Official Grievance Against the College Republicans at the College of Saint Catherine

We, the under-signed students, staff and faculty at the College of St Catherine, are joined in filing an Official Code of Conduct Grievance against the College Republicans, a partially charted student organization. The grievance stems from College Republicans sponsorship of Anti-Affirmative Action Bake Sale in the Coeur de Catherine on Tuesday April 24, 2007. While we acknowledge the official review underway by the Office of Student Affairs, we would like to add our input to this active and ongoing process.

In addition to inaccurate representations of affirmative action, the bake sale – “Affirmative Action is A Negative Reaction: Only Racists See Race” – promoted racist representation in writing, cartoons and the symbolic prices of baked goods.

We contend that this event was rooted in “uncivil discourse”, inflammatory images and racist stereotypes, and as such contributes to a hostile climate.

We are requesting immediate revocation of this group’s charter based on the following Code of Conduct violations:

1) Violations of Community Expectations
“The College of St. Catherine has a proud history of providing an environment conducive to learning, living and working. This history includes a commitment to the core values of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, founders and sponsors of the college. These values include social justice, hospitality, care for the dear neighbor as well as a commitment to shared standards of behavior for all community members. Foundational expectations for student interaction at the College of St. Catherine include:
2. The College of St. Catherine community celebrates and encourages the free exchange of ideas and opinions. For exchange to occur, there must be continuous acceptance of freedom of expression and civility in disagreement; and
3. Students are expected to be responsible members of the College of St. Catherine community and the larger society, and to honor and respect differences in culture and religion.”

2) "A" Level Offense
“5. Discrimination defined as intentionally treating a person unequally on the basis of race, age, sex, creed, religion, national origin, disability or sexual orientation.”

3) "B" Level Offense
“1. Conduct, on or off campus, that is detrimental to the good of the college or which discredits the college, or which adversely and seriously affects the student's suitability as a member of the academic or residential community”.