"When people think about who is an Amherst College student, we want them to think about us as well," said Amber Young '01, an organizer of the event. "We wanted to show ourselves and identify ourselves as a large group."
Myrialis Moran-Nieves '03, who also helped to coordinate the event, explained why they had decided to sit in the annex, a section of Valentine located at the far end of the servery. "I think it's a particularly unfriendly place for marginalized students," she said. "They are afraid to sit there; they don't feel comfortable."
The event has met with criticism in a series of anonymous postings on The Daily Jolt's forum, a website where students often discuss campus issues.
"If the organizers' objectives were to shock and raise consciousness, that they certainly did. But isn't the point of minority awareness to encourage people to INTEGRATE?" wrote one anonymous poster, who used the pseudonym 'also questioning'. "Perhaps the sit-in could be modified so as not to seem like a 'sit-in,' like a mass-movement of people where the dynamic in between doesn't change, but more of a 'permeation.'"
"I'm really frustrated that this is being considered a 'sit in' because it implies that we're taking over a place that we don't belong. We weren't protesting, we were just eating dinner," said Young, partially in response to criticism on The Jolt.
Young said that the incident that had originally sparked their concern was people's objection to the graffiti on the walls of the gameroom in the Keefe Campus Center. "The face of Amherst has changed, but the thinking is lagging behind," she said. "In the face of struggles, we realized that we're not united and we'd be much more effective if we were."
Moran-Nieves added that she felt that the segregation of students in the dining commons demonstrated the fundamental marginalization of many people at the College. "Valentine is a microcosm of this campus," she said.
"The dining hall becomes an almost visible representation of the limits of fault lines that run through the College," added Dean of Students Ben Lieber.
"We went and ate dinner there and the fact that people thought it was such a big deal shows that when people think of Amherst College students, they don't think of marginalized students on this campus," said Young.
Moran-Nieves added that she hoped students would ask themselves, "'Why do I think that it's strange?'"
Young said that she felt the event had brought up a lot of issues. "We wanted to shake things up," she said.
"Obviously, it's raising consciousness," said Moran-Nieves. "We want dialogue on this campus about the fact that so many of these students are feeling marginalized."
But, because the annex is frequented by members of athletic teams, a number of people who posted on The Jolt said that they wondered if the event was directed at them. "I think that a lot of people are feeling like they're being targeted," said Young.
"I think it's a good idea to try and unite the student body, but I don't think they're going about it in the best way because when they come and sit in the annex, they're just sitting at tables by themselves anyway," said Pat Fitzsimons '03, who frequently sits in annex. "I don't see how that encourages more communication between the groups."
"I don't know whether to be concerned or sympathetic to some of the more uncomfortable remarks made by people-when they're mistaking these events for a passive protest. I see it as more of a social event," said Jeff Wang '03, who participated in the event. "I'm concerned about people seeing this as an aggressive stance against the majority population."
"It isn't us against anyone," said Moran-Nieves, who added that what most pleased her about the event was when 'annex regulars' sat with them.
"We were not targeting any specific group or person or type of person," explained Young. "We chose the annex because it is the largest room, and because many students who feel marginalized people are uncomfortable sitting in the annex for whatever reason."
Moran-Nieves and Young both expressed concern that the event was being labeled as solely a racial issue. "It goes beyond skin color," Moran-Nieves said. "I think a lot of people feel like they don't fit in because of their sexual orientation, their cultural background or even the way they think."
Moran-Nieves, who co-chairs the diversity educators, and Young, who is the co-chair of the Chicana/o Caucus. organized the event at an affinity group meeting on Sunday night, along with Marlon Cush '02, who chairs the Black Students' Union.
But Moran-Nieves said that the three had come up with the idea as individuals, not as leaders of their respective groups. "We brought this about as concerned students on this campus," she said.