‘They’re painting the idea that whites are intimidating’: Anger as Chicago University students launch ‘black graduation’ that university claims is NOT exclusionary — as professor warns is a return to campus segregation
- A pro-black student group is hosting the June 1 event, leaked emails show
- It is billed as a ceremony “for all black graduate students of the University of Chicago”
- Student organizers have since claimed the ceremony will not be exclusive
The University of Chicago is reportedly hosting a “black graduation ceremony” for students of color this summer — though organizers now say the event isn’t exclusive.
The event, billed as a ceremony “for all black graduate students of the University of Chicago,” will be held two days before the traditional start of school in June and will be hosted by a group at one of the university’s professional schools.
A professional school is another term for a graduate school that prepares students with bachelor’s degrees for careers in certain fields – preparing students for jobs in housing, community development, and human rights.
Affiliated with its private parent university, the graduate school is called the Harris School of Public Policy, which has more than 30 organizations designed “specifically for students of color, women, and international students,” according to the school’s website.
Among this assortment of inclusion-focused groups is the Black Action in Public Policy Studies, which is reportedly hosting the June 1 event — advertising it as “an important capstone in the college Black experience.”
The Black Action in Public Policy Studies student group is organizing the June 1 event, billed in a leaked email as a ceremony “for all black graduate students of the University of Chicago.”
The University of Chicago’s ‘black graduation’ this summer is reportedly for students of color — though organizers now say the event isn’t exclusive
A leaked email obtained by Benjamin Ogilvie, a law student at the University of Chicago, exposed the previously hidden event, with Ogilvie writing a piece for The College Fix to share the contents of the email.
“Black Action in Public Policy Studies…will host a graduation ceremony for all black graduate students of the University of Chicago” on June 1, the email said, according to Ogilvie.
The email, leaked on Tuesday, reportedly touted the event as the pinnacle of the “black student experience” at the Illinois school, and is already sparking heated debate over whether or not the event serves as a segregationist .
Organizers Christian Johns and Semeredin Kundin declined to comment on the ceremony, but a school spokesman said it was not an exclusion
