in so much of the modern experience.  That’s what I get so fired up about sharing, and that’s what, sadly, those students will be missing this semester.

Because there is a “process” underway, triggered by the social media campaign against me, I don’t feel I can respond more fully than what I have just said.  There are consequences to the things we all do, innocent and otherwise. Perhaps one day we can explore these matters more fully."

Mr. Peterson claimed that he and his wife's actions were owed to their curiosity. However, this situation unravels precedent issues on Skidmore campus, of a number of white professors’ unwillingness to create safe spaces for their students of color. Although Mr. Peterson responded to the allegations and detriments of his actions, he could not answer my last two questions about accountability and actions to make students of color feel supported, especially with the unpleasant events that have occurred in the past few months. For white professors, working at Skidmore should include continuing to educate themselves on ways to create an equitable learning environment in their classrooms. There is a privilege and responsibility that comes with teaching students of color, and white professors should be working towards validating the voices of these students.

David Peterson stated that his intention of being at the Blue Lives protest was to learn from his community, but given the political and racist climate of Saratoga Springs, this intention is questionable. He never spoke to what he learned from talking to Blue Lives protestors, or what he did after police forces attacked Black Lives Matter protesters. Furthermore, and perhaps more significantly, there have been many claims of Mr. Peterson making students of color and queer students feel uncomfortable and unheard in his art classes prior to this. 

However, he is not the only white professor that has demeaned the voices of students of color. Sarah Choi 22' spoke to me about Mark Vinci who works in the Music department, who last year had asked her why she was having a hard time at Skidmore. She opened up about feeling isolated and marginalized in a "majority white rich campus." Sarah also mentioned that she mostly felt this way because of patterns of  "really micro-aggressive behavior towards people of color." Vinci responded that Asian Americans are not people of color. As she argued in retaliation about having been personally impacted by "institutionalized racist America," he retorted that Asian Americans have not endured the same "hard oppressive history" as Latinx and Black people, and if she didn't feel like she belonged in this country, should “go back to Beijing.” Sarah recalled to me that upon hearing this, she fell silent and began having a panic attack in front of him as he continued to verbally abuse her. 

Sarah’s traumatic account is one out of many: a number of students of color have similarly opened up about their white professors mistreating them in the classroom by not calling on them because they are unable to pronounce their names, offering no action when white students have been racist in the classroom, pointedly asking students of color to speak about specific cultural history or immigration practices, and many other  marginalizing experiences. In addition to many white professors ridiculing students of color, white staff that work in different departments, such as Facilities, Campus Safety, and the Dining Hall, work and drive around campus with Blue Lives Matter masks, "F***Cuomo!" car stickers, and Trump-supporting attire/bumper stickers. Students of color and Black students especially feel threatened to have staff enter their spaces or to come face-to-face with individuals that empower beliefs that inherently go against their identities. Just several days ago, a Black student had taken and shared a photograph of a Facilities staff member wearing a Blue Lives Matter mask when they entered her space to help with a situation she had called for. Similarly, other students of color have also encountered several staff members entering their homes for maintenance purposes with "Make America Great Again" T-shirts or sporting Trump bumper stickers on the back of their trucks and cars. Some students of color have also had experiences where they spoke to staff members who would make racist comments about people of color. Students have reported some of these situations but have largely not received any responses on what should be done about them. 

Many students of color are a part of leadership clubs and organizations that have taken the initiatives to make their demands for greater safety and protection, and are in constant communication with the Dean of Students, Cerri Banks, about the many issues occurring in the town of Saratoga Springs and on campus. The Office of Student Affairs is in full support of the demands of the OSDP clubs and hopes to have a meeting with President Conner soon about the changes that need to be made.

Author’s Note:

I had previously reached out to David Peterson again, hoping that he could respond to me about why he hadn't answered my last two questions and what actions he took after talking to Blue Lives protestors. This is what I wrote to him:

"I was hoping for you to speak to my last two questions because they are so important when thinking about our community of color. However, after reading what you've told me, I hope you can tell me about the conversations you had with those who were protesting for Blue Lives. If you were trying to understand their perspective, which is plausible, I can only wonder if these conversations with the protestors were productive or in blunt words, plainly ignorant and shocking. Did you happen to understand their intentions or even why they were protesting against Black Lives? Ultimately, the Black Lives Matter movement is NOT to indicate that all lives don't matter nor the lives of the police, but seeing that you do reside in Saratoga Springs, and many students of color live in fear simply by being here or seeing white racist people advocate for Trump, how can you respond to what you've learned from your own community?"

David Peterson's response:

Dear Samantha,

Unfortunately, given the fallout of the Cancel campaign launched against me, it would not be prudent for me to comment further on these important matters at this time.  I believe that the reply most often given by those being interrogated by Senator McCarthy (70 years ago) was simply, “no comment”.  I will stand by the statement I provided to you earlier.  If you wish to add that campaigns such as this have a chilling effect which accomplishes the opposite of what its participants claim to want (that is, dialogue), it would explain why I am, at this time, unable to respond more fully.

I hope you understand.  I wish you the very best with your writing.

Best wishes,

David

P.S. If you haven’t already read it, I highly recommend Professor Boyer’s book, The Tyranny of Virtue”; available in the Skid Shop.

David Peterson has decided to not answer any of my follow-up questions; I therefore do not have answers to his and Andrea Peterson's actions after their conversations of Blue Lives protestors. Furthermore, I still have no indication of how they plan to take accountability for their actions and make their classrooms a safe space for our communities of color. In his response, he hoped for me to add that the ‘Cancel Campaign’ against him has had a "chilling effect," but I believe that his inability to reconcile with his behavior at and after the Blue Lives protest speaks volumes to why students have launched a campaign to boycott and advocate for the removal of David Peterson from Skidmore College.

Updated Author's Note:

I have updated the following sentences in my article:

"Recently, a "Back the Blue'' counter protest occurred in Saratoga Springs, and live footage from the action showed two Skidmore professors, David Peterson and Andrea Peterson--who work in the Art Department--standing with the Blue Lives protestors as Black Lives Matter protesters, comprised of both Skidmore students and alumni, were tear gassed and threatened by the Saratoga Springs Police Department."

"In his response, he hoped for me to add that the ‘Cancel Campaign’ against him has had a "chilling effect," but I believe that his inability to reconcile with his behavior at the Blue Lives protest speaks volumes to why students have launched a campaign to boycott and advocate for the removal of David and Andrea Peterson from Skidmore College."

Updated sentences:

“Recently, a "Back the Blue'' counter protest occurred in Saratoga Springs, and live footage from the action showed Skidmore Art professor, David Peterson, and partner, Andrea Peterson--standing with the Blue Lives protesters. Black Lives Matter protesters, comprised of both Skidmore students and alumni, were tear gassed and threatened by the Saratoga Springs Police Department later that evening.”

“In his response, he hoped for me to add that the ‘Cancel Campaign’ against him has had a "chilling effect," but I believe that his inability to reconcile with his behavior at and after the Blue Lives protest speaks volumes to why students have launched a campaign to boycott and advocate for the removal of David Peterson from Skidmore College.”