Episode Five: The Goad
Featuring:
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Megan Scarborough
Chris Loos, Class of '19
Kathryn Foster, PhD. President
More on Activism at TCNJ
Loser Hall/Clinic Closing sit-in
As Chris described, the sit-in in the President's office in 2016 was motivated by student concerns over a strained relationship between the college and the city of Trenton. This was prompted by the uncovering of documents about Paul Loser and by the simultaneous (yet coincidental) closing of the on-campus clinic Trenton families, and campus students and workers used.
Trenton Hall before the name change (2016)
TCNJ Student protesting with the sit-in
I AM TCNJ Forum
In November of 2018, three black students were walking outside a freshman residence hall when they had racial slurs shouted at them from a room above. The incident sparked immediate outrage from the campus community, faculty and students alike. Activism involving protests, public forums, and meetings was happening in both student and administrative circles.
click the logo to the right to visit the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
"Bible Believer" Protests
Semi-periodically, a group of radical Christians picket at TCNJ, holding signs with phrases such as "Muslims are hell-bound" "Women belong in the kitchen" etc. and shouting extremely offensive and inappropriate things at students through megaphones. The first time they came, hundreds of students left their studying, skipped class, and protested in alumni grove. Since the campus is public and the college can't legally ask them to leave, administration has tended to 'warn' students before they come, so students have taken to organizing 'anti-protests' as to no longer give them attention but support the members of the communities that they are targeting.
Students protesting in 2018
"The Signal" article on the protests, April 18, 2018, pg. 1, 3, 5
References
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Christopher Loos. (April 5, 2020), telephone interview
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Dr. Kathryn Foster, PhD. (April 10, 2020), telephone interview
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Margaret Pezalla-Granlund. (November 4, 2019), in-person interview
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SCRAP Paper, Vol. 2, No. 4: September 28, 1970 (a-b), Box 1, Newsletters, Miscellaneous, TCNJ Archives and Special Collections, Ewing, NJ, USA
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Ulitmme Umana: La Voz Oculta, Vol. 1, No. 1, October 2, 1972, Box 4, Newsletters, Miscellaneous, TCNJ Archives and Special Collections, Ewing, NJ, USA