No, a starving college student didn’t eat the dean of students at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calif. However, student protests, which included two hunger strikes that allegedly began Wednesday, drove Dean of Students Mary Spellman to resign Thursday afternoon.

Trending

In addition to a protest held at the school Tuesday, an open letter signed by several student groups, including CMCers of Color, demanded the creation of a resource center on campus “for students of marginalized identities.”

The Los Angeles Times reports that Spellman came under fire after pledging in an email to a Latina student that she would work to serve those who “don’t fit our CMC mold.” The report continues:

Students have compiled a list of instances of bias, including vandalism at the Queer Resource Center, the defacement of Black Lives Matter posters, racial slurs, perceived mockery of their cultures and what they allege were university efforts to silence their complaints.

Their requests included a new resource center, funding for multicultural clubs, more diverse hiring, a mentoring program and an administrator to oversee diversity.

Spellman wrote in her resignation letter that she was doing so “with sadness beyond words, because these nearly six years have been the most rewarding and fulfilling of my life, but also with the conviction that it is the right thing to do for the school and the students I care about so deeply.”

Students, on the other hand, weren’t necessarily sympathetic. “Let this be a message to anyone who sees a wrong and speaks out to make it right,” said one of the one-day hunger strikers.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter
Tags: Claremont McKennadean of studentsdiversityhunger strikeLatinamarginalized identitiesmoldresignation