The racist vandalism that occurred in Day Hall has exposed flaws within Syracuse University’s crisis protocol pertaining to issues surrounding diversity and has prompted discussion about the inclusivity measures being taken on campus going forward.

In response to the university’s prolonged and underwhelming response to the racist graffiti surfacing in Day Hall, students have collectively criticized SU’s initial silence and lack of transparency across social media platforms, developing the hashtag #NotAgainSU. Students gathered today at the Barnes Center at the Arch holding sheets of paper with a list of several short-term and long-term demands related to SU’s crisis management protocol and future inclusivity efforts.

Shortly after noon, Chancellor Kent Syverud addressed the demonstration, agreeing to review the demands and get back to students immediately.

Hours later, the chancellor sent out a mass email to students and faculty acknowledging the demands as “thoughtful and constructive,” and ensuring that the Student Experience team along with other staff members will be in collaboration with student organizations and representatives in the near future to effectively devise a response to last week’s unfortunate events. As for immediate action, the chancellor has promised a new protocol regarding bias-related incidents and has agreed to review suggestions with student leaders pertaining to the school’s current Code of Student Conduct.

It is situations like these that put universities and organizations to the test, and unfortunately, when the spotlight was put on SU, the university failed to meet the needs of its students. It is imperative that the university makes a tremendous effort going forward to cultivate an environment that includes and sympathizes with students of all backgrounds in times of crisis and in day-to-day function. Students have outlined several means of accomplishing such within their list of demands, but it is up to the university to design and implement measures that will ensure that this series of unfortunate events will not happen again at SU.

Amelia Fischer is a sophomore public relations major. Her column appears bi-weekly. She can be reached at alfische@syr.edu. She can be followed on Twitter at @ameliafischer11.