ASU Code of Conduct Letter

Internal letter requesting that the University Administration revoke
Code of Conduct violation charges against BIPOC femme students

involved in verbal argument over use of ASU Tempe's Multicultural
Community of Excellence Center
We, the undersigned, oppose the disciplinary actions brought forth by Arizona State University
against students , , and . We call upon Michael
Crow and his administration to live up to their commitments to “do better”, as President Crow
stated on September 2, 2020:
“What I want to firmly communicate to you today is that we will work harder, invest more,
and do more to ensure that Black students, faculty and staff — and other
underrepresented groups and individuals — are provided an educational, work and living
environment that is welcoming, supportive and empowering to their success, creativity
and ability to achieve their personal, educational and professional goals all for the
betterment of this university and our nation.”
, , and are three of the students responsible for one

action in President Crow’s 25-point LIFT Initiative, created in response to the murder of George
Floyd by police on May 25, 2020, and amidst the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests:
“Establish a multicultural space on campus and fund a working group to assess and begin
design options for this space.” Furthermore, and were appointed by
President Crow to ASU’s African American Advisory Council at ASU, an honor bestowed upon
only six students across the University.
ASU established a Multicultural Community of Excellence space in room 321 in the Student
Pavilion; however, the University did not provide any posted signage to communicate the
context or appropriate use of this space, nor any staff to protect the space, as they had
promised to do by the end of Spring 2021.
On September 23rd, 2021, two white men, both students, entered and took seats in the space,
displaying a Police Lives Matter sticker, a Chik-fil-A cup, and a shirt with the slogan “Did not
vote for Biden.” This display of symbols linked to systemic racism and discrimination in America
can only be seen as provocative microaggressions when perpetrated by members of a
privileged majority in a space meant to provide security and safety for members of marginalized
groups. Feeling provoked and uncomfortable, and contacted ASU
administration for support, but after 20-30 minutes of waiting for support to arrive, and
engaged with the two white students, attempting to explain why these symbols were a
provocation against the core values of the space, and recording the incident on a cell phone to
show the ASU administration.
The video has now gone viral, picked up largely by media framing the story as Black students
ejecting white students out of a common study space. However, there is more context missing
from these reports; for instance, see this State Press article for a more accurate understanding
of the timeline of the incident. In response, ASU has held , , and in
violation of the following sections of the Student Code of Conduct:
• 5-308 F-11 "Interfering with or disrupting university or university-sponsored activities,
including but not limited to classroom related activities, studying, teaching, research,
intellectual or creative endeavor, administration, service or the provision of
communication, computing or emergency services".
• 5-308 F-20 “Stalking or engaging in repeated or significant behavior toward another
individual, whether in person, in writing, or through electronic means, after having been
asked to stop, or doing so to such a degree that a reasonable person, subject to such
contact, would regard the contact as unwanted.”
To claim that the BIPoC students disrupted a university-sponsored activity ignores who the
multicultural space is intended to support. As the ASU website states, the Multicultural
Community of Excellence spaces are present on all campuses “to provide a sense of place and
support for students of color. Additionally, they celebrate, enhance, enrich and elevate the
identities of all historically underrepresented students.”
One of the cited students received an additional charge from the Dean of Students for violating
the Student Code of Conduct 5-308 F-26: “Commission of any offense prohibited by state or
federal law or local ordinance,” in relation to charges for participating in a protest in Phoenix, in
October 2020. Even though the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office dropped these charges, ASU
Police reported the student to the administration, which can be perceived as retaliation for the
student’s involvement in the protests last year. We demand that the university bring
transparency to this situation, given the moral bankruptcy of the Phoenix Police Department,
which is currently under investigation by the US Justice Department “to determine whether [the
Phoenix Police Department] engages in retaliatory activity against people for conduct protected
by the First Amendment.”
The three students who were cited continue to suffer additional trauma, having received
thousands violent misogynistic and racist comments, including specific threats of death and
rape; one was also “doxxed” when their private contact information was released on the
internet. We consider it shameful and cruel that instead of protecting students who are clearly
vulnerable and being targeted, the university is siding with white nationalist media and
downplaying the incident as an isolated disagreement between students. As far as we are
aware, the two white students have received no disciplinary action, which sends a clear
message to historically underrepresented students on campus that the Multicultural Center of
Excellence is not a safe space, and underscores their vulnerability on campus.
To be clear, this is a moment when colorblind language and emphasis on equivalence actually
fosters systemic inequality by targeting and disciplining BIPOC students. We see these
accusations as not only unfair but also as embodying the systemic racism that needs to be
overcome in our pursuit of the fair treatment and inclusion of students, as expressed and upheld
by President Crow’s LIFT initiative and as legally supported by Title IV policies. The incident
could likely have been avoided if the University administration had been more diligent and
forthright in following through on their plans to staff and prepare the space appropriately, as
requested by student leaders in planning meetings.
We therefore request, with respect and indignation, that the Code of Conduct
violations against the three students be revoked immediately. We further request that the
university’s leadership work on an accelerated timeline with the Multicultural Solidarity Coalition
to outline programming and governance of all of the Multicultural Community of Excellence
spaces to anticipate and avoid incidents such as the one that occurred in September.

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Internal letter requesting that the University Administration revoke

Code of Conduct violation charges against BIPOC femme students

, , and are three of the students responsible for one

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