In 2015, Northwestern threatened to take the Black House away from students. So in 2019, I became part of a group of students who passed an Associated Student Government resolution on student autonomy over the Black House. Our resolution was an attempt to make sure Black students had sufficient temporary space and regained autonomy.

As outlined in the ASG resolution, Black students wanted more Black representation in the house. When I brought this up, I was told it was inappropriate to ask that Black people work at the Black House. I suggested I could lead a training on anti-Blackness and positionality to support my non-Black coworkers in navigating the space better. Instead, after working for Multicultural Student Affairs for three years, MSA used this incident as justification to start the process of terminating me for advocating on behalf of my peers.

A few weeks later, MSA made a post celebrating Veterans Day for Native American Heritage Month because of the high percentage of Native people serving in the military. However, Black students and other community members were confused as to why MSA would honor the very veterans that were complicit in wars that impacted many of our communities here and abroad. Because I had access to MSA’s Instagram, I archived the post so that we could find better language to explain why MSA was honoring veterans. I provided other examples of language that could be used that captured the nuance of Native people serving in the military and the violence of the US military. Instead, MSA’s Associate Director Alejandro Magaña and Assistant Director Derek Nettingham terminated me for allegedly violating MSA policies. 

The day of my termination, I reached out to both parties asking for the specific policies and procedures I violated that justified my termination. It has been over three months and I haven’t been given that documentation. Many other student concerns I raised also have not been resolved to this day. MSA even failed to pay me for the hours I worked. I moved forward with an investigation with the Office of Equity.

On Jan. 28, I received notification from the Office of Community Standards that I was prohibited from using the Black House and participating in Black online spaces such as our Association for Black Leaders group chat. MSA made a report stating that the former President Barack Obama portrait was missing and provided evidence that pointed at me as the culprit. I never stole an Obama portrait. Why would I? Although Obama is our first Black and mixed president, he is also a war criminal. Obama ordered hundreds of drone strikes that killed thousands of people around the world. He deported more than three million migrants. He let the National Guard suppress and harm protesters during the Baltimore Uprising and Standing Rock actions.

Obama is not meant to be hung up among Black leaders like Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali. He is a war criminal and an expansionist of the violent U.S. empire. Students requested that the portrait not be hung up, yet MSA went ahead and did that. In early October, I told Nettingham several times that the portrait needed to be removed. As I gave tours in the Black House, alumni would often comment on how strange it was that Obama was the centerpiece of Black leaders. The portrait made several community members feel uncomfortable, including me. Why would I want to steal it?

I did not steal the portrait. In fact, MSA’s allegations that I stole the portrait were extremely anti-Black. It is not unusual for Black people to have such false claims be made against them. MSA claims it wants to “analyze cultural differences to create a more socially just campus community through empathy and understanding.” Yet when I raised Black student concerns, MSA dismissed them as being irrational or inappropriate. Instead of engaging in any form of social justice, they’ve decided to uphold punitive measures like prohibition and termination. In the end, OCS found me not responsible for stealing it. Even though I am innocent and have been let back into the Black House, OCS and MSA have placed other restrictions on my access and made me go through educational programming. MSA staff have not been held accountable for dismissing concerns and being anti-Black to students.

MSA would not exist if it weren’t for the organizers of the Bursar’s 100. It would not exist if 100 students did not occupy and defy university rules and structures to demand better for Black students. Those students understood that if the institution was not going to work for us, then we are going to find ways to create the spaces we need. Instead of upholding this legacy of student activism and agency, MSA has decided to shut it all down. MSA has been nothing but violent to me and has yet to apologize for the harm. Black students need a seperate student affairs department that actually supports and listens to them, not one that uses punitive measures to stop student organizing and silence our voices. MSA has proven to me that it’s not interested in how our identities contribute to our success. If MSA and OCS have the power to do this to me, imagine what they could do to you.

Mari Gashaw is a SESP fifth-year. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.