Education

Black Students Demand University Evict Students From Frat House And Turn It Over To Them

Shutterstock/Katia Fonti

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Rob Shimshock Education Reporter
Font Size:

Black students at Cornell University demanded that the school evict students from a fraternity house and turn it over to them in a September document sent to administrators.

The student activists also want mandatory identity coursework for students and professors, according to The Cornell Daily Sun. The demands come the same month that Cornell closed its Psi Upsilon frat indefinitely for an incident in which a student believed to be a member of the frat assaulted a black student and called him the n-word.

“We demand that the Chi Chapter of Psi Upsilon Fraternity, Inc. at Cornell University is permanently banned from campus, in addition to their letters being taken off of the fraternity house,” student group Black Students United said in its demands. “We also demand that all students involved in this heinous hate crime be expelled from this university immediately.”

Cornell previously revoked its recognition of the fraternity in May 2016, asserting that it had violated a suspension by hosting a party. Former Psi Upsilon president, Wolfgang Ballinger, also pled guilty to forcible touching in 2017.

“We demand that the university to provide [sic] an adequate and appropriate space for the people of the African diaspora to utilize for programs of any kind, in perpetuity,” Black Students United writes. “We propose that this space be the Psi Upsilon house after they are expelled from campus.”

The student group does not distinguish between Psi Upsilon members accused of crimes and those that have not participated in any crimes.

Black Students United also demands that Cornell hire two psychologists and psychiatrists of color by 2019, as well as create an Anti-Racism Institute to educate the Cornell community about “the horrors of white supremacy.”

BLACK LIVES MATTER PHILADELPHIA BANS NON-AFRICAN-AMERICANS FROM PARTICIPATION:

“In our investigation of the events of [the day of the assault], we found that no initiated members of Psi Upsilon were involved,” Thomas Fox, executive director of the national Psi Upsilon chapter, said in a statement sent to The Daily Caller News Foundation. “However, we found some members of the suspended chapter were continuing to recruit, which is unacceptable. The chapter was originally planning to petition for reinstatement with Cornell this fall, but we feel it is best to wait to restart after all initiated members who are current students have graduated.”

TheDCNF reached out to Cornell University for comment, but received none in time for publication.

Follow Rob Shimshock on Twitter

Connect with Rob Shimshock on Facebook

Send tips to rob@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.