Towson Students Stage Sit-In, Present '13 Demands List'

TOWSON, Md. (WJZ) -- Calling for change on campus. Students hold a sit-in at Towson University to demand a shift in school policies to end racial injustice. The protest is part of a nationwide movement.

Meghan McCorkell has more on what's being done.

Egg shells thrown at black students, racial slurs yelled out windows and a lack of faculty diversity. That's what some students at Towson University say they've been facing.

On Wednesday, Dozens held a sit-in inside the interim president's office, calling for change.

"I greatly admire your courage and I greatly admire the fact that you are here," said Timothy Chandler, interim university president.

Together, the president and students work through a list of demands, including increasing black tenure-track faculty, requiring staff to take a cultural competency course and creating a more inclusive campus.

University officials say they're happy to have the conversation.

"It really shows me that students are learning and they're empowering themselves," said Gay Pinder, Towson University spokesperson. "And that they're going to be ready to lead in the next generation."

The sit-in is part of a national movement called "Student Blackout" that's happening on campuses across the country.

For months, students at the University of Missouri protested what they called systematic racism on campus. It led to the university president's resignation and demonstrations at other colleges, including Johns Hopkins.

Students there are also calling for more full time black faculty members and accountability for those who target black students.

Back at Towson, student activists say they will continue to stand up and fight racial injustice.

Those negotiations inside the administration building continued at 11 p.m. Wednesday. Students say they plan to be there all night long.

Students on 23 college campuses have participated in the "Student Blackout."