“There’s a lot that I think needs to change in general, but I think the biggest thing is awareness. That is an issue from our faculty and staff members because these things happen every day on campus,” said Tiera Moore, president of Kent State’s Undergraduate Student Government [USG]. 

College students across the country took to social media to bring racial injustices on their campuses to light in the midst of the Black Lives Matter uprising following George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. Using the hashtag “#BlackAt” on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, students shared their experiences across the BIPOC community — including Kent State.

 “We have racism everywhere in this world, in this country, and that does not exclude Kent State University,” Moore said. “When those situations do happen, we need to address them. I definitely think we need to be more aware of these things that are happening and have a better system to address those concerns.”

Moore is working with senior administrators at the university along with students and other USG members to create an Anti-Racism Task Force to address issues of racial injustice on campus and serve as a resource for students. Moore said she hopes they can work to change Kent’s culture in regard to how racial issues are handled. 

“I think it’s going to be the start of something great,” she said. “We’ll be able to address students’ concerns and keep them informed on issues that are going on on campus and be a resource for them.”

Tramaine Burton, Maria McGinnis, Sara Crawford and Connor Steffen contributed to this report.