<p>In terms of U of C attitudes, the frat incident was definitely isolated. I don’t think it’s any secret that frats at every school tend to foster environments in which even well-meaning people come together as a group to do some pretty heinous things–racial or otherwise (see recent incidents at Yale; <a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/education/18yale.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/education/18yale.html</a>, and this account of practices at Dartmouth and other elite schools: [Confessions</a> of an Ivy League Frat Boy: Inside Dartmouth’s Hazing Abuses | Culture News | Rolling Stone](<a href=“http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/confessions-of-an-ivy-league-frat-boy-inside-dartmouths-hazing-abuses-20120328]Confessions”>Dartmouth’s Hazing Abuses: Confessions of an Ivy League Frat Boy – Rolling Stone)). I don’t mean to dismiss the Alpha Delt incident–it was obviously disgusting–but I don’t think it indicates any degree of difference between U of C students and students elsewhere. I agree with NewHavenCTmom that “racism/stereotypes/prejudice exists everywhere and it can’t be escaped,” at least not fully.</p>
<p>I think a similar conclusion can be drawn from the other racially questionable aspects you might hear about Chicago. It’s true that the university has a tenuous relationship with the surrounding community. It’s no secret that there have been a history of problems with Woodlawn, and even most of (non-university affiliated) Hyde Park opposes the ongoing development at Harper Court (though this is more of an economic thing). U of C racism is probably at its worst in the implicit attitudes many members of the university take towards the overwhelmingly black surrounding South Side, often stoking fear, segregation, and sensationalism beyond what is practically called for by safety concerns. But I don’t think any of these factors are limited to Chicago alone; as with the fraternity incident, they’re characteristic of all urban universities that bring in kids from outside the neighborhood. Harvard, Yale, Penn, etc. are no different, nor are the student bodies of their more isolated rural or suburban peers–places like Williams, Amherst, and Duke. </p>
<p>The bottom line is that racism, discrimination, and harassment can and do take place at the U of C. When you notice such incidents, you’ll be ashamed. But these incidents don’t say anything about the U of C in particular, and they’re no reason to differentiate between any of your prospective schools.</p>