Student Perspective
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion A Student Perspective on the Current Movement by Kiana Tuckett Sophomore Psychology Major
As the leaves turned to fiery blazes, falling and sweeping over the campus of Mars Hill University on October 18, a crowd of students—masked, of course—paraded through the university grounds with waves of pride and courage in a plea for civil justice. That Sunday afternoon marked the second Black Lives Matter (BLM) march in Mars Hill, organized by students enrolled at the university. Nearly 200 students, faculty, and members of the community congregated at Meares Stadium before the BLM march began, exchanging powerful words of affirmation. Students and members of the community alike gathered in pursuit of unity and acceptance for all people. Sports teams could be seen walking together along the march path, and elderly couples were seen holding hands with each other as well as signs reading “Black Lives Matter” and “No Justice. No Peace.” The group, led by student organizer Jayson Moorman and President Tony Floyd, marched up
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Bailey Street, and then back down through campus to the lower quad. Moorman, the president of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) and a member of the men’s soccer and lacrosse teams at Mars Hill University, was instrumental in the planning and success of both BLM marches. With the country embroiled in a vast political divide, there are also many divisions in Americans’ perspectives of the Black Lives Matter movement. Tymothy Jones, a recent alumnus of MHU and a member of the College Republicans Organization on campus, gave a few words on his perspective of BLM, recently. “If it’s peaceful, great, but violence is not the answer. Destroying small businesses is not the answer; I see all this stuff about people destroying African American owned businesses, but it’s like, you’re hurting yourself. The way to change society is the way Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. did.
