Reporters Barred From Smith College Sit-In

In an effort to create a safe space free from potential insensitivity from the news media, activists at Smith College barred reporters from covering a sit-in Wednesday that drew 300 to 500 students, according to masslinve.com.

The demonstration, organized in solidarity with students at the University of Missouri, was held Thursday in the Smith College Student Center.

The activists' goal was to establish a place where students -- prioritizing students of color and black students -- could share their thoughts, feelings, poems and songs related to a rash of racially charged episodes this fall at Mizzou, as well as personal experiences of racism.

An event that draws so many people, especially one that concerns a topic of magnitude such as civil rights, is customarily covered by media outlets. But reporters who arrived at the sit-in were met with a clear message: Keep out.

Alyssa Mata-Flores, a 21-year-old Smith College senior and one of the sit-in's organizers, explained that the rule was born from "the way that media has historically painted radical black movements as violent and aggressive."

"We are asking that any journalists or press that cover our story participate and articulate their solidarity with black students and students of color," she told MassLive in the Student Center Wednesday. "By taking a neutral stance, journalists and media are being complacent in our fight."

Smith organizers said journalists were welcome to cover the event if they agreed to explicitly state they supported the movement in their articles.

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