Correction appended.
ST. LOUIS – After six black classmates were denied entry to a Chicago bar during a senior class trip earlier this month, their fellow students decided to take action.
About 400 Washington University in St. Louis students held a town hall meeting to discuss actions they will take in coordination with students from Northwestern and other universities against the business in question, as well as the problem of racism as a whole.
As part of their traditional senior class trip, about 200 Wash U students went to Chicago earlier this month. Upon trying to enter Mother’s Night Club Original, 26 W. Division St., six black students were turned away at the door due to the club’s “baggy jeans” policy, which prohibits those wearing baggy jeans from entering.
After the meeting, Senior Class President Fernando Cutz, a Wash U senior, who facilitated the town hall, described how students determined racism was a factor.
“I was telling the manager that these gentlemen were better dressed than I was,” Cutz said. “I suggested to the manager that these six go back to the hotel, change, forget this whole thing happened and still the manager said, ‘No, I’ve made my decision for the night.'”
Cutz said a white student then traded pants with one of the six black students and was let into the club without questioning.
Since the incident on Oct. 17, Cutz and other representatives from student government have reached out to students at surrounding universities, including NU. Cutz said he recently received a letter of support from the NU student body and thanked NU for its backing.
NU Associated Student Government President Mike McGee said the senate is working on a resolution to support the Wash U students who were racially discriminated against at Mother’s Night Club Original.
The forum began with a montage of the video news coverage of the students’ story, followed by introductions from each of the students that was barred from the nightclub.Students heard from a representative from The Anti-Defamation League about possible plans of action, then took part in an open discussion to share ideas of their own. One of the most popular ideas was a protest in Chicago involving students from Wash U, NU andother nearby universities.
Jason Singer, a Wash U senior, suggested reaching out to schools near and far.
“Being at Wash U, I’ve talked in small groups about racism before, but never in a group this large,” Singer said. “We can go and send someone to other campuses … Go to Northwestern, go to the west coast.”
Other ideas included seeking apologies, refunds from Mother’s Night Club Original, as well as altering employee training at the night club.
Many of the students said they wanted to make sure the incident is not treated as an isolated one, but rather an opportunity to create an open dialogue about racism.
Hassan Moore, a Wash U senior, said self-segregation on campus is as pressing an issue as any instance of racism in the wider world.
“Maybe we need to look in the mirror and think about what we perpetuate before we go to condemn someone else for what they’ve done,” Moore said.
Elgin, Ill., native Leah Rogers, a Wash U senior, said she attended the meeting in part because of the racial profiling she has experienced in the Chicago area.
“If you don’t take a stand on stuff like this, it keeps happening,” Rogers said. “Members of my family have been profiled or pulled over. It’s not new.”
