After widespread backlash, Syracuse University has lifted its suspensions against 30 students who were protesting a series of racist incidents at the school. According to ABC News, the school initially suspended the students for holding a sit-in at the administration building.

Syracuse Chancellor Kent Syverud said he is revoking the suspensions and allowing the students to continue the sit-in, which has been going on since Monday. 

“These students are afraid they will be arrested and forced out of the building. They have suspension dangling over them. They are concerned about being fed. Enough,” the chancellor said in a statement.

Syverud met with the protesters Friday to talk about their concerns.  

The protest, organized by a leadership group known as #NotAgainSU, is calling for a tuition freeze, disarming of public safety officers and accountability for systemic issues on campus. The students are also demanding the school to identify perpetrators in racial incidents.

“The administration has not appropriately addressed the 25+ hate crimes that have occurred on campus since November 2019, and they have not addressed student protesters in any way that is reflective of a commitment to equal safety and support,” #NotAgainSU said in a statement.

The group also expressed its frustration on Twitter, saying "as the administration evidently continues to [lack] transparency, it’s paramount that we provide you all with factual information."

The school's decision to revoke the suspensions came after online backlash over its decision to discipline students for peacefully protesting.

One woman claimed that was she was one of the suspended students.

Activist Zellie Imani also condemned the university. 

According to The Daily Orange, the university's Department of Public Safety sealed off the school's administration building, preventing food or medicine from getting to the students. However, the school said in a statement that the students are not locked in and they can leave the building anytime they want.

"Student demonstrators, currently staging a protest in Crouse Hinds Hall, are free to leave at any time," university officials said. "In fact, these students have been asked and encouraged, on multiple occasions, to exit the building. Any claim that students are being prevented from leaving Crouse Hinds Hall is patently false."

One protester, who remained anonymous, said the students are asking for transparency and progress.

“Our demands are to make the campus better, to make it a better space," the student told WAER. "You can let the whole general body know what they’re doing. All of these things are not going to just benefit specific groups, like they’re going to benefit everybody on this campus.”

Since November, at least 26 racist, anti-Semitic and bias-related incidents have been reported at or near the university, The Daily Orange reported. One Black student was allegedly harassed and called the N-word by fraternity members as she walked by. A residence hall at the school was also vandalized with racist graffiti in the same month. In another recent incident, students found a swastika drawn into the snow on campus. Syracuse University students also walked out of a forum in November in response to the series of racist and anti-Semitic incidents on campus.

#NotAgainSUSit-In-ProtestSyracuse University