Fordham Anti-Racist Alumni Collective (FAAC) announced on Monday, April 26, that the group had compiled a list of student grievances against the faculty, administration, and staff of Fordham University, which were submitted by victims through the group’s Instagram accounts.

“These powerful accounts of racism, sexism, classism, xenophobia, sexual harassment, lack of professionalism and institutional neglect expose Fordham University’s record of failure to hold faculty, administrators and staff accountable for harm caused in the classroom and on campus,” a statement from FAAC read.

The alumni group, which is committed to amplifying the demands of Black students at Fordham University, said that, overall, 162 complaints were submitted. “Each complaint represents harm caused to a student and solidifies a pattern of inaction in responding to student concerns on behalf of the university,” the group wrote in a press release dated April 26.

Among the list of complaints, 29 percent (47) pertained to racism, and 9.8 percent (16) specifically addressed a member of the faculty, though details of the nature of the complaint were not provided. Norwood News has asked FAAC for further clarification regarding the latter.

The complaints were submitted via the Instagram handles @BlackAtFordham and @LetsTalkAboutItFordham on Instagram, and according to FAAC, they catalog patterns of discrimination at the university. Data pertaining to student grievances was first compiled last summer, at which time the group demanded a culture change be implemented at the university.

The anti-racism group said it is committed to keeping a record of these stories, which they said both students and alumni have courageously and vulnerably shared. They added that they are also working with faculty and administrators to hold offending individuals accountable. “Ultimately, FAAC’s goals are to ensure that stories have not been shared in vain and to minimize further harm to students in the future.”

Norwood News reached out the college for comment on the matter. Bob Howe, special adviser to the university’s president, Fr. Joseph Michael McShane SJ, responded, saying, “Father McShane first addressed the issues raised in the Instagram accounts almost a year ago, when he announced the Fordham University Action Plan: Addressing Racism, Educating for Justice.”

An extract from that plan, which also dates back to last summer, reads, “In the course of the past few weeks, the members of the Board of Trustees, the administration, and I have watched and listened. We have read the many emails, petitions, and Instagram posts that have come from the University community.”

The extract continued, “We have all been moved and dismayed by these statements and testimonials, and deeply saddened by the trauma that prompted them. Therefore, it is clear that the national awakening has come to Fordham. To be sure, we have, in the past, made strides in our efforts to create a more diverse, inclusive, and affirming community. But this moment has made it clear that we can and must do more. We all know this in our bones and in our hearts.”

Howe said McShane and the university have been addressing the issue of race and justice on a regular basis since that time, as has the Board of Trustees which, he said, also created a diversity fund. He said the chief diversity officer issued his annual report in September 2020 and added that anti-racism was the centerpiece of McShane’s “State of the University” address, in September.

“In the past few months, Father McShane has communicated with the University community on Black History Month, and Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday, addressed anti-Asian violence, and the conviction of Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis,” said Howe, adding that “a lot more work” was being done on campus.

“Regarding the instances raised in the Instagram posts, as we’ve stated before, the University cannot address specific behaviors which were not reported through University channels, and in which either the complainant or the subject, or both, are anonymous,” Howe said. Norwood News asked Howe if the nature of the complaint raised about the member of faculty is known to that person and to the university, what the complaint is, and if the faculty member in question had any comment.