PODCAST: Jesuit Universities Continue to Respond to Issues of Race

Students take part in a #BlackLivesMatter rally on the campus of Xavier University soon after the murders of Brown, Rice, and Garner.

BY ISN STAFF | February 24, 2014

The deaths of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and Eric Garner in the fall of 2014 unearthed serious debates about race for the U.S.  Across the country people responded in a variety of ways ranging from protest to prayer.  Jesuit college and university campuses were no different, with students and faculty alike engaged in public demonstrations, prayer vigils, campus dialogues, and other activities.  While the news stories and high level of activism that infused the nation throughout the fall have dissipated, the issue of race in America continues to be one of great interest on Jesuit campuses.

ISN welcomes administrators from three Jesuit universities to offer perspectives on how their campuses responded to the tragedies and how they are continuing to work with campus community members to respond moving forward.

Our Panelists:

Nathan Sessoms, Ph.D., Interim Director of Black Student Services in the office of Ethnic and Intercultural Services at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California

Sandra Lobo, director of the Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice at Fordham University, in New York City

Patrice French, who is currently the Program Director of Retention & Student Success, and previously served as a program coordinator of multicultural education in Saint Louis University’s Cross Cultural Center

Vitina Pestello, program coordinator of the Faith and Justice Collaborative at Saint Louis University

PODCAST: