White t-shirts have been popping up everywhere in recent times. But a group of around 40 protestors who assembled on Alexandra Square Wednesday lunchtime showed that it’s possible to wear a white t-shirt with writing on it that does not consist of ‘jokes’ about killing or raping people.
The student-led protest, with a little logistical support from the National Education Union and UCU, featured students and staff alike sharing their views on the hate speech, racism, sexism and other isms that seem to have reared their ugly heads not only at Lancaster but throughout the country.
There were numerous and varied critiques of the University and Students’ Union’s actions and inactions, urgent appeals to action, and powerful testimony about personal experiences of hate speech, hate crime, and other attacks and harassment.
While a small group of students with hoodies and partially covered faces standing off to the side made some spectators wonder whether there was a confrontation brewing, this turned out to only be the Roleplaying Society, who were meeting on the Alexandra Square steps and felt a bit cold.
The take-away message from the demo: no justice, no peace… and do something!