This first-hand account of the student takeover of the campus administration building raises strategic and operational issues through a lens of racial inequities and intersectionality. It has echos of a 1968 protest by black students, which had very similar demands and it happened in the context of student protests and demands across the nation. This is an excellent case for apprciating social protest through an organizational lens and appreciating ways that university campuses can be held to be accountable for their espoused values.

Avery Brien is a public policy professional with experience providing strategic coaching and technical assistance to organizations and campaigns regarding advocacy strategies, coalition building, policy analysis, and messaging and communications. Avery has worked at the local, state, and national levels on issues such as health policy, housing, LGBTQ+ rights, and racial and economic justice. They hold a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New Hampshire and a Master of Public Policy from Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management.

Mónica García is an education consultant specializing in early childhood education, conflict resolution, and qualitative research. Mónica has over 10 years of experience working in the public and private sectors designing curricula, projects, and qualitative surveys rooted in intersectional social justice. Mónica holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology from Gonzaga University. Mónica is an alumna of Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management where she earned a MA in Conflict Resolution and Coexistence.

Sonia Kikeri is the national director for policy and civic engagement at Emerald Cities Collaborative, working on equity-based policy analysis, development, and implementa- tion and specializing in just transition, energy democracy, and community engagement. They have prior experiences ranging from working with refugees on the Turkish-Syrian border to serving as a legislative director for a Pennsylvanian senator. Sonia is commit- ted to naming, confronting, and dismantling systems of oppression, colonization, and white supremacy and is honored to work with those who are actively building a reality of equity, reparations, and liberation. They hold a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University as well as an MBA and Masters in Conflict Resolution and Coexistence from Brandeis University.

Miya Ward is a consultant with Nexight Group, specializing in stakeholder engagement, communications strategies, data collection and analysis, and technical writing and editing. She has been an active participant and organizer in social movement spaces for nearly two decades. Aside from the Ford Hall 2015 case study, she is a co-author of BYP100’s Agenda to Build Black Futures. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Lit- erature from Haverford College and a MBA with a focus on non-profit management from
Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management.