UPDATED: Feb. 26, 2020 at 8:47 a.m.

#NotAgainSU’s occupation of Crouse-Hinds Hall has entered its 10th day.

The movement, led by Black students, began occupying Crouse-Hinds Hall on Feb. 17 to continue its protest of at least 30 racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic incidents that have occurred on or near Syracuse University’s campus since early November.

#NotAgainSU presented Chancellor Kent Syverud with 19 demands in November. It has since issued 16 new demands, extended several and retracted one since Feb. 17.

Organizers met with a lawyer throughout Tuesday to gain legal counsel on the situation inside Crouse-Hinds, a protester said. The students spoke with the lawyer throughout the day in a separate room in the building.

The movement said in social media posts that it had plans to meet with two members of the Board of Trustees today to discuss future plans with university administration. The university said that was incorrect, and there is no meeting with Board of Trustees members planned. Sarah Scalese, senior associate vice president for university communications, said in a statement that the university leaders spoke with students last night for “constructive discussion.”

“We’re hopeful we can reach an agreement that moves the discussion forward. We remain committed to engaging with our students in good faith,” Scalese said.

#NotAgainSU organizers met with the Board of Trustees on Feb. 12 — less than a week before the movement began occupying Crouse-Hinds — to discuss the campus climate.

The movement’s 30th demand, released Monday, calls for a meeting with the Board of Trustees’ executive board. The movement would choose its legal counsel to be present in the meeting, the movement said in its “official negotiation document.”

During the meeting, executive board members must agree to a timeline establishing when SU will fully implement the movement’s original 19 demands by March 31, the statement said.

#NotAgainSU also called on Syverud to announce by Monday which university officials were responsible for restricting food access to Crouse-Hinds. The building was sealed off Feb. 18 to Feb. 19, preventing outside food from entering the building. SU provided lunch and dinner to students inside Tuesday and breakfast Wednesday.

Syverud said in a meeting with organizers Friday that he does not know exactly who was responsible for the decision, but that he’d find out.

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, it said that #NotAgainSU had scheduled a meeting with members of SU’s Board of Trustees. University officials said this meeting was never scheduled and isn’t happening. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on February 26, 2020 at 12:01 am

Contact Maggie: mehicks@syr.edu | @maggie_hickss