The DePaul University Black Leadership Coalition has released a five-page statement regarding Breitbart Tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos’ visit to the college in May.
The Black Leadership Coalition, which represents black students and faculty members at DePaul, is apparently not satisfied with the university president’s grovelling attempts to placate them, and is now engaging in the age-old progressive tactic of a diversity shakedown — give us what we want, or we’ll call you racist.
Because the college allowed Yiannopoulos to speak on campus, the Coalition is now calling for:
- A new position of V.P. for “Diversity and Inclusion”
- Administrative positions (“Diversity Advocates”) at each DePaul college
- A new “African-American Center” for black students and faculty members
- A defined role for “affinity groups representing diverse communities” whenever the university “makes a major decision,” including the hiring of Provosts and Deans.
- Modification of enrolment strategies and admissions criteria to increase the number of students of African descent.
- A new representative structure that acts as a “conduit” between DePaul’s black community and the university president.
- Dismantling of the President’s Diversity Council, the current body tasked with managing diversity at DePaul.
- Bi-annual town hall meetings between the DePaul Black Leadership Coalition and the Board of Trustees
“The community of African descent at DePaul is deeply offended and disappointed with the manner in which President Holtschneider has handled the controversy both preceding and subsequent to the Yiannopoulos campus visit” reads the statement. “DPUBLC strongly believes that the Yiannopoulos event is merely the tip of the iceberg and symptomatic of larger racial tensions at DePaul.”
The statement goes on to express frustration at the lack of support for students suffering from “microaggressions” and “racial profiling” at the school, before also complaining about chalk signs on the campus that said “Build the wall” and “Blue Lives Matter”, a popular slogan used to defend police officers killed in duty.
“It was in this charged atmosphere that the DePaul College Republicans decided to host the “Dangerous Fa**ot: Feminism is Cancer” tour, featuring Milo Yiannopoulos, “a popular media figure who routinely uses his platform to engage in violent, sexist, transphobic, and racist rhetoric”” claims the statement, calling Yiannopoulos “violent” despite his calm and peaceful reaction to the event which was interrupted by two Black Lives Matter activists who stole the moderator’s microphone before threatening to assault Yiannopoulos.
The Black Leadership Coalition then goes on to blame college president Holtschneider, citing his failure to refuse Yiannopoulos entry to the college.
President Holtschneider’s failure to effectively interpret likely events exposed faculty, staff, and students of African descent, as well as members of other marginalized groups, to threats of physical harm, animus, and hostility. Perhaps most troubling and potentially damaging, in the aftermath, the administration has engineered a clever reframing of events that ignores its culpability, disregards the longstanding racial tensions on campus, and places blame on the African American protesters. Although framed as a free speech issue, the event was in fact a safety issue. There is no right to free speech that justifiably places members of the DePaul community at risk.
We, the members of the DePaul University Black Leadership Coalition (DPUBLC), believe that Father Dennis H. Holtschneider is disconnected and out of touch with issues facing DePaul’s community of African descent, and we are not confident in his ability to effectively resolve problems affecting it.
Instead of standing up for Yiannopoulos’ right to freedom of speech and the First Amendment in general, Holtschneider grovelled to the far-left protesters shortly after the event, claiming “There is no precept of free speech known to the law, to morality, or to common sense, that required marginalized communities of students to sit quietly as supplicants while the campus that their tuition, grant and loan dollars fund was deployed as a sounding board for their own belittlement based on their race, gender, and sexual orientation”.
Holtschneider also claimed that students “were still shaking from the frightening effects of the hate speech they experienced” in his statement that attempted to win back protesting students to no avail.
The Black Leadership Coalition finished their statement with a list of eight demands, which include more specialised diversity staff and an “African American Center for students, faculty, and staff of African descent” before doubting the leadership of President Holtschneider.