Meghan Holden

mholden@jconline.com

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A group of Purdue University students and faculty has so far kept its promise to occupy Hovde Hall until President Mitch Daniels agrees to meet with them or concedes to their list of demands that aim to improve race relations on campus.

Late Monday morning, about 20 students sat on the main floor of Hovde, which houses Daniels' office, zeroed in on their school work and surrounded by posters with messages including, "Not One Fascist On Our Campus" and "Mitch: Meet Our Demands!"

The students are occupying the space during business hours and in between their classes, said Don Guillermo, adding that participants are actively spreading the word to friends via social media, some of whom have donated money and food to the group.

"I think we have a lot of good support," he said.

The group, led by the Purdue Social Justice Coalition, began its "Occupy Purdue" movement on Friday following a demonstration outside Hovde against the white supremacist signs that were posted around campus Nov. 30 and Daniels' responses to them. The group says Daniels failed to adequately condemn the posters, as well as acknowledge the threat they present to the university community, in his two statements following the incident.

In response, the coalition drafted a list of demands, including: a statement from Daniels and Deba Dutta, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity, that denounces the posters and expresses the university's commitment to fighting racism on campus; that the university reinstate the chief diversity officer position, which was eliminated in July 2015; and to mandate that all students take a course on the history of racism and anti-racism struggle in the U.S.

So far, the group says it hasn't heard from Daniels, who was off campus Friday and Monday. Dean of Students Katie Sermersheim and Dutta, however, have expressed their willingness to share the students' concerns with the president. The students, though, said they want to speak directly with Daniels.

Chief of Staff Gina DelSanto said the president's office hasn't received a request from the students to meet with Daniels.

"The answer's not no," she said in regards to Daniels meeting with them. "But we do have a long queue (of student groups and individual students) in front of the group once they actually do ask for a meeting."

Allen Chiu, one of the student organizers of the sit-in, said Daniels knows the students want to meet with him and is waiting for Daniels to approach them.

Dutta, who approached the group Monday, said he acknowledges the students and what they're requesting, but believes Daniels' language in his second statement was strong and that the university is on the right track toward making the campus more inclusive.

"It’s just lack of communication, I think, that has gotten us into this situation," he said. "I really think, on diversity and inclusion, we are doing quite a lot and we are making progress. And I’m the first one to say it’s a journey. It's a journey and we are making progress and we will continue to make progress."

Dutta, who absorbed the duties of the chief diversity officer position when it was eliminated, said the university has made more strides toward diversity in the past 18 months than it had in several years.

In October 2015, a month before hundreds of students protested racism on campus, Dutta created the Provost's Advisory Committee on Diversity, which aims to improve diversity among students, faculty and staff and the overall campus climate. Before that, in August 2015, he created the Diversity Transformation Award program, which doled out $1 million toward faculty research projects that are working to improve recruitment, retention and success among underrepresented minority students and faculty. Additionally, the fall 2016 freshman class was the most diverse class in Purdue's history, with nearly 700 underrepresented minority students and 1,400 total minority students.

"I’m committed. I think my staff is committed. Let’s find a way to break this chasm, if you will," Dutta said.

Contact J&C higher education reporter Meghan Holden at mholden@jconline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @MeghanHolden.