Hayley Smith
Santino Martinez-Richardson poses for a picture with his sign in Morgan Library Oct 6. Martinez-Richardson is an ethnic studies major who engages in passive activism through increasing visibility for free speech. Most days he can be seen around campus with his sign sprouting different messages.
When walking around campus, one is almost bound to see a student carrying an erasable whiteboard with a variety of messages on it, rotating each day. That student is Santino Martinez-Richardson, who is studying ethnic studies at Colorado State University; he is a nontraditional, returning student with unique methods of protest.
Martinez-Richardson can be found all over campus, quietly walking from class to class toting a whiteboard with a new political message every day. Using his physical sign along with his art and social media, he hopes to spread awareness about the various causes and issues he cares about.
“The sign started as a project that I just did for myself,” Martinez-Richardson said. “I went to the bookstore, bought one of these little cheap signs and started writing messages on it.”
As a returning CSU student, Martinez-Richardson is motivated to inspire other students to speak up about the causes they care about in their own ways.
“I’m a nontraditional student,” Martinez-Richardson said. “Coming back to the university as compared to when I first came to the university in 2009, it seems that the political atmosphere is different — that people don’t feel empowered or encouraged to say the things that they would like to say.”
Many of his signs have been perceived as controversial, but Martinez-Richardson does not shy away from this; he said he intends to spark conversation and provoke new perspectives.
“Whether people think it’s cool or whether they disagree with it, it starts a conversation,” Martinez-Richardson said. “I try not to be rude or condescending to people that have objections to the things that are on there. I try to just be like, ‘Hey, look, you can look these things up; you can do your own research on them.’ I try not to let it be a point of debate because some of the messages are about people’s existence, which I don’t believe is debatable.”
Martinez-Richardson attributes much of his activism to his academic background as an ethnic studies student, often integrating bits and pieces of his lectures and readings into the messages on his sign.
“The work that I do in ethnic studies, the research that I do there, the content that we read, the books, the literature, everything — it’s on the board as much as it inspires the activism itself,” Martinez-Richardson said.
Martinez-Richardson cited Aaunterria Bollinger-Deters, a Ph.D. candidate and instructor in the department of race, gender and ethnic studies, as someone who has influenced his work.
“A lot of the things that I look at in research is particularly around how … media communications in the digital age can be utilized to be activistic or promote activism or to make people’s voices who might be marginalized or minoritized in a social and political capacity, allow them to be heard, be seen and also be authentically represented,” Bollinger-Deters said.
Bollinger-Deters’ academic background and research allow her to provide some insight into student activism and Martinez-Richardson’s work in particular.
“What I find interesting about how (Martinez-Richardson) does his work is just looking at him being very inspirational in how he is attempting to not only protest, but how he’s kind of attempting to get other people involved,” Bollinger-Deters said. “I think that the first time I saw him, somebody was stopping to ask him about his sign.”
Bollinger-Deters also noted Martinez-Richardson’s quiet protest method.
“It’s not necessarily that he’s, like, holding it over his head or shouting or anything like that,” Bollinger-Deters said. “But he’s just holding it in a way that, again, not only means power and visibility for him and his voice, but I think does so very intricately in kind of approaching this notion of a silent protest. That silence is loud; it’s deafening in some ways. You can’t really avoid the fact that people carry these things with them, the same way he carries the sign.”
Ethnic studies plays into every aspect of Martinez-Richardson’s activism.
“Protest is a big part of what we learn in the department,” Martinez-Richardson said. “Resistance is huge in the department. We’re talking about resisting the oppressive forces that are constantly around you and finding creative ways to do that. Art is one of the most effective ways to engage in the work of change.”
He said his goal is to help make CSU a place where people aren’t afraid to exercise their freedom of speech and expression, whether or not everyone agrees with the message.
“If you feel like you want to say something about it, it’s OK to say something about it,” Martinez-Richardson said. “You might have consequences for saying something about it, but if you’re willing to do that, I’m right there with you, and I support you.”
For students who want to get involved in community organizing and activism on campus, Bollinger-Deters recommended starting by figuring out what matters to you.
“Embracing all of these facets of learning and becoming while you are in that student position is really important,” Bollinger-Deters said. “Think about the ways in which you want to be able to help people.”
As for the future of Martinez-Richardson’s work, he said he hopes it will continue to grow and evolve.
“I hope that in the law, when I get to law school and as I become a lawyer, that this work will turn into advocacy for people who feel harmed by the society around us,” Martinez-Richardson said. “I want to be able to help people who have been subjugated in that way.”
Reach Gracie Douglas at life@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.