By Jackson Hare, Education and Enrichment Coordinator
If you have visited the Gallagher Student Center (GSC) recently, you may have noticed the “We Believe” banner has disappeared. If any of the statements on the old banner resonate with you, pay close attention to what I am about to share.
At the beginning of the spring semester, there was an unspoken battle between someone taking the banner down and the GSC staff, who promptly put it back up. Seeing this back and forth, I inquired about it and discovered that it was going to be replaced.
Upon hearing this, my heart dropped. When I had committed to Xavier, I was so scared. Being from a small, rural, conservative town, I was desperate for a place that would be safe and inviting for a queer person like me. The first time I walked into GSC with my mom, a weight lifted off my chest as I encountered the “We Believe” banner for the first time. “Love is Love,” it read. It seems silly now because that phrase tends to make me cringe a little now, but upon seeing that, I felt I would be safe here — that I’d have a place here. Now it’s gone.
Then, when I learned that a group of students was going to be selected to advise on the creation of the new banner led by Vice President of Student Affairs Kimberly Moore, I jumped at the opportunity to be part of it.
The first meeting came, and I was so excited. According to Dr. Moore, there were claims that the banner was starting to wear and tear, and there were also people claiming the banner’s language was outdated and excluded some groups. I don’t believe there was any wear and tear. However, I agreed that the language needed updating.
I was thinking we should add something like “trans+ rights are human rights,” something for religious minorities, something about people experiencing homelessness and people from lower socioeconomic communities, and whatever else the other students in the group would suggest.
My heart sank again as I examined the three designs given to our student group to review made by the marketing and communications department.
My first thought was, “Not the f*cking ‘More Yellow,’” but then I kept looking at it. The language has been reduced to align with the More Xavier branding: “More inclusive, more diverse, more equitable and more socially responsible.”
Now, at face value, all of those things are great, but they fail to achieve the purpose and meaning of the original banner. What made the “We Believe” banner so impactful was that minority students, like myself, could see themselves represented in it. It was more explicit. This says nothing.
I feel this has meaning beyond it being a symbolic banner for prospective and current students. The circumstances behind the actual removal of the original banner and why we are opting for broader, more “inclusive” language indicate a troubling cultural shift. It seems that the qualms of the original banner were that it didn’t include white, hetero, cisgender, conservative men.
However, the banner was never for them. It was for the marginalized and the underrepresented. In other words, the debate as to why the banner is or isn’t “inclusive” has turned into something akin to the “All Lives Matter” argument that arose out of the heart of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.
This is a decision that mirrors the decision-making behind the appointment of Joe Deters as “justice-in-residence” last year. For instance, the Joe Deters appointment occurred near the end of the spring semester, which I believe was intentional because of expected resistance; the summer offered a lengthy period of time for students to lose interest, and it worked.
This situation is similar. The removal of a banner that aims to proudly include and represent minority students as part of the Xavier community would likely cause controversy, and it is all too convenient that its replacement is being voted on in the last weeks of the semester.
It is no secret that these past couple of years, Xavier has been leaning into more conservative decision-making at the expense of its minority populations. The appointment of Joe Deters, giving St. Xavier High School students’ direct admission, the continued refusal of a pro-choice club, the removal of the Black Lives Matter sign outside Bellarmine and more all attest to this. It is my belief that this banner replacement is an extension of this trend.
The student body will receive an email asking them to vote between two banners on April 23. I urge you to not vote. Tell Xavier that we are not interested in this cop-out of a visual commitment to “diversity, equity and inclusion.” A new banner will be created, but this one will be made for and by underrepresented students.
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