Across the Syracuse campus, a group of students continue to protest the administration.

#NotAgainSU is a black, student-led movement, and they've been occupying the administration building for 23 days. Last week, students spent 14 hours negotiating with campus leadership, and they're asking to continue the conversations.

"We are continuing a legacy of black protests on our campus that's much needed," said a student organizer, who chose to remain nameless. "And it's to the point where the university just has to say we have a problem and we have to actively fix the problem. The issue is the university is not recognizing it as an issue."

The students have a list of three non-negotiables: First, they want the university to acknowledge in writing what happened a few weeks ago. When the protest first started, Department of Public Safety officers used force and denied students basic necessities. The students say that will help them and the campus community move forward.

Some graduate students are on strike in support of the protest, and the #NotAgainSU students want them to be able to return to their positions.

The third non-negotiable, they say, is academic amnesty for the student protesters, especially those suspended.  

If the students do continue their negotiations this week, they want to establish in writing what has and has not been agreed to, and they want the university to take time to make changes so black students can feel included on campus.

"The university is just not recognizing it as an issue," said one student organizer. "It's a lot of band aid fixes. 'Oh, we'll listen to their demands so they get out of this building and leave us alone.' But it shouldn't be that way. The university should be wanting to actively engage with students and make these changes." 

On Monday, the students say they met with the university's independent advisory panel. It's a group of four experts hired to review the campus culture and strengthen diversity and inclusion. 

"We were really trying to drive home all the horrible things that the administration did to us here during our occupation in those first three days, and one of the panel members stopped us and said, 'no you don't have to convince me that that happened, because I was there.'"

Students say the university did not allow the advisory panel to meet with them at the time, so the panel wrote a note that the university said it would deliver. The students say they never got the message.

"That is the panel that the university chose to assess the campus climate, and they are even lying to them," the student organizer said. "So that's extremely concerning. There's a total lack of transparency on this campus, even from the people who are contracted to make the campus better." 

The students say they are still discussing their plan for spring break and afterward. When we spoke to them this afternoon, it was right as the university was announcing its plan to move to online classes.

Spectrum News reached out to Syracuse University for comment and has not heard back.