Our Hamilton hosts “Let’s Talk About the Letter” teach-in, hundreds of students attend
by Nikki Greenberg ’25, Staff Writer
On Friday, March 4, student movement Our Hamilton hosted a student-led teach-in, where students learned and talked about the history of activism and experiences of BIPOC students, faculty and staff at Hamilton College.
Misaki (Maya) Funada ’22, a student who played a large role in planning the event, explained that the event aimed to “start a buzz” about the issues taking place on campus. In light of the letter of resignation posted on Assistant Professor of Anthropology Mariam Durrani’s door, many students around campus had already begun a conversation.
Funada explained that she was surprised to see so many students interested in the issue, including those whom she previously did not see in activist communities on campus. With an unprecedented number of students attending, Funada and her peers wanted to make the most of this opportunity to hold a more long-term, campus-wide discussion.
Many student organizations forwarded the same email to the Hamilton College community on Thursday, March 3, which urged students to attend the “Let’s Talk About the Letter” event in Burke Library on Friday, March 4 at 5:00 p.m. The email stated that “in the current academic year, at least six faculty members, who are Black, Asian, queer, or/and woman of color, decided to resign from Hamilton College.” The email also encouraged students to wear black on Friday, bring a mask and marker to the library and come to the library with friends. In the email, organizers outlined the goals for the discussion: “[sharing] our sadness and anger with the community, [starting] conversations to better understand the campus climate and the history of white supremacy and [showing] our support for marginalized groups of students, faculty, and staff.”
Event organizers estimate that 300 to 400 students and faculty gathered that Friday to hear students discuss Professor Durrani’s letter of resignation, the Alexander Hamilton Institute (AHI) and the history of student activism on campus. Organizers handed out articles, infographics and flyers as students entered the library, and encouraged students to sign their names on a large sign with the words “Our Hamilton” painted on it. Video recordings of the speeches can be found on the Our Hamilton instagram page, @our.hamilton.
The organizers asked Saphire Ruiz ’22 to be a part of the teach-in based on their knowledge of activism and group organization. During the event, Ruiz provided an overview of activist movements on the Hamilton campus, a subject which they have spent significant time researching. In an interview, Ruiz explained that their research is important because “movements are weakened when people don’t know what has happened before.” Ruiz also stated that the current political climate on Hamilton’s campus is very similar to the periods of time just before previous movements on campus, such as The Movement or The Social Justice Initiative.
Following the discussion in Burke Library, the crowd of students made their way to the Taylor Science Center, where a faculty and trustee reception was being hosted in the atrium. Students filled the atrium as well as the balconies on the second and third floors. Organizers handed out pieces of paper with the words “You value me for my _____ , but NOT my story.” Students could write in the blank what they felt the school valued them for, and then could read the flyers aloud in front of trustees and professors.
Funada, Nicole Rodriguez ’22, Eric Kopp ’22, Sam Greenhouse ’22, Meraly Morales ’25, Diego Inzunza ’25, Avani Pugazhendi ’22, Grace Goldberg ’24, Olivia James ’23, Rachel Lee ’22, Steven Campos ’22 and Yanki Kung ’23 planned the event.
During her speech, Funada revealed that the above group planned the event in just four days. Since there was not much time to plan such an event, Funada embraced many of the non-academic skills she learned while working at a start-up in Japan during her gap year. She emphasized that activist groups can learn a lot about productivity and project management from professional organizations outside of Hamilton, although many student activists might not always agree with their corporate practices.
The aforementioned group of students who organized the teach-in decided to name this movement Our Hamilton. According to its instagram page, Our Hamilton aims to “fight for a more equitable Hamilton community for students, faculty, and staff.” Funada explained that several students in Our Hamilton were looking for a course of systemic action to express their frustration at the mistreatment of Hamilton faculty, students and staff of color.
Although the group wants to see tangible change on the Hamilton campus as soon as possible, Funanda and her teammates firmly believe that understanding the issues taking place is their top priority. Our Hamilton members will be discussing their goals for the rest of this semester and ideal organizational structure over the spring break.
Our Hamilton is further concerned with the sustainability and succession process within student-run organizations, as the group views this as an issue that many groups on campus have not always effectively tackled in the past.
Funada wants to ensure that the Our Hamilton group remains a resource for promoting social justice even after most of the founding members graduate this spring.
