A video went viral showing Arizona State University white students being confronted and asked to leave a multicultural space by two women of color who were upset about one of the students’ “police lives matter” sticker.
The Multicultural Solidarity Coalition shared the video on its Instagram page. “Read and sign our proposal for the Cultural Excellence Center and it’s affiliate programs and demands including the defunding of ASUPD,” the group’s Instagram page says. The video is no longer available on that page. However, you can watch it below.
The second man was wearing a “Did Not Vote for Biden” T shirt in the video, which was filmed in Phoenix, Arizona, on September 23, 2021.
ASU gave Heavy the following statement: “The Dean of Students Office is aware of the disagreement between a handful of students that was captured in a video circulated on social media. The Dean of Students Office will be discussing it with all involved. ASU is a community of more than 100,000 people from all 50 states and more than 150 countries. Differences of opinion are part of the university experience. The university expects respectful dialogue between students in all engagements.”
Asked if anyone was or would be disciplined, ASU responded, “Nothing I can tell you about discipline or the students’ identities.”
The women have not been identified but are visible in the video.
YouTubeOne of the women in the video
Here’s what you need to know:
The Two Women Confronted White Students Who Were Studying & Claimed They Should Leave Because They Were Offending Them; One of the Men Said He Was Being Bullied
You can watch the 7 minute video above.
“What did I do wrong?” asks the first white man, who has the Police Lives Matter sticker on his laptop, when the two women approach him and his friend.
“You’re offensive,” one of the women says, mentioning, “police lives matter.”
“It’s just a sticker,” says the first man.
“But this is our space,” the woman says.
A second man says, “We’re just trying to do school. We’ve got a police lives matter sticker. We’re getting kicked out. Can’t do school.”
The woman says, “You’re making the space uncomfortable.”
The second man says, “You just said we have to leave. You’re making me uncomfortable.”
“But you’re white. Do you understand this is a multicultural space. It means you’re not being centered,” says one of the women. White is not a culture.”
The woman added, “Say it again to the camera; you think white is a culture.. this is the violence that ASU does. This is the type of people that they protect. This white man thinks he can take up our space. and this is why we need a multicultural space.”
The man insists, “I’m going to sit here the whole time.”
One of the women says, “We’re not kicking you out. We’re asking you to leave if you have any consideration for people of color.”
The second man says, “This is insane.”
A woman says, “They think they can get away with this sh**.”
The men are told that they would leave if they had “any consideration for people of color…every part of the campus centers you.”
She accuses the two students of “white racist male bullsh**.”
The woman tells the white student, “You are racist. Your sticker is racist. Police that’s a job. You can choose to be a police. I don’t choose to be black. You can choose to be a cop. You can choose to kill people with a badge. And you’re protecting that sh**, which means that you’re racist.”
The first man says, “I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to offend you guys.”
“This offends us automatically,” one of the two women says. “These people kill people like us. You’re promoting our murderers.”
A third man approaches and confronts the women.
“Do you understand that police lives matter was in response to Black Lives matter,” asks one of the women.
“He pays the same f****** tuition as you,” the third man says.
The first man interjects, “I’m working 60 hours a week going to school because my parents don’t just give me money.”
“I don’t care what color your skin is,” the second man says.
The women are undeterred. “This is our space. We made this f****** space. We worked for five years for ASU to build a multicultural space,” one says.
“They’re just trying to study,” said the third man.
The women say, “you’re violent dude,” and “f*** America, America was created on genocide and slavery” and “the point is that is not a space just for studying. People are feeling uncomfortable by your sticker.
The first man said, “f*** you. I was just studying here. I pay the same tuition as you,” provoking one woman to say, “Cussing out Black people; you just proved yourself.”
The women claim reverse racism doesn’t exist.
“You bullied us,” the second man says.
One of the two women says, “We’re here we had to protect the space because ASU wasn’t. We fought for this space. It was years of organizing and we’re not going to let some white supremacist change that. They’re going to make a scene and go talk to their Karens and all that. Multiculutralism doesn’t mean you all come together and hold hands. It means you protect space and protect the most marginalized.”
In the video, one of the students of color claims, “white cis men are threatening black students by saying police lives matter,” but the video shows that the men were sitting at a table with their laptops studying when approached by two women.
“What’s white culture? Stealing things from people,” one of the women says in the video, laughing. “Colonization, theft, occupation.”
“This is one of the most unracist countries,” the second white man in the student says, causing the students of color to laugh more.
“He just said America is one of the most unracist countries. And this is what we mean by who are you centering,” said one of the women.
“I can’t even do my school work,” the second man said, accusing the women of “bullying” the two white students.
The page Libs of TikTok helped send the video viral.
The Group Posted Videos Criticizing ASU for Not Caring About Students of Color but Some Have Criticized the Women & Called on ASU to Do More
This is racism & harassment.
The school should punish the girls who did this.
Racism towards any skin color is wrong & shouldn’t be tolerated ever.
ALL lives matter.
Supporting police mean you support police & the important job they do to keep communities safe & enforce laws.
Women associated with the multicultural videos have posted other videos criticizing ASU. “ASU couldn’t even get a room ready for BIPOC,” they said in one of those videos.
The two women in one of those videos said that “for over a year they had us in these meetings over and over again. Out of the meetings, they took our proposal. What they did in response to that is give us a single room. While the size is Okay, it’s about care and intentionality. They haven’t even changed the plaque. So why were we in meetings every single week. And you can’t change the plaque. It doesn’t take that long. How much care did you put into your students of color. They see there is nothing for them.”
The room said, “Student success center tutoring.”
“Yes we are upset. Yes the fight goes on you all. This right here is what you call disrespectful,” a woman said.
One woman said the door was locked. She said of the university “is this inclusive when we don’t even have a space. You refused to get this ready you intentionally did that.” One of the women referred to the university as a capitalist, slave-owning plantation.
However, some Republicans have criticized the women.
“This is racism & harassment. The school should punish the girls who did this. Racism towards any skin color is wrong & shouldn’t be tolerated ever. ALL lives matter. Supporting police mean you support police & the important job they do to keep communities safe & enforce laws,” Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted.
Richard Grenell, former Acting Director of National Intelligence, tweeted, “Who is this person attacking people because they are white? What school is she a product of? What community allowed her to be educated this way? Who are her parents? They all failed her.”
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