In light of the George Floyd’s murder trial , the killing of Daunte Wright and yet another on campus hate crime by a White supremacist group, I feel it is my responsibility as the Opinions and Editorials editor to clarify what is and is not an opinion. 

Black Lives Matter is not an opinion. It is a fact. An unobjectional reality. The lives of Black people having worth and meaning is not and never will be up for debate. 

The idea that  anyone who disagrees with the aforementioned statement is racist is  technically not a fact but an opinion I hold. 

“George Floyd should still be alive today” is not an opinion. It is a fact. Police are never supposed to function as judge, jury and executioner. Any system that allows such egregious violations of the right to life to stand unpunished and unopposed bears the responsibility of not only complicity, but also causality for every death that occurs.

That George Floyd was murdered by Derick Chauvin is, as of now, an opinion. And yet, I still have hope that, within two weeks of this publication, such will be fact. 

“Elet Hall’s namesake, Xavier’s first president John A. Elet, was a slave owner” is a fact. 

That Elet Hall, not just Fenwick, should be renamed is an opinion. 

“Members of White supremacist groups have successfully infiltrated the ranks of our law enforcment and have been present within police departments for decades” is not an opinion, but a fact reported by the Brennan Center for Justice. 

That said infiltration contributes to the lack of action taken against hate crimes and White supremacist vandalism on college campuses and beyond is currently an opinion. 

“Hate crimes and White supremacist vandalism should never occur on college campuses or anywhere for that matter” is a fact evidenced by their codified classification as criminal acts.

That a university that allows hate crimes and vandalism to occur at the hands of a deadly hate group twice within a single semester is demonstrating a clear disregard for the lives of Students of Color and an unwillingness to concretely right their wrongs is not a fact but an opinion I hold. Similarly, that by not acting more decisively, Xavier University is complicit in these acts of violence and terror is an opinion. 

Having clarified what is opinion and what is fact, I wish to shift my attention slightly. Last June, Newswire published an editorial titled “Say their names” containing the names of and information on every unarmed citizen killed by police since 2014. It is a horrific and depressing, but not unexpected, reality that said list is now outdated. As a result, Newswire will be publishing an updated version on the Opinions and Editorials pages in next week’s issue. 

If any member of the Xavier community would like a name added to the list, please reach out to newswire@xavier.edu or gstalderc@xavier.edu. 

Until then, stay safe, stay healthy and keep fighting.  

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Charlie Gstalder