Vandal Spray-Painted 'F*** Racism' At Site Of Controversial Frat House Cinco De Mayo Party

By Emma G. Gallegos in News on May 19, 2017 4:50PM

The FIJI frat house at the University of Chicago (Photo courtesy of Richard Oyeniran‎)

A University of Chicago house where a fraternity held a controversial party on Cinco De Mayo was vandalized early Wednesday morning.

The Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) fraternity house was spray-painted with the phrase "F*** Racism," according to student newspaper The Chicago Maroon. By Wednesday afternoon the Department of Streets and Sanitation had cleaned up the spray paint.

Robert Tamillow, corporation president of the fraternity, told Chicagoist that the house was vandalized at 4:49 a.m. in an act caught on video but the perpetrator was masked. They are cooperating with police in their investigation.

The vandalism comes in the wake of criticism aimed at the fraternity, which hosted a party on Cinco De Mayo. According to The Chicago Maroon, the theme was "FIJI Presents: Get Hammered," and it was inspired by the fact that the frat house has been under construction. One fraternity brother posted on the event page, "What's the mustache policy for tonight? Asking for an amigo."

On May 4, multicultural campus groups warned students not to perpetuate racist stereotypes on the holiday.

Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán (MEChA) said that they personally reached out to FIJI, asking them to change the theme of the party. The theme was changed last-minute and the date of the party was changed to midnight May 6 so as to avoid the Cinco De Mayo connection. However, students were spotted dressed in construction gear, including hard hats and construction vests, on the night of the party.

MECha released a statement expressing their disappointment in the "racially insensitive" party, co-signed by Organization of Latin American Students (OLAS), the Organization of Black Students (OBS), the African Caribbean Students Association (ACSA), the Muslim Students Association (MSA), and the PanAsia Solidarity Coalition (PanAsia). They wrote:

The chapter went against their word, and broke their stated values of "morality" and "leadership," and completely disregarded the concern expressed by MEChA de UChicagost and various other individuals and cultural groups on campus. For these reasons, MEChA believes the fraternity followed through with their plans of a construction-themed party to demonstrate their privilege and authority by blatantly disregarding the concerns of marginalized groups without facing disciplinary actions. Moreover, this event was an attack on the mental and emotional well-being of marginalized students on campus.

In response, the fraternity released a statement to The Maroon saying that the event was never described as a Cinco De Mayo party, and there were no Mexican-themed decorations. The member who connected the theme to Cinco De Mayo been suspended and their post was taken down. FIJI president Clyde Anderson told the Maroon that the fraternity was apologizing on behalf of members who showed up in construction gear despite the party's theme being changed:

"We would like to express our sincerest apologies to any individual who may have felt discriminated against by the event. We should have been more proactive in preventing any sort of perceived discrimination to be involved in our event. Our intent was only to host an event in celebration of the (near) completion of the lengthy construction process of our house, which is still ongoing. The intent was entirely positive, and in no way meant to belittle any people group. Still, unintended consequences are consequences."

The group told DNAinfo that they do not believe a member of their group committed the vandalism and that they did not condone it. They added that "this incident highlights the racial tensions prevalent on our school campus." MEChA told Chicagoist they were holding a rally at the administration building this morning, asking the University of Chicago to take action on issues of racism on campus.

This post has been updated to include a comment from the fraternity's corporation president.