Duke students are holding a sit-in outside the president's office to protest use of a racial slur

Campus protests at Duke.
(Image credit: iStock)

Nine Duke University students have been camping out in the school's administration building since Friday afternoon, The News & Observer reports. About 80 protesters have joined the students outside the building. They're calling for the firing of three administrators, new terms for subcontractor employees, and a $15 hourly minimum wage for Duke employees.

It all stems back to an incident from nearly two years ago, in which Executive Vice President Tallman Trask hit a parking attendant, Shelvia Underwood, with his car. When Underwood asked Trask to produce a permit so he could proceed with parking before the football game, he allegedly used a racial slur against her. The students want Trask and two other officials involved with the case dismissed.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.