He wrote, “There is a huge difference between a group or coalition deciding to voluntarily absent themselves from a shared space in order to highlight their vital and under-appreciated roles” and “encouraging another group to go away.”60 In a shared space, “one’s right to speak—or to be,” he said, “must never be based on skin color.” He also feared that white students and faculty who did not support the structure of the Day of Absence and chose to come to campus that day would be viewed negatively; their very presence might be interpreted to mean they did not support the goals of the event.61
