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The Definition
of "La Raza"
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....Update:
Phi Sigma Pi Suspends Members & Mandates Diversity Classes
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May 10, 2007
Dear Campus Alliance de La Raza, University
of Delaware, and Community Members,
Phi Sigma Pi has carried through with disciplinary
action against the members accused of racist acts. These individuals
have been suspended from the organization for the duration of one year,
with the added saction that they attend diversity classes.
We do not tolerate bigotry or discimination
in any form and stand firmly behind our convictions for diversity and freedom
from prejudice.
Thank You,
Emily Hueber
2007/2008 President: Phi Sigma Pi
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May 9, 2007
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=5286453
http://cbs3.com/video/?id=39573@kyw.dayport.com
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=3165517&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1
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May 8, 2007
As many of you know, on May 5, 2007, a handful
of students from the University of Delaware organized a racially themed
“South of the Border” party.
Pictures of the party were posted online and
immediately created an outcry from thousands of people across the nation.
La Raza, Phi Sigma Pi and a never-ending list
of other university and community based organizations condemned this type
of behavior.
The offending students have offered deep and
sincere public apologies, and their organization has pledged to take corrective
action against them.
In an effort to begin the healing process,
La Raza and Phi Sigma Pi jointly announced a Town Hall forum, to take place
tomorrow (May 9) at 8:00pm in the George Read Town Hall.
This forum will serve as an informal and interactive
opportunity to engage each other on the deeper issues surrounding the events
from a few days ago. As a community, we need to embrace those who
offended us, and come together to ensure that something like this never
happens again.
The Executive Boards of La Raza and Phi Sigma
Pi, along with the dozens of supporting on campus organizations, hope that
you will be able to join us in this discussion. Please feel free
to forward this notice to all those who may be interested in attending.
Hopefully I’ll see you all tomorrow evening.
**PLEASE NOTE**
In an effort to begin the healing process,
La Raza is taking down the names and blurring the faces of the individuals
involved.
Sincerely,
Jissell Martinez
President: The Campus Alliance de La Raza
May 7, 2007
Racism is alive and well at the University of
Delaware, recently illustrated by members of the UD Chapter of Phi Sigma
Pi national co-ed honor fraternity.
The Campus Alliance de La Raza identified the
members of Phi Sigma Pi as recent participants of a “South
of the Border” party that took place
on the 5th of May (Pictures Below).
On Monday, May 7, 2007, La Raza engaged in a public
awareness campaign, encouraging its community allies and students at all
La Raza chapters to take action. Within hours, it was clear that
our campaign was a huge success.
We immediately began an open dialogue with the
local and national chapters of Phi Sigma Pi in an effort to encourage them
to take corrective action. They issued statements, declaring that
the conduct of its few members was not an accurate representation of the
organization as a whole. They condemned such behavior and offered
to work with us in the future to promote cultural sensitivity. Their
statements are provided below.
Although the local and national chapters have
made it clear that they do not support the conduct of their members, it
is important that they take corrective
action.
More than lip service is required. We demand
that the local and national chapters back up their words with action.
Failure to do so will serve as an unfortunate yet public declaration that
these organizations indirectly support this type of behavior.
Additionally, the
CALR and its supporters thank the University of Delaware for responding
so swiftly, but we insist that these
students be processed through the Office of Judicial Affairs if any university
policies have been violated.
Racism must not be tolerated - especially at our
institutions of higher education.
Please note that the CALR invites the offending
members of Phi Sigma Pi to send letters of apology addressed to the entire
UD community. Letters may be sent to TheCALR@hotmail.com, and if
received, they will be posted here.
More updates will be posted as they become available.
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.All inquiries and letters of support
should be forwarded to TheCALR@hotmail.com.
Thank you in advance!
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Thanks to our allies at the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for bringing these racist
acts to our attention.
Es La Verdad – En La Union Esta La Fuerza!
It is true – In Unity is Strength!
~The CALR Executive Board
Dear Campus Alliance de La Raza and the University
of Delaware Community,
I apologize for the offense and hurt that my
actions, at Friday's party, have caused. In no way were these outfits,
or these pictures meant to offend anyone. I did not fully understand, at
the time these pictures were taken, how harmful the idea of dressing in
this way could be to a community. I also did not understand what this world
truly meant and it makes me extremely upset to think that anyone who does
or does not know me believes that I am racist. My entire life I have wokred
to uphold the idea that all people are equal. My use of malicious language
or stereotypes does not reflect my personal views or beliefs and was a
complete and utter serious misjudgment. When confronted by acts of racism
in the past I have always stood up for openness and acceptance, which is
why I am so disappointed in myself today. I strongly believe in the cause
that the Campus Alliance de La Raza stands for and wish whole heartedly
that I could take back my actions. I am more than willing to speak with
representatives from this or any other concerned organization on campus.
I accept full responsibility for my serious mistake and will do whatever
I can to right this incredible wrong.
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Dear Campus Alliance de La Raza and the University
of Delaware Community,
I want to express my sincerest apologies to
the members of CALR, the Hispaniccommunity as a whole, and those from the
entire University of Delaware community who may have been offended by my
actions. I am terribly sorry for what I have done. What was written on
my shirt in no way reflects my personal views or the views of the members
of Phi Sigma Pi.
I want to make it clear that my actions were
not executed with any malicious intent. The use of the phrase was intended
to be light-hearted and funny. Never did I wish to degrade the Hispanic
community, and at the time, I did not expect that it would be taken so
offensively. In this, I made a serious error in judgment. I
am aware of the grave mistake I made; it was wrong, hurtful, and
offensive for me to do what I did. I regret
what I did and I am sorry for the pain and disrespect I caused. I acknowledge
my mistake and take full responsibility for my actions. This error in judgment
will never happen again.
I will use the recent events as an opportunity
to learn from my mistakes. I hope to work with CALR and other groups
on campus in the future to promote awareness and to educate others.
I am disappointed in myself and acknowledge how wrong I was to do what
I did. I am deeply and truly sorry for my hurtful, offensive, and
disrespectful actions.
Dear Campus Alliance de La Raza,
My name is *** and I am the person wearing
the red Mexico shirt displayed on your website. I am very sorry that these
pictures have caused you pain, and that my attire has reflected a racist
attitude in your eyes. I can assure you that I have always considered myself
an individual who openly accepted others, and I had no intention of causing
any damage with this attire. I would like to express to your organization
and the campus community, my deepest apologies for the pain and offense
that I have caused anyone. To make
amends, I would like to work with your organization
to grow and learn from these accusations. Again, I apologize from the bottom
of my heart for the damage that has been done.
Dear members of The Campus Alliance de La
Raza and the University of Delaware Community,
My name is *** and I am one of the individuals
accused of taking part in racist conduct last Friday night. To clarify,
I am wearing the green shirt with "Mexico" written on the front and "Full
of Tequila" written on the back. I cannot even begin to describe my feelings
of deep regret and embarrassment regarding my choice of outfit in celebration
of Cinco de Mayo. I apologize from the bottom of my heart to anyone who
was offended by what was written on my shirt. My intention behind wearing
this shirt was in no way malicious, but nonetheless I am disappointed in
myself for offending so many people. I can assure everyone that these allegations
against me do not reflect my personal beliefs. My hope is that I can learn
from this experience and go on to bridge the racial divide within the UD
community and aid The Campus Alliance de La Raza and other organizations
alike in their fight against prejudice and racial inequality.
Dear Campus Alliance de La Raza and
the University of Delaware Community,
My name is **** and I am e-mailing you tonight
in reference to your website and the actions of Friday night.
I am the person in the white shirt with "Mexico" on the front and "Spicy"
on the back. Please understand that in no way was it my intention
to be offensive to you or anyone else in anyway. At the time I did
not believe my shirt conveyed racist ideals, however, I in no way wished
to hurt anyone and because my shirt did, I am deeply sorry. I do
not condone any racist actions, or clothing worn at that party, or in any
other situation, and please believe that this shirt was not created with
the intention to offend. This being said, please understand that this event
was not a Phi Sigma Pi event. Many non-members of the organization
attended the event and this was not a sanctioned or condoned event by our
organization. Again I apologize for offending you or anyone else.
It was never my intention to do this type of damage.
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Dear Members of the Campus Alliance de La
Raza and the University of Delaware Community,
I am deeply sorry for what I did. I cannot
fully express to you in words the regret I am feeling right now for the
pain that I have caused. It was such a stupid thing for me to do. I am
not a person who thinks badly of other people. I am a person who is accepting
of all groups of people. But I did a really stupid thing. I did not mean
to hurt anyone by this. I made a terrible error in judgment. I dressed
in an offensive costume with a stupid and hurtful saying written on it,
and I feel awful knowing that this costume has hurt so many people. What
I did was wrong and insulting. But the person you see in these photos is
not representative of who I am, nor is it the type of person I want to
be. I would do anything to take my actions back.
To those I have hurt, I am so sorry from the
bottom of my heart for the pain I have caused you. Please know that the
insulting sentiments portrayed in the pictures are so contrary to how I
truly feel about the students on this campus and the minority population.
I am actively working to improve myself and
learn from this grave mistake. I am deeply sorry that I have done this.
Response from UD Chapter of Phi Sigma Pi
Dear Members of CALR,
My name is Brian Brady and I am the president
of Phi Sigma Pi National Co-Ed Honor Fraternity. I, as president,
and we as the Executive Committee are deeply concerned and offended by
the actions of a number of our organization's members and non-members (not
all of the people mentioned on the CALR website regarding this issue are
members of Phi Sigma Pi). Such conduct, you clearly agree, is unacceptable,
immature, and hurtful to others. I sympathize with your concern and
support you in your efforts to raise awareness about and take action against
racism, in this and other instances. However, I need to inform you
that this event was in no way sponsored or endorsed by Phi Sigma Pi. Phi
Sigma Pi is a co-ed (non-Greek) honor fraternity, classified by the university
as an honor society, founded on the principles of scholarship, leadership,
and fellowship. Embracing diversity, different peoples, different ideas,
and different cultures are among our highest of ideals. Sadly, a
number of our members apparently do no not share these ideals. Know
that action is being taken against them and we are taking this matter VERY
seriously.
We are concerned, however, that this unhappy
circumstance has been linked to Phi Sigma Pi as an organization.
The event in which these people were participants was not a part of our
organization, and neither does it reflect the majority of its members nor
its ideals. We are in contact with our national organization and
the University's administration in an attempt to sort out this issue and
take the appropriate course of action. In the meantime, we would
like to establish a dialogue between your organization and other
student groups, like CALR, in an attempt to illustrate that this reprehensible
behavior should not be taken as a reflection of our organization.
We are proud members of the campus community, are founded on the ideals
of knowledge and service, and plan and sponsor such events as the campus
wide Hope Bowl to benefit AIDS Delaware and Kick The Silence to raise awareness
and funding for victims of sexual assault and domestic abuse in our
local community.
... This event was in no way endorsed by or
representative of Phi Sigma Pi. While it certainly is an indecent
display of racism, it is an individual matter, not an organizational one.
I do not believe it is the fault of our organization but is the isolated
actions of a number of its members, whom we are now in contact with and
against whom action is being taken. I embrace your concern and would
like to help you in taking action over this matter and other instances
of racism; I know that Phi Sigma Pi, as an organization, and the vast majority
of its members are united with you in this cause and would enjoy working
with you now and in the future to correct attitudes, change minds, create
awareness and stop racism on our campus. I would appreciate hearing from
you as soon as possible, as these matters are best discussed in person.
Yours,
Brian Brady and the Executive Committee
Response from National Chapter of Phi Sigma
Pi
The National Office of Phi Sigma Pi National
Honor Fraternity has been notified of conduct and actions of some of its
members from our Alpha Eta Chapter at the University of Delaware. In accordance
with federal as well as state law, Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity
does not condone discriminatory conduct or behavior. Moreover, this conduct
is contrary to our mission, by which we strive to personify and encourage
three ideals: 1. The acquisition and dissemination of information and knowledge
through scholarship, 2. The application of professional skills and the
fostering of leadership qualities by promoting and advancing the welfare
of humanity, and 3. The fostering of non-discriminatory, fraternal fellowship
within Phi Sigma Pi's ranks. The National Office has received confirmation
by the Alpha Eta Chapter President Brian Brady that this event was neither
sponsored nor endorsed by the organization. The National Office is currently
investigating.
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Letter From UD President David Roselle
A Message for the University
May 8, 2007
To the University of Delaware community:
Educational institutions depend on the fair
and open exchange of ideas, and crucial to that exchange is respect for
others.
This week, much attention has been drawn to
a party attended by several students that celebrated racist stereotypes
of Latino/Latina culture. The full University response to this provocation
is not yet apparent, but clearly such actions are counter to the values
we endorse as a University, specifically the commitment to celebrate the
diversity of our culture. Please know that the University of Delaware will
evidence that ours must be a diverse and supportive community that provides
a safe and hospitable environment for all students, faculty and staff,
without regard to racial and ethnic background, religious beliefs or sexual
orientation.
I urge all members of the student body, faculty,
staff and professionals to join me in decrying insensitive and thoughtless
behavior that can cause hurt to others. We must work together to ensure
that everyone in our community feels the support that is crucial for them
to accomplish their educational and personal goals.
Sincerely,
David P. Roselle
President
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