It’s over: SWA ends 19-day sit-in
Dan DaranciangStudent Worker Alliance members jumped out of the windows of the admissions office today, unofficially ending their 19-day sit-in. The sit-in’s conclusion came at 12:25 p.m., after protesters and administrators met and came to a written agreement that addressed the students’ demands.
Vice Chancellor of Students Dean McLeod and Vice Chancellor of Operations John Klein delivered a letter signed by Chancellor Mark Wrighton to the Student Worker Alliance (SWA) at approximately 11:00 a.m. The letter reiterated the previous commitments made by the University, with Wrighton asserting a desire to “lay out what additional steps can be taken when your sit-in of South Brookings and the Brookings Quadrangle has come to an end.”
SWA members reviewed the letter in private, then met with McLeod again to clarify some of its points. SWA members were mainly concerned with what sanctions would be handed down to protesters and faculty supporters for their participation in the sit-in. McLeod responded to their queries.
“I see leniency as important, but I don’t see doing nothing as an option,” McLeod told sit-in participants. McLeod noted that removing the students’ financial support as a punitive measure was “simply out of the question” and “not on the table.”
As McLeod returned to his office to revise the letter, SWA members hugged and celebrated their impending return home.
“I’m taking a shower. That’s the first thing I’m going to do,” said SWA member Janine Brito. “I’m not getting a tattoo like some people here, definitely taking a shower, [then I'll] go by the 40 and let all the workers know what we got them, then I don’t know.”
SWA members opened the admissions office windows and notified those gathered outside at the noon rally that the sit-in had come to an end. University community members expressed their relief within minutes of the sit-in’s conclusion.
“I think we’re all happy that we can get back to normal business at the University,” said Washington University Chief of Police Don Strom. “It’s been a long three weeks, and it has been tiring for everybody, but this is a strong institution and I think we’re going to continue on with operations.”
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