Posted by Danny Graugnard
"I, Too, Am Skidmore" is a campaign organized by a group of students in order to express voices of students of color and the experiences they've had on Skidmore's not-so diverse campus. The campaign is seeking to collect written opinions and experiences from both students and faculty.
Their mission statement reads: "As people of color our voices and experiences are all too often silenced. Our presence here is questioned. This campaign centers our voices and sheds light on our myriad experiences on Skidmore's predominantly white campus. We are here. Our voices matter. We, too, are Skidmore." Anyone interested may submit a piece of writing that can be an anecdote or opinion regarding their own personal experiences as minorities on campus.
The campaign has also launched a petition on change.org. The petition itself has made very specific demands about the College's curriculum, requirements, and more.
"We demand that Skidmore invest in an Ethnic Studies Department that focuses on the transnational experiences, cultures, histories of colonized and exploited groups around the world including, but not limited to African American, Caribbean American, Arab American, Indigenous, Latin, and Asian Pacific American courses. We demand that the courses in this department be taught by faculty of color."
Overall, the petition demands that topics such as race, ethnicity, and racial micro-aggressions, should be included in the curriculum in some form for the purpose of raising awareness of the presence of diversity in the College. At the moment, the petition, which requires at least 300 signatures, has reached more than 150 signatures.