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Seattle University student occupiers: 'We want a liberatory education'

caption: Demands posted in a window of the occupied space at Matteo Ricci College.
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Demands posted in a window of the occupied space at Matteo Ricci College.
Courtesy of Liberation News/@comradevitaly

Bill Radke speaks with Fiza Mohammed, a fourth-year undergraduate student who helped to organize the occupation of Matteo Ricci College at Seattle University.

A coalition of dozens of students has been occupying the college offices since May 11, the day after dean Jodi Kelly sent a letter in response to the coalition's requests to create a non-Eurocentric curriculum at the college, which focuses on a classical humanities education.

The student occupiers have since issued a long list of demands, including the resignation of Kelly. Seattle University president Steven V. Sundborg said in a statement this week "we can and we will do better," but that "the university will not accept the demand for the resignation of an academic leader."

Correction 5/20/16: An earlier version of the web post incorrectly stated the date the students began occupying the college offices.

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