Photo: Members of the Bethel Lives Matter movement speak during an April 29 convocation at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas. From left to right: Erik Long, James Goerzen, Jackie Garrett, Mikala Wertz, SynJohn Sears, and Max Stucky Halley. The students called for change to address racial justice issues on campus. Photo provided. 

On April 29, 10 students at Bethel College in North Newton, Kan., took over an all-campus convocation to call for change regarding diversity practices and policies and inclusion of marginalized students on campus.

Representatives of the student movement, known as Bethel Lives Matter, read a list of demands including calls for apologies or resignations from two key leadership staff members, President Perry White and Dean of Students Aaron Austin. Other demands included the establishment of an anti-racism committee on campus; creation of a new position, a dean of diversity; mandatory diversity summits for students, faculty and staff; and an overhaul of recruitment and financial aid policies. Students also suggested baseline recruitment numbers for the school, asking that students of color comprise at least 25 to 30 percent of all Bethel programs and activities.

The students chose convocation since it was a place where a wide spectrum of people on campus, including students, faculty and staff members, is represented. They also informed key people ahead of time, including the convocation speaker.

According to Leland Brown, a senior student organizer from Galveston, Texas, the list of demands was meant to help all marginalized communities on campus as well as help the whole Bethel community address racism in campus systems and policies. “Whether it be mentally, intellectually or emotionally, people are dying here at Bethel because they can’t prosper in this environment,” said Brown.

SynJohn Sears, a senior from Stockton, Calif., says that students of color aren’t prepared for the cultural adjustments they need to make when they arrive in North Newton, and there is not always a lot of formal support for them. “It’s hard to adjust to weather conditions, different lifestyles that people hold, [and] a community that’s so small like this,” he said. “Trying to take in all of that on top of your schooling and with so little help is a lot.”

Students also raised concerns about overt racist behaviors from fellow students and the high levels of debt incurred by students at Bethel, especially students who may not be able to graduate.

On May 2, Brown and another student organizer, junior Logan Matthewson, met with Bethel’s Administrative Council, including President White and Dean Austin, and Bethel board chair Heather Esau Zerger. In a May 2 all-campus email, White praised the student leaders. He wrote: “We are grateful for their honest assessment of Bethel and their willingness to engage in ongoing conversation. We have before us a very real opportunity for Bethel College and all the students we serve.”

He also announced plans to speed up the formation of an Anti-Oppression Task Force on campus, an initiative already in progress. On May 9, Bethel’s Strategic Planning Task Force approved the formation of this group. The Task Force’s stated purpose is to “partner closely with the Bethel College Board of Directors, Administrative Cabinet, Student Government Association and other college departments and organizations to insure [or keep it and use sic] Bethel College is an anti-oppressive institution.” Jean Butts, coordinator of residence life, and Peter Goerzen, campus pastor, will serve as co-conveners. The group will include students, faculty, staff and representatives from the North Newton community.

White says the timing of this convocation was serendipitous because of its proximity to a strategic task force meeting. “We were able to move this pretty quickly,” he said in a May 6 interview. “This gives us a distinct action item to pursue as a means to make progress, if not a resolution, to a real issue on our campus and in society at large.”

Austin also notes that student life has made some structural changes in the last four years to try to ensure the viability of student groups addressing inclusion on campus. The Multicultural Student Union, Femcore and the Gay Straight Alliance were all made formal parts of the student life department. They are included in the annual budget and supported by staff members, as well as by student government organizations.

In a May 13 interview, Andy Johnson, vice president for admissions at Bethel, emphasizedthat Bethel does try to provide financial aid education and conversations about campus culture as a part of its standard recruitment process. One of the key messages, he says, is trying to get students to come to campus for a visit. During visits, each student has either a one-on-one or group session with the financial aid office.

Johnson also admits there are always areas for improvement. “We think we do really well, but we can always do better,” he said. His department is looking at ways to provide more financial education, including education around what it means to take out a loan or to open up a credit card account. He also notes that more education is needed around scholarships, which are awarded for academics, performance and by departments. Johnson says many students often assume a scholarship implies a “full ride” or free schooling. Currently Bethel does not offer any full-ride scholarships.

“I wanted to work at a college that I perceived as being on the cutting edge of diversity and inclusion,” said Johnson. “This is a reminder that you never arrive at that spot. You always need to be striving to make sure everybody feels as included as you want them to feel.”

The beginnings of a movement

The Intercollegiate Peace Fellowship conference, hosted at Goshen (Ind.) College in March, was cited by many students as the launching pad for the Bethel Lives Matter movement. The conference’s theme was “Solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement: Why and How.”

Regina Shands Stoltzfus, professor of peace, justice and conflict Studies at Goshen, notes that one of the purposes of the conference is to allow “cross-fertilization” across Mennonite college campuses. “Having students connect with other students from other campuses that have the same concerns but a different context is really good,” she said in a May 13 email.

One of the final events of the conference was a session where students worked to write a letter to share on their respective campuses in solidarity with and supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. “The letter was meant to open the door to talking about racism in our own communities and campuses,” said Shands Stoltzfus.

Bethel students took the draft of the letter back to campus and began to edit it for their context. It eventually morphed into the list of demands presented on April 29.

Brown says it was eye opening to see some of the support structures other Mennonite colleges had in place that weren’t present at Bethel. “The students there were held accountable and were forced to see diversity in America and forced to see that minority students are important,” he said.

Mikala Wertz, a sophomore leader from Wichita, Kan., emphasized that Bethel Lives Matter is focused on a call for accountability and building systems that are sustainable and long-lasting. Although students are happy with many of the responses they’ve received from other students and administrators since the convocation, they plan to keep pushing for change.

“We’re for our community,” said Wertz. “Our sole purpose is to better Bethel as a whole: not just for us, but generations to come after us.”