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


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.
"We don't fire people because somebody demands it," said university spokesman Michael Schoenfeld. "We have a process for employment issues, for other kinds of disciplinary issues, and if there is a process to be followed, then the process will be followed."
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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.
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