Please sign this petition if you stand in solidarity with the Black students, past, current, and future, of Bethany College. I hope this starts a dialogue between administration and the students that keep their institution functioning.

Below is a link to the document of Student's Individual Stories:

Stories from Students Facing Racial Injustice at Bethany College

Below is my open letter to Bethany College Administration, as well as a link to the stories of students on campus:

To the Current Administration of Bethany College,

As a proud graduate of the Class of 2020, I have been reflecting on my time at Bethany College. I have met the most amazing people, gained amazing sisters, and have become a woman that I am proud of. This was not largely through my enriching liberal arts education; it was through me learning how to deal with the adversity that this institution has put in my life. 

In light of all of the disgusting behavior I’m seeing in the world, I felt powerless about how I could change anything. How could I have an outlet for these feelings of despair and anger that I have? How could I do my part beyond voting and donating to better my world and community? I realized that change only matters if it helps future generations. The positive changes that I can contribute to my Black brothers and sisters younger than me, is making my alma mater, Bethany College, a safe space where Black students can flourish and prosper. 

It was absolutely painful to watch the world change around me and not think of my own oppression and mistreatment that I’ve endured, even at my school. We as students, current and former, all see how administration and security handpick who to support, who to let prosper, and who to help. One way that this gatekeeping of education is done, is through the explicit and implicit racism, particularly against Black students, that the school perpetuates and facilitates. 

There are multiple types of students that Bethany has overlooked; LGBT+ students, Nonblack POC students, students struggling with their mental health, first-generation students, and students of lower socioeconomic status. Black students have been disproportionately forgotten and trampled over by administration and security. Along with this letter, I have attached personal accounts of students and their experiences with adversity in the school that was facilitated by the administration. These students are hurt, we feel abandoned, we are in pain. We want to be heard. 

I understand that change takes time, and this letter is meant to be informative as well as constructive. I think there is an issue with people wanting change but simultaneously not being ready to come up with possible solutions. There are things that I, as well as present and former students, would like to suggest that the administration does to truly foster the environment Bethany College claims it has on the exterior. 

Immediate changes that need to be made: 

1. The Wellness center needs to be renamed, Robert Byrd was a KKK Grand Wizard. And the fact that administration KNOWS this and keeps this building named that way on campus is disgusting and disrespectful to the Black students at Bethany who walk past that building every day. This, to me and other students, is Bethany College supporting a man that aligned with the ideals of the KKK. 

2. Students need to have immediate and easy access to the policies pertaining to security and their ability to search student property, their dorms, and other facilities. As well as their own rights as students. Security also needs to have an impartial board to review their cases if a student would like to report/contest their actions. They have disproportionately targeted students of color — Black students in particular. And this needs to be recognized and dealt with. 

3. There needs to be an emphasis on diversity in our administration and our staff and faculty. I’m well aware of this being a focus of Bethany, I’ve had those conversations. But the troubles that Bethany is having with increasing diversity should be transparent. You may know your intentions, but your STUDENT BODY should know them too. 

4. Mental health services for Black students on campus need to be emphasized. Mental health is already a taboo subject in the Black community and currently, there is no one that can relate to a Black person’s experiences on campus — no one to talk to that understands. 

I implore you to really read and absorb the messages that students have to say. These are your student body, the very thing that keeps the institution running, and an entire group of them feel overlooked. I have included my own experiences with racism and adversity while at Bethany, and I’m not reaching out to speak for all of us, but to try and give a voice to the voiceless. 

The email that responded to the current climate of the world was extremely tone deaf. You claim to “struggle to find the words”, which is understandable, there is nothing anyone can say that will fix the current state of the world. But change does not come from words. Comfort does not come from words. They come from action. Please take your students, past, present, and future seriously. Listen to us. Hear us. SEE US. Heal with us. 

I’ve always tried to make light of these situations, often referring to myself as a student ID number (rather than a human being) in the eyes of the administration. Now more than ever, especially in regards to that absolute tone-deaf email that was sent from the President to students, I feel like a student ID. You owe it to your alumnus to rebuild, you owe it to your current students to grow,  and you owe it to your future students to be better, Bethany. 

I hope you hear us, 

SID: 212164