DePaul U. Black Student Union Demands Segregated ‘Safe Spaces’

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - JUNE 03: Protesters participate in a demonstration in solidarity with
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Students at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, are demanding segregated “safe spaces” for black students “on and off campus.”

The Black Student Union at DePaul University is demanding special accommodations for black students in the wake of the Capitol Hill riot, which they refer to as a “display of white power.” The demands include new programs and racially segregated “safe spaces” both on and off-campus.

“The disgusting display of white power, not to be confused with white privilege, is something we should all fear, though we know that situations and tensions in this country will always negatively affect black people, but not so much white people,” began the students in their statement.

“While the attempted coup was a scary act of white power, the end of Spring Quarter 2019-2020 and the following months after that were horrifying for black students on campus,” the statement continued.

“We were scared for our lives, we saw our friends get beaten and arrested, if not worse, and DePaul’s delayed response in contrast to the quickness in which they’ve replied to this week’s events is just another indicator of how little DePaul cares for their black students,” added the students, referring to previous social justice protests.

“It took petitions and a campus-wide movement for DePaul to address the protests, where in that statement they wrote the late Eric Gardner’s name as ‘Eric Ferguson,'” the statement continued. “When we felt threatened by DePaul’s deal with the FOP, they tokenized a Latinx police officer as a means to silence us and show us that they’d made their decision — money is worth more than the black and brown students at DePaul.”

The Student Union went on to complain that the university only let students forego their final exams last year after white students joined black students in an effort to get them canceled.

“When in Spring Quarter of the last academic year black students asked for some kind of relief from one of our great stressors, final exams, it took the co-opting of white students (who, some, did so for their own benefit, going as far as calling it ‘the awesome perks of Spring Quarter’) and immense pressure from the student body for DePaul to allow a loosely worded policy,” the students said.

“Even then, most black students still had finals since certain professors ignored this rule,” they added.

“No black student expects it to be easy to attend a Predominantly White Institution, but blatant disrespect will not be tolerated,” the Student Union affirmed. “We demand answers.”

From there, the students went on to list their demands, which included “more black therapists,” university-funded “healing and safe spaces for black students on and off campus,” diversity and inclusion training “led by black and brown people,” and “respect from the administration,” among other things.

“It is imperative that spaces for black students on campus continue to receive the necessary funding and recognition as they provide safe and healing components through the presence of other students, faculty, and staff who look like us,” said the students of their demand for “safe spaces.”

DePaul University did not immediately respond to Breitbart News’ request for comment on whether the school plans to meet the students’ demands for racially segregated “safe spaces” on and off-campus.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.

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