CHICAGO
The University of Chicago is calling for campus race relations discussions after a dorm party with a “straight thuggin’” theme offended many on campus and in the surrounding South Side community, the university said.
Fewer than 20 students attended the hour-long party Oct. 14 in a four-student suite. They wore gold chains and sideways baseball caps, talked and sat around listening to rap music.
University officials said the party “parodied racial stereotypes” and fear the incident will further isolate Black students on campus and undermine progress the school has made in reaching out to minority populations surrounding the campus.
About 4 percent of the university’s 4,667 undergraduate students are Black. None of the students who attended the party were Black.
“The issues at stake … are larger than this one distressing episode and raise questions about the campus climate for minority students, faculty, and staff,” university officials, including President Don Randel, wrote in a letter e-mailed to students last week.
The “straight thuggin”’ party was the second in a series of themed parties held at the May House, a section of the Max Palevsky dorm. The May House previously had held a 90s theme party. A third party with an 80s theme never was held, said freshman Natasha Hodnett, one of the students who attended the party.
