Jelani Cobb, an award-winning journalist and professor at Columbia University, expressed his support of the #NotAgainSU movement in a tweet Sunday.

#NotAgainSU, a movement led by Black students, has occupied Crouse-Hinds Hall since Monday to continue its ongoing protest of at least 29 racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic incidents that have occurred at or near Syracuse University since Nov. 7.

Cobb delivered a lecture at SU two weeks ago about the ways politicians and journalists can portray ethnicity and racism leading up to the 2020 presidential election.

“I spoke here 2 wks ago & will not have my talk serve as progressive window dressing for a school that turns around and suspends students for protesting campus racism,” Cobb wrote in the tweet.

SU placed more than 30 #NotAgainSU protest organizers under interim suspension early Tuesday morning for remaining in Crouse-Hinds past closing. The building, which houses administrative offices, including Chancellor Kent Syverud’s, regularly closes at 9 p.m.

Syverud announced Wednesday that the students’ suspensions would be lifted.

Interim suspension, which is temporary, “is based on the determination that the safety and well-being of the University community or specific persons are at risk,” according to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities.

The university mistakenly placed four students who were not in Crouse-Hinds early Tuesday under interim suspension, university officials said.

The movement plans to occupy Crouse-Hinds until its 24 demands are met. #NotAgainSU presented Syverud with 19 demands in November, adding six, revising five and retracting one on Feb. 17. The chancellor signed 16 of the initial demands as written and revised the remaining three in November.

Published on February 23, 2020 at 11:28 pm

Contact Richard: rjchang@syr.edu | @RichardJChang1