Hourglass Assignment

Three Washington State University police officers were injured and 22 students arrested after a protest on Friday regarding the possibility of all faculty members being required to take a class in cultural diversity.

There were two campus groups and over 200 demonstrators involved with the protest at the monthly Board of Regents meeting. The Students Against Racism were protesting for the additional cultural classes for faculty, while the American Student Organization members were protesting against diversity classes.

The protestors were being loud and disruptive without a permit to hold a rally, and as a result were asked to disperse, said Police Chief R. Barclay Peterson. “There never would have been a problem if they simply would have moved back when we asked them. Instead, both groups decided to gang up against the police,” he said.

One police officer, Andrea Wilson, received a gash on her forehead, Peterson said. James Nelson and Sgt. Jerico Turner were the other police officers injured, receiving bruises from thrown items.

All of those arrested were charged with trespassing on state property for refusing to disperce, and twelve were also charged with resisting arrest. Ten students were charged with assault after they allegedly threw rocks and bottles at the police officers.

The regents did not take action on the new diversity requirement, and will discuss it again at next months meeting to be held May 16th in Regents Hall.

“We will continue protesting until the regents vote to mandate faculty training,” said Jonathan Walterson, president of Students Against Racism. “We’re done negotiating with them. Now it is time to cause trouble,” he said.

Walterson said there will be more rallies, not only at the next meeting but before then.

Brian Allen, a senior biology student and president of the American Student Organization, said his group will continue protesting as well. “Our faculty do not need additional training in diversity. Many of our faculty aren’t even from this country,” he said.

“It Just got out of hand,” said Peterson. The protest started at the fountain at Central Mall around noon with one group chanting “no more racism” and the other saying “stop diversity,” he said.

The students then marched towards Regents Hall at about 1:15 p.m., the location of the meeting, and were disrupting classes when they were asked to disperse, he said.

About 60 officers were present by 1:20 p.m. because the demonstrators were too loud and rowdy, said Peterson.

The protestors were then met by officers and ordered to disperse near the Liberal Arts Building. By 1:25, the demonstration was at its worst, Peterson said. The protestors started shouting directly at the police and began throwing things at them, he added.

This is when the three officers were injured, Peterson said.
By 1:30, most of the protestors began to back off, and those who did not were arrested, ending the demonstration, he said.

The Protest delayed the beginning of the afternoon session of the regents meeting, and the meeting resumed at about 2 p.m., said Peterson.