A group of protesters interrupted Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori White as she introduced the Day of Discovery Dialogue & Action event in Hillman Hall Wednesday morning.

Grace Bruton | Student Life

Protestors display a banner in Hillman Hall as part of a protest against Washington University administration Wednesday morning. The protestors disrupted Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori White’s remarks to open the Day of Discovery, Dialogue & Action and made a speech on the stage.

The Day of Discovery, Dialogue & Action is an annual event organized by Washington University that aims to discuss diversity and inclusion at the University. It opened with keynote speaker Irshad Manji Tuesday evening, but programming continued through the next day with panels and breakout discussion events.

A group of approximately ten participants announced themselves by shouting, “Your time is up.” At 8:45 a.m. White then paused her introductions to invite the protesters to make their demonstration.

“We’ll give you all three minutes to say what I know is important then we’d ask you to leave the stage so that those who are here for the program are able to participate,” White said.

The group of students who organized around the hashtag, #ResistWhiteU, moved to the raised platform where White was standing at a podium and proceeded to chant. A smaller group of students simultaneously stood over the balcony overlooking the atrium with a sign that read “All Talk, No Action #ResistWhiteU.”

The demonstration echoed the sentiments expressed by one of the protestors, graduate student Christian Ralph, in an op-ed published Feb. 14 where he characterized White’s response to a recent column entitled, “It’s OK that conservatives don’t feel welcome” as “egregious, noxious and out of touch with the reality of marginalized students.”

“If you are a member or an ally of any marginalized community, take a stand by refusing to attend Washington University’s Day of Discovery, Dialogue & Action. But that is just the bare minimum; we must make our voice heard by moving past inaction,” Ralph wrote. He then invited students who wanted to organize an action to contact an email address in the piece.

Grace Bruton | Student Life

Vice Chancellor Lori White delivers her opening remarks at Washington University’s annual Day of Discovery, Dialogue & Action. White’s speech was interrupted by alarms from a group of protestors’ phones, followed by a demonstration expressing dissatisfaction at the University’s administration.

Following the demonstration, the group exited Hillman, and White resumed her introduction. Multiple members of the group declined to comment and instead referenced their handout with two chants.

The first read: “Washington University centers whiteness at the expense of marginalized communities. Wash. U. belongs to us but has never truly represented us. We reject that we should cater to principles and ideologies that are rooted in our destruction in the name of ‘mutual respect, openness and tolerance.’ We refuse to engage in dialogue on your terms. Marginalized communities, not the institution, should set the parameters of the discussion. What is Day of Dialogue without the input of Marginalized Communities?!”

The second read: “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”

Editor’s note: Two representatives of Student Life attended the Day of Discovery, Dialogue & Action as panelists.