There are times I proud of my fellow students and university. This is not one of them.
Quoted from a Native American House (@ UIUC) press release:
For Immediate Release
January 8, 2006
Pro-Chief Students Issue Call for Racism and Violence against American Indians at University of Illinois
As concerned citizens of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and as faculty in the university’s American Indian Studies Program and staff at the Native American House, we wish to call attention to a recent incident of university students explicitly advocating racist violence against American Indians in general and against one American Indian student in particular.
We call on the university leadership and the university community to express public and unequivocal outrage at this incident. We also call on the university authorities to initiate disciplinary proceedings.
Student behavior of this kind directly violates the University Student Code, section 1-302 parts a 2, d 3, f, g, o 4, and o 5. For the Rules of Conduct in the University Student Code, see http://www.admin.uiuc.edu/policy/code/article_1/a1_1-302.html . Student behavior of this kind also violates the university’s publicly stated policy on acts of intolerance ( http://www.odos.uiuc.edu/stophate/intro.asp).
On Facebook, the popular student-centered social web forum, a University of Illinois student has begun a group called “If They Get Rid of the Chief I’m Becoming a Racist.” The group’s web site can be viewed at this Facebook address: http://uillinois.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2216973206 , though it is likely that Facebook authorities will soon remove the site, because it violates Facebook policies. One hundred and ten University of Illinois students have joined this group.
Two students have posted inflammatory messages on the group’s web site. These messages are available to any web user who registers with Facebook, which includes most University of Illinois students and many other people across the campus community and across the national and world-wide network of Facebook users.
On November 20, 2006, a University of Illinois student posted the following explicitly racist words that call for the death of Indian people, which of course includes the Indian people who are members of the University of Illinois community: “what they don’t realize is that there was never a racist problem before..but now i hate redskins and hope all those drunk, casino owning bums die.” On December 2, 2006, another student wrote the following explicit threat, a call for violence directed at a specific University of Illinois student: “that’s the worst part! apparently the leader of this movement is of Sioux descent. Which means what, you ask? the Sioux indians are the ones that killed off the Illini indians, so she’s just trying to finish what her ancestors started. I say we throw a tomohawk into her face.”
No university can continue to function normally when its students explicitly and publicly threaten and call for violence against other students. Such a call would not be tolerated if it were made against another racial group. No university community or leadership can tolerate such actions. We, the American Indian Studies faculty and Native American House staff of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, call on the university community and leadership to condemn these actions publicly and vociferously.”
Quoted from the Chancellor’s mass mail:
To Members of the Campus Community:
It was brought to my attention earlier this week that threats of violence against an American Indian student, and hate speech directed at all American Indians, were posted on a pro-Chief Facebook website created by students at the University of Illinois. The idea that the debate over this issue could degenerate to personal attacks that threaten the physical safety and well-being of members of the campus community is something that all of us should find truly abhorrent.
The men and women who built the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign over the past 140 years have worked hard to create a place where ideas could be explored and discussed in a safe and welcoming environment. Actions such as those that were recommended on this Facebook site really are an attack on each member of our community, and that site has now been removed.
I do not know the motives of the students who posted the threats, but I do know that their words are dangerous and racist. The threats have been forwarded to the Office of Student Conflict Resolution for investigation and action. The Student Code guarantees that members of the campus community should be able to discuss issues and express views, but it does not allow speech that threatens to harm other members of the campus community.
As Chancellor, I can not and will not tolerate such violent threats. The University will take all legal and disciplinary actions available in response to the threatening messages.
But far less extreme actions and words can traumatize and frighten those targeted, as well. The right of free speech–no matter how thoughtless, rude or dumb–is a hallmark of the American system. Yet as future leaders and as citizens of our campus community and later as citizens of a nation and world, we must engage in a far deeper dialogue about how we are to agree to disagree. Vigorous debate is good and it is constitutionally protected–but debate should be based on ideas, not empty-headed slurs or vicious threats.
To all members of the campus community I ask that you think seriously about what you can do to help build a campus climate with zero tolerance for racism and hate. Everyone has a role. We should expect nothing less from ourselves. I invite each of you to join us at 4:00 p.m. February 1, 2007 in Foellinger Auditorium for a forum on creating a more welcoming campus environment.
Together, we must find ways to implement our shared values of respect and dignity.
Thank you.
Richard Herman
Chancellor
