FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAY 18, 2017

Contact: Gloria Morelos
312-532-4776

CHICAGO, IL -- UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO STUDENTS TO LAUNCH CAMPAIGN IN

RESPONSE TO RACIST, XENOPHOBIC ACTS ON CAMPUS.

WHEN: Friday, May 19, 2017

TIME: 12 PM
WHERE: Edward H. Levi Hall - 5801 S Ellis Ave, Chicago, IL 60637

UChicago United, a coalition of multicultural student organizations at the University of Chicago, will
release a list of demands urging university administration to provide comprehensive resources that would
create a more inclusive environment for minority students on campus. The release of these demands will
serve as the launch of a long-term campaign advocating for marginalized students. Further, this launch
will mark the initiation of dialogue between the coalition and university administration, faculty members,
and other student organizations. The rally will feature student voices from member organizations, which
include Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztln (MEChA) de UChicago, the Organization of Black
Students (OBS), PanAsia Solidarity Coalition (PanAsia), Muslim Students Association (MSA), Arab
Students Association (ASA), African Caribbean Students Association (ACSA), and the Organization of
Latin American Students (OLAS).

The UChicago United campaign advocates against the current campus climate which fails to adequately
support students of marginalized backgrounds and identities. This coalition has formed to address a larger
political climate that is epitomized in continuous occurrences of racist, discriminatory, and exclusionary
acts within the UChicago community. UChicago United urges the university to treat the following events
with the gravity they merit by offering affected students resources and pursuing disciplinary and/or legal
action.

Specifically, three recent events have occurred that reflect the toxic and exclusionary atmosphere that
minority students regularly face. On March 9th, racist flyers were posted throughout campus, including
the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture. The university responded to the event only after
intense lobbying from both students and faculty members, and did not offer any substantive reform of
university policies nor support for campus members. On May 4th, UChicago students became aware of a
party with an offensive and racist theme that was to be held on May 5th by the Phi Gamma Delta
fraternity. MEChA members expressed concern to the host, a Phi Gamma Delta brother, and were told by
the host that the theme would be changed. Regardless, multiple brothers attended the party in costumes
related to the racist theme. The University has yet to address this incident. On May 12, flyers were posted
across campus that used racist imagery and inflammatory language to defame Palestinians, those
advocating for Palestinian human rights, and Arabs and Muslims more generally. This is the second time
within the year that those students have been attacked and the university has offered a dissatisfactory
response.