“It’s not about kneeling, it’s not about the flag, it’s about police brutality,” College of Science and Mathematics Associate Dean Camille O’Bryant said to a group of Cal Poly faculty at the #ScientistsTakeAKnee protest.
Faculty organized a silent protest in the University Union (UU) Plaza Sept. 26 to call attention to racial profiling and police brutality.
The protest was proposed by an associate professor at the University of Iowa. According to a press release by biological sciences associate professor Sandi Clement, #ScientistsTakeAKnee to “call attention to and protest the disproportionate targeting of communities of color by police in our country.”
Clement said in the press release that the protest was not intended to be anti-Trump or about the flag or national anthem.
Faculty and students gathered in the UU Plaza, holding signs and kneeling as an act of solidarity honoring those that have been affected by police brutality.
O’Bryant said she has seen the effects of racism at Cal Poly and emphasized the importance of community at the university.
“Beyond the classroom, we are a community at Cal Poly so it’s important to come together on issues,” O’Bryant said.