An off-campus co-op for students at the University of California, Berkeley, called the “Person of Color Theme House,” has banned white guests from the house’s common areas.
A list of house rules revealed that residents were told that “many POCs have moved here to avoid white violence and presence, so please respect their decision to avoid if you are bringing white guests.”
While the fraternity is committed to an “inclusive” environment, the rules specifically state “white guests are not allowed in common areas,” according to the list posted to Reddit.
Located close to the Berkeley campus, the property is a five-story, 30-room home that can accommodate up to 56 students. The house is owned by a private landlord.
But the ‘rules’ leaked on social media have sparked outrage – with many people labeling the restrictions as ‘racist’ while others came forward and revealed their experience of co-op life.
A mixed-race Reddit user, who claimed to have lived in the house, said their “presence as a light-skinned person was not well received.”
They said roommates called them slander and that they couldn’t even “let my dad in because he’s white.”
A photo posted to Reddit shows the incendiary rules, including ‘White guests are not allowed in common areas’
The house rules state that white guests are not allowed in common areas
Another rule states that guests must be announced if they are in the common areas and if they are white
The common living room in the off-campus ‘Person of Color Theme House’ co-op
A student is seen in another common room, the kitchen, of the cooperative where whites are also banned
During a tour, white students are seen in the kitchen of the cooperative
Person of Color Theme House was founded in 2015 to better serve and empower students of color within the Berkeley Student Cooperative system
The house was created as part of the Berkeley Student Cooperative, a program designed to provide affordable housing to students in the Bay area of California, and “aims to provide housing for low-income, first-generation, immigrant and marginalized people.” colored students.’
According to the ‘rules’, people living there must ‘avoid bringing parents/relatives who express bigotry’ because ‘queer, black and indigenous members should not avoid the common areas because of homophobic or racist parents/relatives. ‘
Janet Gilmore, Senior Director of Strategic Communications at the university, told DailyMail.com that the house is “not operated on campus,” meaning “it is not the role of the campus to comment.”
Gilmore also said the university has its own themed programs, but they have “no policies as claimed in the Reddit image,” stating, “Cal Housing Theme programs do not discriminate on the basis of race, consistent with UC and campus policy.’
‘Since it concerns an off-campus non-affiliated landlord, the campus has no option under the Student Code of Conduct to punish the landlord.’
A description of the house on the Berkeley Student Cooperative’s website says it can accommodate 56 residents and “exists to create a safe and welcoming space for the members of the house.”
Since the house is owned by a private landlord who is not affiliated with the university, they have said in the past that they are not required to comment on what is happening there
According to BSC’s anti-discrimination policy, “actions that discriminate against members of the BSC community are prohibited” based on characteristics such as age, gender and sexual orientation.
Stephen Ross, cooperative experience manager for the Berkeley Student Cooperative, told The Fix that the house rules are not “official policies.”
“White people can and will live in POC House, but the focus of POC House is on providing a safe and supportive living environment for people of color,” says Ross.
But Ross also said the Person of Color Theme House has its “own culture and practices” and that the focus of the house is to “provide a safe and supportive living environment for people of color.”
He said members of the house are deliberately striving “not to put whiteness at the center of the experience of members living in the house,” as some members have been traumatized by the “white violence” mentioned in the rules.
Ross defines this as negatively influenced by things like “racist and discriminatory comments from former President Trump” and “daily experiences of covert and overt racism.”
He added that he hopes the house can provide members with a “safe space” where they can “process their experiences and feel supported.”
Homes in the Berkeley Student Cooperative are run by private landlords, which means the university often feels they don’t have to comment on what they do.
This comes just weeks after public schools and a Minnesota teachers’ union agreed to fire white teachers in the education system for those of color.
The deal was struck between Minneapolis Public Schools and the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers union after a two-week strike led by union president Greta Callahan last spring.
It states that instead of seniority decisions – as usual – schools can ignore that protocol and fire senior staff members if a colored teacher would otherwise be fired.
Former Republican nominee Kendall Qualls called the deal “repugnant” and characterized it as “un-American.”
“It’s just repulsive,” said Qualls, who is black.
“If you think about the discrimination we faced in this country in the 1950s and 1960s, it was wrong then. It’s wrong now, no matter who the victim is, it’s wrong. And we as a country should not stand for that.’
Many have called the deal unconstitutional and accused it of tackling past racism with more racism.