Protesters took to the Wilson Quadrangle on Friday Oct. 4, calling for the firing of Professor T. Florian Jaeger.
“What do we want? Justice!” the protesters chanted up and down the Quad, next to the “Meliora Village” tents marking the annual alumni celebration Meliora Weekend. “When do we want it? Three years ago!”
The protest, which started at noon, aimed to deter people from donating until the University fired Jaeger. Calls of “protect your students” were followed by responses of “not your money.” “Hold your donations” by “until Jaeger is fired.” At one point during the protest, the dozen students involved chanted “Fire Jaeger.”
As the protesters marched, Meliora Weekend attendees streamed around them. On several occasions, someone would give the protesters a hi-five or a shout of support.
The protests carried signs echoing their sentiment, reading “U of R is silencing us” and “Justice for Celeste Kidd.” One student held a poster reading “Is Jaeger ever better?”
There were also signs in support of victims of sexual harassment and abuse. Signs reading “believe her” and “report and support” were waved by protesters during the march, and one of the organizers, junior A.J. Jordan, walked with a sign with numbers of resources for students experiencing sexual harassment and sexual assault.
Another organizer, senior Isabella Leighton, told the Campus Times a major motivator was a lack of awareness of the scandal among underclassmen, who arrived after the scandal that unseated a University president and landed the University in an ongoing lawsuit.
“One of the biggest goals for us was just to bring back attention for this topic and that this is still an ongoing problem,” Leighton said.
Leighton and Jordan said they are concerned about the vulnerability of students who go to UR after those present for the scandal have all graduated.
“We want to make sure that it’s not forgotten,” Jordan said. “And we want to make sure that incoming students really have a full picture of what’s going on at this University.”
