The Student Government Association’s (SGA) executive committee released a statement Sunday in the wake of the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, which has sparked widespread protests against police brutality nationwide.
The statement, which was posted on Instagram, comes six days after the death of Floyd and approximately two hours after an editorial in The Setonian called on the SGA to address the unrest currently sweeping the nation.
“We stand by our students and we will not tolerate these instances of police brutality,” the executive committee said in the statement.
The committee plans to push the University to “release a statement on systemic oppression and take actions beyond the statement.”
The University did post a statement about the recent unrest on their website and circulated it via social media, but has not sent out that statement directly to the student body.
“As a Catholic community of faith committed to diversity and inclusion, we reaffirm our conviction that racism has no place — anywhere,” the University said on its website. “Our Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society.”
The SGA’s executive statement also outlines plans to share information with students about activism, as well as to coordinate a response with the newly inaugurated New Jersey Student Government Coalition.
The statement follows days of protest, which in many cities has turned violent. A peaceful protest was held in Newark on Saturday, just three and a half miles away from Seton Hall’s South Orange campus.
Daniel O’Connor can be reached at daniel.oconnor1@student.shu.edu. Find him on Twitter @ItsDanOConnor.
UPDATE -- June 1: Story was updated to clarify where the original statement from the University was posted.
