The fight against racism has been continuing across the U.S. for several decades and has recently spread to the local Claremont Colleges. On Nov. 12, thousands of people, including students enrolled in the Colleges, marched across all five campuses to protest against social exclusion and discrimination towards minority students at the colleges and citizens all around America. In recent events at the Colleges, a photo with two students wearing racially insensitive costumes on Halloween was circulated, and Dean of Students Mary Spellman sent out an email to a student stating that she was working hard on serving students who don’t “fit the CMC (Claremont McKenna College) mold,” both of which triggered the protest.

The students desired to create solidarity with African Americans at local schools and across the country through this demonstration. The march was titled the “Million Student March” and had thousands of participants dressed in black chanting phrases against racial discrimination. At the front of the march, demonstrators held a large white banner saying, “We are not just tokens for diversity and inclusion, and we are serious about justice.” The day before the march, students gathered on the Hub patio at CMC for an hour-long demonstration and called for Spellman to resign in response to her email with a statement that students and other residents considered “poorly worded” and “racially insensitive.” The dean resigned on Nov. 12 after being pressured by the student protests. New Dean of Students, Jeff Huang, was appointed on Nov. 16 after Spellman’s resignation. Previously, Huang was the vice president of student affairs, admission, and financial aid, but is now moved to his new position for the rest of the school year. He claims that he will always listen to student feedback and pay attention to the students’ interests.

A student at the Claremont Colleges, Andy Zhang, was an observer of the protest, but did not actively participate in the event. However, as a student at the Colleges, Zhang was compelled to follow the protest closely and evaluate the method and effectiveness of the demonstration.

“While I agree with the intents of the protest, the methods used were far less than ideal. There was an instance when protesters completely shut down a girl trying to speak up and share her story. Granted, their reason was that her story was irrelevant, but to silence a voice so harshly is the epitome of hypocrisy for a movement that is about having all voices heard,” Zhang said. “Overall, while the ideals of promoting equality and diversity were indeed highly noble, the protest was definitely not how I wished it could have been, and it certainly didn’t need to end in the resignation of the Dean Mary Spellman.”

Contrary to Zhang’s opinion, many other students at the Colleges actively supported the demonstration and participated in the protest, such as the student-run group called the CMCers of Color. This organization led the protest on Nov. 11 at the Hub patio at CMC. Spellman and other staff members from the Dean of Students office were present at the event, where students directly voiced their concerns to them. Under the pressure of the students’ concerns and requests, Dean Mary Spellman made the decision to resign. However, there is still controversy over the effect of the demonstration and the methods used by the students to inform the staff members of their displeasure with Spellman’s actions and discrimination against minority students at the Colleges. Although there are varying perspectives on the protest, minority students were able to have their voices heard and made a large impact in the community.