Seattle Central College students and faculty showed up in a sign of support for the protesters and anyone in need at the South Plaza at Broadway and Pine. Starting Sunday, June 7, 2020 to Monday, June 15, volunteers will be handing out basic first aid, snacks, water, menstrual products, masks and anything else they can supply from 2 PM to 12 AM. This effort was approved by President Lange and supported by students and faculty alike. This started in light of the Capitol Hill protests that began after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. The protests, now a general decrying of police brutality and lack of concern for Black lives, have gone on for over 9 days and it is unclear if the end is coming or not.
“I guess it was mainly seeing people up here every day, teachers and students marching together, getting teargassed, flashbombed and pepper sprayed…I just felt like we needed to do something as a community to help out” says Jade, an SCC student and one of the lead volunteers. Students and faculty alike have shown approval of the station, and there has been a multitude of outside support both in the form of friendly waves, raised fists, and actual supplies.
The station plans on getting access to portable toilets and WiFi hotspots throughout the week. As well as the stationary tent on the South Plaza of the campus, volunteers have been periodically heading out to the protest with a labeled basket of supplies that indicates where people may find the main station if they need it.There is a GoFundMe available to donate to the station. All proceeds not used will go to Seattle area non-profit organizations that directly impact Black and Brown communities like Not This Time, Black Lives Matter Seattle, and Creative Justice. You can find the station on social media as @sccsupportstation on Instagram and @sccstation on Twitter.
Author
Danny Barber is the Managing Editor of the Seattle Collegian and an English student at Seattle Central college. She enjoys writing creatively, drawing, baking, video games, and going on long-winded random internet research sessions. After Seattle Central, she plans on getting her Master’s in English and working on the editorial board of another paper someday.
[…] or the swath of land occupied by protestors for the Black Lives Matter movements – even having an aid station set up for its occupants by student and faculty volunteers. It comes as no surprise, then, that […]