Avery Ellfeldt

St. Olaf College sits 45 minutes south of the Twin Cities, steeped in miles of cornstalk and a century-old Norwegian legacy. Idyllic in appearance and brand yet marked by a history of student protests and racial tensions, eight incidents of hate speech took place at the college throughout 2017. 

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The 6th incident occurred when a black student returned to his car from a walk around midnight on April 23, to a sheet of paper with the N-word written on it. 

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The 7th act of hate speech – also a note on a car – was discovered April 29, 2017. It read, "I am so glad that you are leaving soon. One less n***** that this school has to deal with. You have spoken up too much. You will change nothing. Shut up or I will shut you up."

 

  May 1, a community-wide sit in took place, condemning the incidents of hate speech and the lack of institutionalized response on behalf of the college. Students, professors, Northfield community members and press began to fill the college's administrative building, Thomson Hall, at 7:50 a.m. 

 

When college administrators later arrived, they and student organizers began talks about the institution’s tolerance of racist acts and lack of institutional support for students of color. The Terms and Conditions of Negotiation and List of Demands were presented by the organizers, giving examples of the College's shortcomings regarding race. These documents were debated and revised by the student drafting committee throughout the day, and brought back to the administrators for consideration. Six hours later, college president David Anderson signed the Terms and Conditions that would initiate an effort to confront institutional racism at the college.

 

Students broke into dance, celebrating a small step forward.