SDC responds to raised fist hiring advertisement, calls for replacement of posters
On Tuesday, the WSU Vancouver Student Diversity Center posted an open letter on it’s Facebook page addressing recent hiring advertising posters commissioned by the Associated Students of Washington State University Vancouver.
The red, yellow and gray poster had a raised fist in the center with a prompt to “apply today” for ASWSUV president, vice president and senator positions. The ad was created by former ASWSUV Communication Director Cam Plute and current ASWSUV Communication Director Mykell Sloan. Plute resigned from his position on Jan. 22, prior to the open letter regarding the advertisement being posted on the SDC’s Facebook page.
In the letter, the Student Diversity Center team stated, “We believe ASWSUV’s use of this symbol is inappropriate and urge them to replace the advertisements immediately.”
“Though we do not assume malicious intent on the part of ASWSUV, the usage of this historical symbol is ultimately an appropriation of the culture of communities of color for the aesthetic of a university advertisement.”
Student Diversity Center Team
The letter added, “Though we do not assume malicious intent on the part of ASWSUV, the usage of this historical symbol is ultimately an appropriation of the culture of communities of color for the aesthetic of a university advertisement. The Student Diversity Center Team believes that the decision to use the raised fist image reflects a need for ASWSUV – and WSU Vancouver as a whole – to make cultural sensitivity and humility a priority, both in policy and practice.”
When asked about the poster creation process, Sloan said the former director, Plute, used a template from the design creation website Canva to create the advertisement.
“It was initially pulled from Canva and then we just edited it from there,” Sloan said. She added that the poster was never intended to be insulting or derogatory and was not meant as a political stance.
Former Student Diversity Center Adviser Sky Wilson posted a comment on the open letter Facebook post, stating, “Part of producing public texts is receiving feedback. This letter doesn’t read like an accusation or protest to me; it reads like an educational text. Symbols have meaning, and that meaning is created by the people putting in work. I think it we should recognize that labor. WSU surely does in certain scenarios, which is why RSOs are not allowed to alter the WSU logo. (Side note: I have NO idea what Jesse Owens has to do with this–that’s laughable).”
In response, Plute commented, “I now realize I was wrong to design that flyer like that. I knew very little about the symbol. I didn’t know all of the different meanings behind the symbol.” He added, “A flyer meant for inviting people into student government shouldn’t hold the same meaning as the raised fist, nor try to create a new meaning for the symbol.”
When asked about the letter, ASWSUV President Vince Chavez expressed his apologies for the use of the symbol on the poster.
“I am very appreciative that they [the Student Diversity Center] would be that advocate for that symbol and really protecting what it is and what it has become”
Vince Chavez, Associated Students of Washington State University Vancouver president
“I am very appreciative that they [the Student Diversity Center] would be that advocate for that symbol and really protecting what it is and what it has become,” Chavez said. “After reading that [letter] I do recognize that we were being very insensitive.”
When asked for comment, one student in the Student Diversity Center said “I feel like what we said in the Facebook post is what we have to say on the subject.” A few other students in the center at the time seemed unaware of the controversy regarding the poster.
Since the open letter from the SDC was posted, all of the advertisements with the raised fist have been taken down. A new advertisement, created by Sloan, is now posted around campus.