On Wednesday afternoon, a student coordinated walkout and rally was conducted in protest of the recent racist and homophobic vandalism that has happened on campus. Both the Henniker and Manchester students gathered on their respective campuses. In Henniker, students were located on the Simon Lawn and Manchester in the French Auditorium.
Students were informed of the walkout and rally from a graphic posted on Freshman Isaac Galano’s Instagram page. They were instructed to walk out of class at 11:50 am to assemble either on the Simon Lawn or in the French Auditorium.Â
Dozens of students on the Simon Lawn held signs and pride flags as two students, Isaac Galano and President of QSA Keyanna Matos, gave speeches in protest of the vandalism and the school’s response.”You have hurt us, and you have used your power against us, but we will not be powerless,” said Galano, “We are strong, we are here, and we are not going anywhere.”
Matos then followed and expressed her frustrations with New England College’s response.
“We as a community understand that administration has a way of dealing with situations, but we are adults, and we ask that there is at least some honesty regarding the situation,” said Matos, “The fact that we have to peacefully protest to get our point across is not okay.”
When asked about how she felt the rally went, Matos was optimistic.
“This is very close and near and dear to my heart; it’s something I always advocate for, so I’m really glad that everyone showed up and showed their pride and spirit,” Matos said.
Further, plans have yet to be established, but Galano insisted that it doesn’t stop here.
