Students and workers at the University of Pennsylvania are speaking out against the school's decision to rescind one of its annual observances of Black History Month.

Per The Philadelphia Inquirer, groups of students joined Penn Hillel’s Falk Dining Commons workers in efforts to address the recent discontinuation of cultural meals honoring the month at the school's dining halls. Last year, cafeteria cooks whipped up Southern dishes for the students. But this year, they were prohibited from serving any food intended to acknowledge the month.

On Monday, around 75 students gathered in support holding signs that read “Celebrate Black History,” “Black Lives Matter” and “Students Support Workers.”

In a statement sent to Blavity, the prestigious university said it wanted to ensure it didn't do anything that would be deemed inappropriate.

"This year, we took a different approach in light of what we saw happening in other universities where students had concerns about some of the menus during Black History Month," Director of Communications and External Relations Barbara A. Lea-Kruger stated. "Students found the menus that were being served to be insensitive and stereotypical."

"Given our diverse campus, we did not want the same situation at Penn, so we reached out to various campus partners and spoke at great length. The consensus was to continue to serve food to meet the dietary needs of the student for example fish on Fridays during Lent or special Passover meals. But we should not celebrate cultural dates (such as Black History Month or Chinese New Year) until we met with the major student groups on campus to get their input. Those meetings have already begun."

But thus far, student organizations aren't at all happy with the decision.

Penn Student Power announced its plan to join the workers via Facebook in a post titled “What Happened to Black History Month?” specifically calling the efforts a stance in "solidarity" instead of naming it a protest or march.

“It’s Black History Month, but being at Penn you wouldn’t know. This is our response as students. We’re here to rise and resist the erasure of Black history,” the announcement read.

Blavitize your inbox! Join our daily newsletter for fresh stories and breaking news.

Over 13 other student groups including Penn for Immigrant Rights, Fossil Free Penn, SOUL, an African American group, and MEChA, a Mexican American group, joined in the efforts.

One dining hall worker, Elijah Wingate, noted even though classes were canceled on January 21 in observance of Martin Luther King Day he along with other employees were still called into work.

“We see them celebrate all these other holidays; it seemed like they should have celebrated for MLK Day, too,” he said.

Except for a week of activities led by a Black campus organization, students say the university has not done much to observe Black History Month.

According to The Daily Pennsylvanian, Penn Dining and Bon Appétit plan to address the problem by hosting a dinner on Thursday, the final day of Black History Month, at the dining hall to celebrate the work of famous Black chefs.

Now, check this out:

Say What Now? Black Woman Says Fried Chicken Was Thrown At As She Sat In Traffic

KFC Added Chicken And Waffles To Its Menu And People Don't Know How To Act

This Former Chicago Official Created A Joke Black Violence Tour Featuring Fried Chicken Lunches

meals

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week