The Student Government Association (SGA) passed a resolution to denounce antisemitism on campus. The resolution was partially in response to antisemitic notes found in Jabara Hall in May.
Kian Williams, who uses they/them pronouns, authored the resolution as an underserved senator. Williams said they’ve dealt with antisemitism, including being called slurs on campus.
“I think that we are very lucky as a community compared to a lot of other universities and towns that are in the news a lot for violent anti-semitic incidents, and I’m glad that’s not happening here,” Williams said.
Williams said they wanted the resolution in place to prevent similar incidents at Wichita State.
A clause inside the resolution called for SGA to recognize Jewish holidays, in addition to International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Honors Sen. Ryan Nuckles proposed removing the clause.
“As an association, I do not believe it is our place to recognize religious holidays,” he said.
Williams spoke up in debate, saying, as they wrote in the resolution, Judaism is a culture and ethnicity as well as a religion. The senator said the holidays have some religious elements but ultimately play a larger cultural role.
“The university and association implicitly recognize other religious holidays, you know, posting on social media for Christmas and any other holidays, so I’m just seeking equal footing for Jewish students,” Williams said.
Graduate Sen. Andrew Bobbitt said he planned to vote against the amendment because he doesn’t believe recognizing a holiday shows bias on behalf of SGA.
“I would look favorably on many resolutions calling out culturally significant opportunities so that our students celebrate,” Bobbitt said.
The association took a vote to amend the wording of the resolution to leave out recognizing Jewish holidays. With a narrow margin, this change failed.
Then, they took a vote on the resolution to denounce antisemitism. With 25 in favor, one not in favor and two abstentions, the resolution passed.
“Not here. Not Wichita State. That’s not us,” Sen. Williams said.
