By Dean Barker | Campus Reform
A college in Vermont recently held a Black Lives Matter protest with more than 500 people, despite coronavirus restrictions.
Middlebury College hosted a protest last month over the decision not to arrest the police officers who fatally shot Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky. The protest was organized by students in approximately 24 hours and, according to The Middlebury Campus student newspaper, faculty and staff from the school helped to organize the protest and make sure that COVID-19 procedures were followed.
While students were reportedly kept in groups of 10, pictures of the event raise questions as to whether those procedures were followed.
This protest came within two weeks of 22 students being removed from the campus for violating COVID-19 guidelines and of the school moving into Phase 2 of its reopening, which limited gatherings to groups of 10 or fewer, “indoors or outdoors.”
“For Middlebury to continue our in-person residential experience, we expect all members of our community to follow the guidelines for a successful Phase 2,” Middlebury Dean of Students Derek Doucet said. “Our requirements are designed to protect the entire community. Adhering to them is of the utmost importance as we continue to live with this pandemic.”
Currently, under Phase 2 guidelines at the college, there is a “10-person maximum for casual/social gatherings and only in locations where strict physical distancing is possible.”
The notice on the university website makes clear that “this applies to all gatherings—indoors or outdoors, on or off-campus.”
While some faculty were reportedly at the protest, there has been no official statement from the school condemning or approving the event.
However, the school’s Twitter account made a statement concerning an alleged incident of racial discrimination the night of the protest.
Middlebury College has had little to no problem staying away from the coronavirus. According to the school’s COVID-19 dashboard, since late July, the school has seen a total of two positive tests. Despite the low number of positive tests, there has been a high number of punishments for not following guidelines.
As of October 19, 90 students had been sanctioned for violations, and 27 have been removed from campus, including the 22 who were removed shortly before the protest.
“I am more afraid of getting brutalized by the police than getting coronavirus, and I’m scared of getting Covid-19,” protest organizer Kaila Thomas said, according to the student newspaper. “This is as pressing as coronavirus measures right now.”
Middlebury College did not respond to Campus Reform’s request for comment in time for publication.
It use to be ” Teach your children well ” those days are gone, now it’s all about
teach them about an agenda……
BLM movement is a joke, they really don’t care about the Black community, if they did
including these college minions, they would in major cities like ” Chicago ” and the daily
bloodletting protesting that, but Nah……. snowflakes in college wasting Daddies money !!
And now they’ll go home with the Wuhan Virus, and tell daddy……..what an education,
daddy should be proud !!
Yet people complain about the rise in COVID-9 cases. What is more important, protest or people getting and spreading the virus.
I’d call this a pretty bad move- when you consider the overall frame of mind today about colleges.
I know some educated and well to do families that are saying their kids are going into the Trades and the parents are happy about it. This looks today like more solid, reliable and honorable work in the future. You don’t need to be defined by letters after your name- all you need to do is make some money to create a life.
Don’t ask us for any Bailouts either.. they destroyed themselves.