Westlands Sit-in 1989

The following documents are intended to represent the history of protests and student actions surrounding the Westlands Sit-in of 1989 on the campus of Sarah Lawrence College.

Given the large number of documents housed in the College Archives on various student actions (approximately 5,000), the representation here is not comprehensive. To learn more about a specific student action and the SLC community’s response, please reach out to the Archives.

This online collection contains the original actions, demands, and various community responses to add historical context to the events and to make many of the documents more accessible. The documents are arranged chronologically in ascending order within each protest. The majority of the documents are from the Protest and Activism Collection, but there are others from the various collections within the College Archives. The collection from which the document came is noted in the metadata record for the item. To access finding aids for collections, such as the Protest and Activism Collection, see the Archives website. For additional information on the history of diversity at the College, see the Diversity Timeline.

NOTE: To protect the privacy of individuals, names have been redacted in the documents.

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[Memo from Alice Ilchman to the Community, March 28, 1989]

Alice Stone Ilchman

President Alice Ilchman provides an update on the progress in addressing the issues brought to the administration by the Concerned Students of Color during the 1989 sit-in.
[Asian Student Caucus - Assertion of Identity and Principals [sic], April 3, 1989]

Asian Student Caucus, Sarah Lawrence College

The Asian Student Caucus states their endorsement of the Concerned Students of Color proposals and reiterates those points pertaining to Asian students' concerns.
[Letter from the Ad Hoc Negotiating Committee to Students, April 4, 1989]

Negotiating Committee, Sarah Lawrence College

Letter from the Negotiating Committee soliciting opinions and concerns from the student body about implementing the changes proposed by the Concerned Students of Color.
[Memo from the Ad Hoc Negotiating Committee to the Faculty, April 25, 1989]

Negotiating Committee, Sarah Lawrence College

Memo from the Negotiating Committee to the faculty proposing establishment of a standing Committee on Racial and Cultural Diversity.
[Meeting Flyer, circa April 26, 1989]

Unknown

Flyer announcing all campus meeting regarding the status of negotiations.
[Memo from Ad Hoc Negotiating Committee to College Community, April 26, 1989]

Negotiating Committee, Sarah Lawrence College

A progress report from the Negotiating Committee to the College Community on the status of negotiations with students and commitments to structural changes at the College.
[Student petition in support of negotiations, April 27, 1989]

Unknown

Student signed petition in support of efforts of negotiations between students and the College.
[Response from CSOC, May 2, 1989]

Concerned Students of Color, Sarah Lawrence College

An update from CSOC, Concerned Students of Color, on negotiations with the College.
[Memo from George B. Adams to College Community, May 3, 1989]

George B. Adams

Summary of meeting between the Board of Trustees Executive and Finance Committee and the Concerned Students of Color.
[Memo from the Negotiating Committee to the College Community, May 3, 1989]

Negotiating Committee, Sarah Lawrence College

An update on negotiations between the Concerned Students of Color group and the negotiating team of the College.
[Memo from the Concerned Students of Color to the Negotiating Committee and the Community, May 8, 1989]

Concerned Students of Color, Sarah Lawrence College

The Concerned Students of Color (CSOC) summarizes the meeting between the CSOC and the Executive Board of Trustees and the Negotiating Committee.
[Brief Chronology of Events of Spring on Campus, May 11, 1989]

[Unknown]

Chronological timeline of events leading up to and during the Westlands Sit-In.
[Memo from George B. Adams to the Community, May 15, 1989]

George B. Adams

Memo from the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, George B. Adams, outlining the outcomes and approvals from the meeting between the Concerned Students of Color and the Executive Board of Trustees.
[Memo from Alice Ilchman to All Trustees, August 1, 1989]

Alice Stone Ilchman

Memo from President Alice Ilchman to the Board of Trustees with updates on the efforts made to answer the Concerned Students of Color proposals from the previous spring semester.
[Memo from Alice Ilchman to the Community, September 5, 1989]

Alice Stone Ilchman

Memo from President Alice Ilchman to the Community sharing the outcome of efforts to answer the Concerned Students of Color proposals from the spring semester.
[Progress on demands of Spring 1989, April 1991]

Harambe, Sarah Lawrence College and Concerned Students of Color, Sarah Lawrence College

An update on the demands from the 1989 Westlands sit-in from Harambe and Concerned Students of Color.
[Concerned Students of Color Revised Agenda, April 23, 1991]

Concerned Students of Color, Sarah Lawrence College

Revised demands from the Concerned Students of Color to the College regarding diversifying faculty, staff, curriculum, and services for students of color on campus.
[Memo from Barbara Kaplan to members of Concerned Students of Color, May 1, 1991]

Barbara Kaplan

Memo from Dean of the College, Barbara Kaplan, to the Concerned Students of Color regarding their revised demands in April 1991. The memo outlines appropriate committees for taking on each demand specified.
[Letter from the General Committee to the Community, May 7, 1991]

General Committee, Sarah Lawrence College

Memo from General Committee to the Community addressing concerns for the quality and tone of discussions on racism, prejudice and discrimination taking place on campus.
[In Print, Progress report on diversity issues, May 15, 1991]

[Unknown]

Article appearing in the College publication, In Print, reporting on the College's progress in answering the proposals of the Concerned Students of Color.
[Letter from Marilyn Katz to the Community, September 3, 1991]

Marilyn Katz

Announcement from Dean of Studies, Marilyn Katz, detailing the development of the position of Associate Dean of Studies and Multicultural Affairs.
[Lectures, Workshops, and Other Events, 1992-1993]

[Unknown]

List of events funded by the Xerox Foundation Grant to support diversity initiatives at the College.
[Memo with statistics from Dom Carbone to Alice Ilchman et al., March 1993]

Dom Carbone

Memo from Vice President for Financial Planning, Dom Carbone, containing statistics on diversity from select colleges and universities as published in The Chronicle of Higher Education March 1993 issue.
[Diversity at Sarah Lawrence College 1988-1993, October, 1993]

Committee on Racial Diversity, Sarah Lawrence College

Report by the Committee on Racial Diversity summarizing the progress in increasing racial diversity at the College. Compares statistics from fall 1988 to fall 1993. This report is part of the response to the 1989 Westlands Sit-in.
[Retention statistics, November 19, 1993]

[Unknown]

Statistics given to the students of Common Ground on retention rates for students, faculty, and staff of color from 1986 to 1993.