Diversity

A fraternity member at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln is facing expulsion from Delta Tau Delta and a college investigation after he marched around campus in camouflage waving a Confederate flag, the Lincoln Journal Star reports.

A university employee took a video of the incident after she was disturbed to see the fraternity parade past her office. The march was apparently an effort to raise money for military veterans. A screen shot from that video published by the Journal Star shows two men leading a group of at least 20 people. Another person in the march is waving an American flag, and several appear to be wearing camo.

A chapter spokesman told the Journal Star that the Confederate flag was destroyed and that the march lasted less than five minutes.The spokesman expects that student to be expelled from Delta Tau Delta. The university's judicial affairs department is investigating, as is the national office of Delta Tau Delta.

The University of California at San Diego has agreed to institute new procedures to prevent racial harassment and to investigate allegations of such harassment, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported. The moves settled investigations by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education. The inquiries started after several racial incidents, including a "Compton cookout," an off-campus party that mocked Black History Month by having students dress in the stereotypical attire of poor black people.

Officials at Thompson Rivers University, in Canada, are apologizing for the actions of a staff member who tore down a student's photograph (part of a student exhibition) showing a woman in Islamic dress and holding a bra, CBC News reported. The woman in the photograph has her face and body covered, and is holding and looking at a bra. Saudi officials have criticized the photograph. A statement from Thompson Rivers said that "the university is committed to honoring artistic expression and on a campus with many international stakeholders it is important that we balance cultural sensitivity with freedom of speech, and we value the conversations that this piece of art and all our others inspire."

Some alumni of Gonzaga University have organized a petition drive to ask the institution to rescind its invitation to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Anglican cleric who was a leader in the fight to defeat apartheid, saying that his views are inconsistent with Gonzaga's Roman Catholic teachings. Hundreds of alumni have signed the petition that notes Archbishop Tutu's support in South Africa for legal abortion and gay marriage rights. "There are gifted and accomplished leaders from many fields who would be far more appropriate choices to receive such an honor from Gonzaga University. Instead Gonzaga has chosen prestige over principles and popularity over morality," the petition says. The university has not formally responded to the petition drive. When Gonzaga announced its selection of commencement speaker, the press release called Archbishop Tutu "an inspirational voice for justice, peace, truth and reconciliation throughout his ministry."

The student newspaper in the last week has run columns endorsing and criticizing the choice of speaker. "Tutu's public support for abortion, homosexual 'marriage' and contraception clearly identify him as a person who should receive no awards, honors or platforms from a Catholic institution," said one letter. But another wrote to say that many of the Catholic students at Gonzaga in fact share Archbishop Tutu's views, and that the university shouldn't reject graduation speakers who differ with church leaders. "It is especially the beauty of a Jesuit university such as this, encouraging healthy and intelligent discussions, not discrediting someone because we disagree. Last time I checked, disagreeing with Church doctrine didn’t mean you couldn’t participate, unless, of course, the Inquisition is still flourishing," said the author of that letter.

A drag show planned for tonight at the University of San Diego has prompted debate at the Roman Catholic institution. Alumni who are angry about the drag show have created a website called Alumni for a Catholic USD protesting "the promotion of values that are directly contrary to our Catholic faith and traditions." Some are threatening to stop donating to the university. Thousands have signed a petition against the event. Mary Lyons, the president of the university, has defended the right of campus groups to put on the show. And now a new alumni group has been formed to support the university's leaders for not barring the drag show. A USD for Everyone's website says: "Many of us are alums who have worked together at USD to ensure that our alma mater was an inclusive community. Our jobs didn’t end as students. As alums, we have the responsibility to ensure USD remains a place for everyone."

Excelencia in Education on Tuesday released data showing Latino college completion rates, by state. "The state-level data on Latino college completion show that today’s investment, or lack thereof, in Latino academic preparation and degree attainment can have a compounding effect on state populations, economies, and communities in the near future,” said Deborah Santiago, the organization's co-founder and vice president for policy and research.

Gay students and gay issues have become unusually visible at Brigham Young University, an institutions that bars students from sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that gay students last week released a video in the "It Gets Better" series talking about being gay at the university. Also last week, estimates are that up to 600 students attended a meeting in a room with seating for 260 to hear four students talk about balancing their gay identities with life at the university, which is affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "We’re trying to live it and create new spaces for us to be gay and Mormon and be active in the church," said Adam White, who was on the the panel and appeared in the YouTube video. The university says that gay students do not face punishments from the university as long as they don't have physical intimacy with members of the same sex.

The North Dakota Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to block a statewide referendum in June on whether the University of North Dakota should maintain its "Fighting Sioux" nickname, The Grand Forks Herald reported. The name has offended many Native Americans for years (though others have endorsed it and many of the university's athletic fans are passionate about it). The National Collegiate Athletic Association has imposed sanctions on colleges with such names and that has led the university's leaders, with some reluctance, to agree to change the name. But state lawmakers intervened with a law blocking a name change, and when they reversed themselves, an item was placed on the June ballot to preserve the name.

Robert Kelley, president of the University of North Dakota, issued a statement after the Supreme Court announced that it would not block a state vote. "Now that the North Dakota Supreme Court has made its decision, it is important that the voters of North Dakota become fully educated about the potential ramifications of their vote on this issue in June," he said. "[I]f the referendum is passed in June, the University of North Dakota will remain under NCAA sanctions and that this will have a damaging effect on UND’s athletics teams, and will compromise recruitment, scheduling and UND’s relationship with other collegiate athletics programs.