Last week, a group of students and staff held a peaceful protest against the changes in diversity, equity and inclusion. They covered the sidewalks of campus in positive messages to endorse LGBTQ rights and to ask the university to continue to support DEI on campus.
Anyone was welcome to join, and many did. The group of students doubled by the end of the protest. Camryn Luksa, a protester, explained what the group's goal was.
“We’re trying to spread some positivity,” Luksa said. “There’s a lot of unrest and worry in our world right now especially in terms of a college campus. Something that UNC stands for is diversity, equity, inclusion and positivity. We wanna make sure everyone is welcome here.”
Earlier this month they held a peaceful protest on west campus and decorated the sidewalks and buildings. The group aims to teach more people about DEI and that it is a helpful tool for everyone.
“DEI has helped me in thousands of ways. It’s helped everybody in thousands of ways, specifically it’s the ways that we don’t see.” Luksa said.
They recognize the hard work President Andy Fienstien has done to keep DEI on campus. However, Luksa still worries about what the future holds.
“I’m worried about everyone else, everybody else who doesn’t have a voice who's not brave enough to speak up but is gonna be directly affected in this new movement to take away DEI” She said.
The group will continue to hold peaceful protests until the future of DEI on campus is secured.
