College Democrats Leadership Board Resigns After Racism Accusation

Protestors carry placards during a demonstration called by the Rhodes Must Fall campaign c
ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images

The leadership board of the national College Democrats organization resigned under pressure last week after one student claimed that he experienced discrimination during his tenure on the executive board. The accuser, the board’s only black member, will now take over as the organization’s interim president.

According to a report by the New York Times, nearly the entire executive board of the College Democrats organization was forced to resign last week after one of its members claimed that they had discriminated against him. The accuser, Matthew Nowling, plans to take over as the organization’s interim president.

Nowling, the board’s only black member, claimed that other leaders of the board discriminated against him by accusing him of being lazy and incompetent. Nowling also claimed that other board members regularly ignored his suggestions.

Student leaders from around the country defended Nowling. Michael Cerulli, president of the Connecticut College Democrats, argued in favor of the leadership change.

“We have a choice to make about what type of organization we want to be moving forward,” Cerulli. “Are we going to be an organization that is intentionally inclusive, or are we going to be an organization that sticks to the old ways of doing things?”

Mikaela Guido, the former president of the College Democrats organization, claimed in a statement that Nowling was using accusations of racism as a cover for personal disagreements.

“What I do not stand for is being labeled a racist or complacent in racism,” Guido wrote in a statement. “The gross mischaracterization that I contributed to this environment is unequivocally false. Moreover, these unsubstantiated claims of racism towards me have an appearance of being used as a front for personal disagreements, which is morally reprehensible.”

Breitbart News reported in June that a recent survey had revealed that 94 percent of college-aged Democrats want to defund American police forces.  Only 13 percent of Republican respondents to the same survey agreed.

Stay tuned to Breitbart News for more updates on this story

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.