Skidmore students take a stand
Last month, hundreds of Skidmore students came together to celebrate the fifth iteration of the “I Won’t Stand For” initiative. The event was designed to allow individuals to take a personal stance on issues they care about and to encourage their peers across campus to do the same.
By making and wearing T-shirts that clearly display the things they “won’t stand for,” students start a conversation about issues both on campus and on a more global scale. The result is a widespread sense of community involvement and activism.
Anna Morreale, a res-life area coordinator, has been deeply involved in the event since its inception. “When I started working here, I realized we had a lot of great clubs that helped in different areas,” Morreale stated, “but I wanted something that kind of brought everyone together under one thing.”
Using the USA Network’s “Characters Unite” initiative as a template, res life launched the “I Won’t Stand For” event in 2013 and met immediate success—“we gave out all 300 T-shirts that year,” Morreale recalled. “And now we’re in year five.”
This year, students crowded into the atrium of the dining hall to craft their shirts, eager to put their values on display. Here’s how some students took their stands:
Rachel Golden ’18 won’t stand for bisexual erasure.
Biba Contin ’19 is ready to dismantle heteronormativity.
Nhlakanipho Khumalo ’20 takes a stand against homophobia.
Jasper Ballot ’20 stands proudly against police brutality.
Aminata Barry ’17 won’t put up with disrespect.
Mat Marino ’20 takes on fragile masculinity, while Nick Fronte ’18 shows off his stance against Italian stereotyping.
Andrew Fyffe ’20 shoots down rape culture.
Annabelle Vaes ’18 won’t stand for fragile masculinity.
Ally Lamb ’20, Lindsey Shinn ’20, and Katie Maffett ’20 take a stand against intolerance, ignorance, and closed-mindedness.
Jessica Ndrianasy ’20 won’t stand for silence.
Nathan Canada ’17 shows off his fervent stance against transphobia
Shankar Mani ’18 stands up against global warming.
The staggering reception that this event garners every year proves that Skidmore, as a campus, thrives on its students’ willingness to be vocal about pertinent issues. What won’t you stand for?
Brian Allan '17 is the 2016 - 2017 student blogger in the office of Communications and Marketing. A double major in English and Spanish with a minor in meida and film studies, he has provided a unique student insight to life at Skidmore.