@CU123 One of the demands was inclusion of a class on gender/race related issues in the core requirements. I’m personally against the idea, but that’s certainly one way to address your complaint A).
As for the question of whether this is a proportionate response, these demands are a response to far more than the FIJI party - this just happens to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Although I don’t agree with many of the proposed changes to the curriculum, several of which are likely to produce administrative bloat and create underenrolled classes, I do want that to be quite clear.
@FStratford First of all, this is about more than 50-100 students at a rally. As of this post, 162 students have signed the accompanying petition.
Second, while I agree that opt-in Black housing is a bad idea, that demand comes from Organization of Black Students (OBS). It isn’t endorsed by other groups in this coalition, who are publicly neither for nor against the idea.
Finally, I don’t know of any facts to support claims about “outside agitators” and “puppet masters” in this incident. Do you have a source for this?
@JBStillFlying Some things that have happened at UChicago frats over the years:
- Phi Delt hazing ritual includes drinking copious amounts of alcohol (dumb but hardly unusual) and, if you believe the lawsuit, beating a pledge. If you're skeptical, the second Maroon article is still a litany of awful decisions. https://www.chicagomaroon.com/article/2016/7/19/student-sues-phi-delt-alleges-hazing-assault/ https://www.chicagomaroon.com/article/2016/10/4/induction-night-phi-delt-pledges-served-copious-am/
-UChicago makes national news! That’s good, right? Nope - AePi is joking about celebrating MLK day with fried chicken, calling C4 and dynamite “long-held fixtures” of Islamic culture, titling e-mails “Towel heads,” and more. They also, for good measure, call a Muslim student government leader a “terrorist”
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-university-of-chicago-racist-emails-met-20160211-story.html
http://time.com/4208215/racist-emails-alpha-epsilon-pi-university-chicago/
-Shortly after several Alpha Delt brothers wear oversized sombreros, and manage to tick off half the student body as a result, some genius at Delta Upsilon decides to throw a “Conquistadors and Aztec hoes” party.
http://chicagoist.com/2012/05/29/u_of_c_frat_in_trouble_for_conquist.php
It’s hard to deny the binge drinking described in the first article (and sexual assaults, often unreported - another highlight at certain fraternities) doesn’t pose a threat to student safety. Regardless of any racist conduct or lack thereof, these things warrant greater university oversight, but the administration would rather limit its liability than protect students. Why not take a stance similar to Harvard’s view on finals clubs? Exclude students in unaffiliated frats from leadership roles, and step up oversight of those with RSO status.
As for the “private citizen” defense, fraternities are private entities, free to organize any party they want, but the university is also private, and free to make certain privileges contingent on rules designed to protect the community. Non-students have been banned from campus for engaging in “free speech” before - notable targets include a group of prosyletizers known as the Revolutionary Communists and a number of local activists. While campus bans aren’t feasible for a current student, other penalties certainly are. If they don’t like it, students are quite free to attend a public university, where their right to host racist parties and besmirch the school’s reputation without official consequences will be absolute.