UPDATED: Sept. 21, 2014 at 9:54 p.m.

Almost 100 Syracuse University community members gathered in front of the Life Sciences Complex on Friday afternoon to protest scholarship cuts to minority student programs.

What started with a few people standing across the street from the College Place bus stop shortly before 4 p.m. swelled to a crowd of nearly 100 people within 20 minutes. The Rally for a Difference was planned in response to the university’s decision to reduce involvement with the Posse program, which provides full scholarships to students at four-year universities around the country. Scholars in the program are recruited from certain cities across the country including Miami, Atlanta and Los Angeles. SU will now no longer recruit in Atlanta or Los Angeles.

Rally for a Difference was the second protest held at SU this week. On Wednesday, about 70 people gathered on the steps of Hendricks Chapel before marching up to Chancellor Kent Syverud’s office to protest changes to sexual assault services at SU. Many people who attended the Rally for Consent were also at Friday’s protest, and said it was important to show solidarity on campus issues.

David L. Jackson, a sophomore history and secondary education major, had the idea for the Rally for a Difference event, which was organized by the Student African American Society. Jackson added that the idea for the event was sparked partly by the #ITooAmSU campaign.

Jackson himself is a Posse scholar from Miami, but stressed that the protest wasn’t just about current students in the program.

“It’s not just about us,” Jackson told the crowd as he stood on the steps in front of Life Sciences. “It’s about who comes after us.”

Several members of the university administration were in attendance including Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric Spina, Senior Vice President for Public Affairs Kevin Quinn and Dean of Hendricks Chapel Tiffany Steinwert. Spina climbed up onto the elevated sidewalk and addressed the crowd at around 4:45 p.m.

He thanked those in attendance for coming, saying it showed they cared about the university. He added that Syverud knew the event was happening but was at an academic event. Spina also told the crowd that a campus forum had been scheduled for Oct. 2 in Hendricks Chapel to discuss respect and inclusion.

“We all know this is important but this can’t be the end,” Spina said. “We need to continue this dialogue — Oct. 2 can’t be the end of it either.”

“How can you ensure that this isn’t just comfort food?” Jackson replied. “Or is this something you really believe?”

Spina responded by talking about the importance of working together and having diversity at SU. Both of those make the university better, he said.

Though Syverud didn’t make an appearance during the protest itself, he arrived shortly after it had concluded to attend a symposium taking place in the building. He spoke with Jackson as the two walked into the Life Sciences Complex.

Jackson said Syverud told him that he wanted to create a space for open dialogue on campus. Syverud also received a list of demands that were read out at the protest, and told Jackson that he would read them.

The demands included creating a caucus of black and Latino students that would meet with the chancellor, increasing funding for minority students and holding mandatory open dialogues on campus.

A few alumni also spoke during the event. The protest was held during Coming Back Together weekend, which happens once every three years. It involves African American and Latino alumni returning to campus to celebrate their accomplishments and see the growth and change at the university.

“We want to stop these issues now, because we don’t want to have another rally in three years,” Jackson said during the event.

Following the rally, most agreed that it was fairly successful. Stephanie Conn, president of the SU chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said she thought the event went pretty well, and she was happy to see administrators show up too.

“There’s more that could be said, but at least we know we’re being heard,” Conn said.

Sheila Johnson and Cynthia Maxwell Curtin were both in attendance form the Office of Equal Opportunity, Inclusion and Resolution Services as well. They both said it’s important to have conversations and be aware of students’ concerns.

“These issues are real and we need to work together on solving them,” Curtin said.

Boris Gresely, president of the Student Association, and Patrick Neary, president of the Graduate Student Organization, both said after the rally that they were surprised to see Spina speak at the event. Neary described Spina’s message as “direct and simple,” and said it was well meant.

Neary added that while it may appear that there’s a lot of tension between students and administration given recent protests, it shows that both parties care about the issues on campus.

In addition, Gresely said rallies like the one on Friday can be used to spark conversation.

“I think it’s empowering to see real activism from students on campus,” he said. “It’s through these sort of demonstrations sometimes that real change happens.”

In terms of sheer numbers at Friday’s event, Jackson was happy with how things turned out.

“I under-promised and over-delivered,” Jackson said with a smile. “I would’ve said maybe 25 people would’ve showed up.”

However, he acknowledged that Friday’s rally was just one step toward a larger goal.

“We want some change,” he said. “We know it isn’t going to happen tomorrow or next week or maybe even next month, but we want change that will at least benefit future students.”

Published on September 19, 2014 at 7:21 pm

Contact Brett: blsamuel@syr.edu | @Brett_Samuels27