August 28th, 2020

Fordham University’s Theatre Program

113 W 60th St
New York, NY 10023

To Whom It May Concern,  

 
Please consider this formal notification of our demands on behalf of the BIPOC community of 
Fordham University’s Theatre program. We make these demands for urgent changes long 
overdue. We acknowledge the ongoing effort to increase diversity within admissions, although 
we feel there have been no efforts to provide support through our college careers. When it comes 
to higher education, we feel Fordham should lead in providing equity and radical inclusion. We 
request the University faculty and administration live up to the Jesuit values and their 
development of personal potential. We encourage our peers to do the same. Our experiences as 
students of color have been significantly different than our white counterparts. We feel mocked, 
judged, minimized, and patronized in and out of the classroom. We attribute this to the lack of 
support and education within the Fordham Theatre curriculum and the overemphasis on 
perpetuating age-old injustices. We urge ongoing support for BIPOC artists, not solely the art we 
create. Additionally, we wish for the termination of tokenizing BIPOC artists and demand more 
representation within the classroom. We feel these demands are fit in the wake of an urgent 
national situation. We can no longer abide by the University’s present standards, and we hope for 
more access to the quality of education Fordham has to offer.  
 
Respectfully, 
 
The BIPOC students of Fordham University’s Theatre Program 
   
 For the purposes of Equity, Dismantling Oppression, and Inclusion 

We, the BIPOC Students of Fordham Theatre, Demand that our program: 

 
I. Prioritize officially hiring the new head of the program. 

II. Clearly and publicly record all rules, policies, and guidelines introduced on Fordham’s 

website. 

III. Hire more BIPOC faculty and adjuncts. 

IV. Integrate Anti-Racism and Anti-Bias Training into the Fordham Theatre’s Curriculum at 

multiple levels and decentralize our curriculum from Western art.  

V. Continue to create a radically inclusive application process. 

VI. Dedicate specific scholarships to BIPOC individuals beyond the Denzel Chair Scholarship 

and clarify how students can be considered for those scholarships. 

VII. Reform the Mainstage in terms of both programming and casting. 

VIII. Officialize the Diversity Committee. 

IX. Implement affinity groups to support students from all underrepresented demographics.  

X. Commit to instituting intersectional structures dedicated to the physical safety and mental 

health of all students. 

 
 
   

Fordham Theatre BIPOC Demands​ ​1 

 Demands in Detail: 
 
I. Prioritize officially hiring the new head of the program. 
○ Announced the new head as soon as possible. 
■ If possible, by the beginning of the Spring Semester. 
■ At minimum, by the beginning of Fall 2021. 
II. Clearly and publicly record all rules, policies, and guidelines of Fordham Theatre including 
but not limited too: 
○ A handbook for prospective students detailing how to apply to both Fordham and 
Fordham Theatre. 
○ Guidelines for studio show proposals. 
○ Diversity Handbook (Glossary of terms, racial, social, etc.). 
○ Studio Handbook (Intimacy guidelines, stage combat rules, proper space maintenance). 
○ Collab Lab Handbook (Glossary of Theatre Parts, proper tool storage, light parts, sewing 
machines, stitching, etc.).  
○ All policies and programs detailed hereafter.  
III. Hire more BIPOC faculty and adjuncts. 
○ Set a goal to have 25% BIPOC adjuncts by 2025. 
○ Set a goal to have 50% BIPOC adjuncts by 2030. 
○ Set a goal to fill two-thirds of all tenure openings in the department with BIPOC. 
IV. Integrate training to dismantle oppression and bias in Fordham Theatre’s curriculum at 
multiple levels and decentralize our curriculum from Western art. 
○ Entrust the teaching of Collaboration I solely to BIPOC artists and incorporate EDI into 
the curriculum for Collaboration I and II.  
■ In the interim, an alternative EDI program must be provided for students who have 
already completed Collaboration I and II.  
○ Standardize and Globalize the theatre curriculum (prioritizing Theatre History and Text 
Analysis due to their mandatory nature) to ensure a consistent, diverse experience for 
students across all concentrations. 
■ Broaden the curriculum to include a more diverse range of artists and plays.  
■ Coordinate syllabi between classes so students do not read the same play more than 
once. 
■ Consider every aspect of plays by underrepresented artists, not just the artist’s 
identity.  
■ Explore plays as part of the discourse of theatre rather than the discourse of their 
original culture. 
■ Integrate discussions of gender, sexuality, neuro, body, and ability diversity and their 
relation to casting and playwriting. 
 

Fordham Theatre BIPOC Demands​ ​2 

 V. Continue to create a radically inclusive application process. 
○ Work with other schools in New York City that are similar to Fordham to schedule 
auditions so students can complete multiple auditions in one weekend, similar to 
Unifieds. 
○ Reserve one weekend of auditions and interviews for BIPOC students.  
○ Hold panels specifically for BIPOC applicants and their families. 
○ Utilize alumni donations to provide travel stipends for underrepresented students.  
VI. Dedicate specific scholarships to BIPOC individuals beyond the Denzel Chair Scholarship 
and clarify how students can be considered for those scholarships.  
○ In the event that a student who has been assigned a scholarship leaves the program, 
reallocate their assigned funds to another student.  
○ Make scholarships available for students of all tracks. 
○ Engage with alumni both as donors for scholarships and as mentors for current students. 
VII. Reform the Mainstage both in terms of programming and casting. 
○ Entrust the direction of ​Uncle Vanya​ to a BIPOC artist.   
○ Restructure the selection process for the Mainstage to emphasize student input.  
■ The selection of racially specific plays for the Maintage—such as ​To The 
Bone—s​ hould be entrusted to the student body rather than the faculty to provide 
underrepresented groups with the opportunity to create their own representation.  
○ Understand and consider that there is more to diversity than race, gender, and sexuality.  
■ Body diversity and ability diversity are important factors that influence the sort of 
plays that we perform respectfully.  
○ Acknowledge and correct the flaws of the current rule stating that plays can only be 
produced on the Maintage if two students fit the description of each character. 
■ This rule assumes students of specific backgrounds will be the correct fit for a part or 
be interested in said part. 
■ Many students at Fordham have complex racial identities. A student who is biracial 
and Black is not necessarily fit to play every role that is described as being for a 
Black person.   
○ Apply the same sensibilities when selecting directors for the Mainstage as when we select 
playwrights: two BIPOC and one woman minimum.  
○ In regards to the plays selected, understand that underrepresented students do not 
exclusively want to play roles written for their underrepresented group.  
■ For example, ​Twelfth Night​ had a very diverse cast and was appreciated.  
○ The Mainstage does not exist solely to create opportunities for actors. The Mainstage 
should serve all students and the world we live in.  
 
 
 

Fordham Theatre BIPOC Demands​ ​3 

VIII. Officialize the Diversity Committee. 
○ Work with the existing members of the Diversity Committee to create bylaws and 
election structures for the committee. 
○ Designate a faculty member to participate as an equal member of the committee. 
○ Represent the many facets of Fordham Diversity. 
○ Make sure the Diversity Committee holds regular public forums (perhaps every two to 
four weeks) to do the following: 
■ Leading the Anti-Racism Book Club (curation of media and facilitating talks) 
■ Hosting intersectional programming to educate students and foster community.  
■ Hold Q&A sessions and answer anonymous questions from students. 
○ Other suggested tasks: 
■ Leading panels for BIPOC applicants during Spring Preview, President’s Weekend, 
and similar events. 
■ Give the Diversity Committee a digital platform to publish meeting resources, and 
hold discussions with people outside of Fordham. 
■ Help create affinity groups and later help coordinate between affinity groups. 
■ Consult faculty on the curriculum. 
○ Compensate all members of the Diversity Committee for the work they do on behalf of 
the program. ​Stop using underrepresented students for free EDI labor.  
IX. Implement affinity groups to support students of all underrepresented groups.  
○ Build affinity group meetings into the schedule for Fordham Theatre spaces. 
○ Equally support all affinity groups within Fordham Theatre. 
X. Commit to instituting intersectional structures dedicated to the physical safety and mental 
health of all students. 
○ Offer counseling services specific to performing arts students. 
■ Infrastructure is necessary to support the specific mental health needs of performing 
arts students due to the mentally exhausting nature of the work. The faculty members 
within Fordham Theatre are not inherently suited to do this because it can present a 
conflict of interest.  
■ It is necessary for students to have resources to address triggering experience within 
theatre. 
■ Involve students in the selection of counselors.  
■ Counselors must be primarily women and BIPOC. 
○ Hire dedicated EDI on staff for the safety of students. 
○ Hire a dedicated intimacy coordinator. 
 
   

Fordham Theatre BIPOC Demands​ ​4 

 We acknowledge these demands that have already been addressed by the faculty  

and are in the process of being met: 

 
I. Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Training for the Faculty. 

II. Implementing equitable hiring practices. 

III. Eliminating the need for applicants to travel, removing the application fee, and 

committing to invest in outreach to communities of color for applicants. 

IV. Promote the service offered by the university to pair potential students with current 

students to provide housing on campus over auditions and when visiting to tour. 

V. Formation of a Book Club/Reading List. 

VI. Anti-Racism and Bias Training for the Faculty. 

VII. Coordinating syllabi between faculty to minimize the repetition of plays and authors.  

 
 
We appreciate these teachers already doing the work: 
 
I. Daniel Alexander Jones 

II. Clint Ramos 

III. Dawn Akemi Saito 

IV. Ntokozo Fuzunina Kunene 

V. Tina Benko 

VI. Sarah Wansley 

 
   

Fordham Theatre BIPOC Demands​ ​5 

 Signed: 
 
William Adams  Carrie Kinui  Jayla Pollock 

Freddie Bredemeyer  Charles Ko  Lili Rebelo 

Elizabeth Caudill  Abigail Lo  Lauren Santos 

Peter Chan  Jaymes Macabale  Ryan Shearin 

Ana Colon  Amara McNeil  Claire Talbott 

Raekwon Fuller  Amanda Morrow  Nandini Tandon 

Pedro González  Jillian Neri  Sofia Ubilla 

Liliana Gutierrez  Jenni Ogasian  Kiernan Westrick 

Myca Hinton  Saman Peyman  David Wilson 

   

 
 
 

Fordham Theatre BIPOC Demands​ ​6