Senior Regis Murayi speaks at a news conference Wednesday in the Danforth University Center. Murayi is one of the six black students alleging race discrimination at a Chicago bar. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

Senior class president Fernando Cutz and the six black students who allege they were racially discriminated against by the Original Mothers bar in Chicago said at a news conference Wednesday that they will not be pressing charges against the establishment.

Cutz announced at the conference, held in the Danforth University Center, that the students have reached an agreement with the bar, and Mothers will issue a public apology to the students. Managers at the bar will undergo diversity sensitivity and awareness training. The students are receiving free legal counsel from Covington and Burling LLP in their negotiations with Mothers.

Mothers will also hold four charity fundraisers, three at the bar in Chicago and one in St. Louis. The students will determine the recipient of the funds. Senior Regis Murayi, one of the six black students rejected from the bar, said the funds will likely go toward a social justice-related cause.

“As this whole incident is about raising the issue about race relations in the United States, we think it’s very important to contribute to a fund or even a scholarship or organization, something to that matter, that would do the best to promote raising these types of issues,” Murayi said.

Cutz also announced at the conference that Senior Class Council will be leading a “massive demonstration” in Chicago in late November that will include both University students and representatives from Mothers.

Cutz said that Student Union will likely fund bus transportation for students to go to the event.

The students stressed at the conference that they are not seeking compensation from the bar.

“Nothing in the plans had anything to do with us getting financial compensation,” said senior Chuka Chike-Obi, one of the six black students.

“This isn’t power, this isn’t about leverage, this isn’t about fighting, kicking and screaming. This is about really raising the issue about racial discrimination in America and really opening this issue moving forward,” Murayi said.

Cutz said he is pleased with Mothers’ response.

“Personally I’m satisfied with the way that things turned out,” Cutz said.

-With additional reporting by Dan Woznica

This is a Student Life breaking news update. Check back soon for more information.

The six black students who were allegedly denied entry to Mothers bar in Chicago due to their race. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

View a slideshow from the town hall event

Students expressed anger at the Original Mothers bar and demanded that the establishment issue an apology during a town hall forum Monday night.

“I’m flabbergasted that an apology hasn’t been given because the first step is admitting that you have a problem,” senior Jessica Strong said at the forum.

Almost 300 students showed up at the meeting, which was organized by the Association of Black Students, Connect 4 and the Senior Class Council.

The forum, held in Lab Sciences 300, was arranged to discuss an incident of alleged race discrimination by the Original Mothers bar in Chicago against six black male students on Oct. 17. Students have accused the bar of denying entry to the six because of their race.

Although the bar has not returned phone calls from Student Life, it released a statement saying it does not discriminate but will investigate the incident.

Students at the forum called for another student protest against the bar to follow up on the first one held by seniors in Chicago. Others demanded that the bar’s managers be fired or be given anti-discrimination training.

“We need to demand that they write an anti-discrimination policy, and they need to post it outside of their bar,” senior Nikki Spencer said at the forum.

Still other students suggested that the bar return the money that was spent there by seniors on the night of the incident.

“Our money is our vote,” senior Audrey King said. Another suggestion was made that Mothers should fund a scholarship for a University student.

The forum was intended to help the six black students and members of the Senior Class Council develop an official list of demands to give to the Original Mothers bar. The demands will be presented at a news conference held by the Senior Class Council at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in Danforth University Center room 276.

Summary of the town hall

All six students who were denied entry to the bar were in attendance at the forum.

Senior Class President Fernando Cutz announced at the beginning of the event that the incident and the University’s response to it have prompted national and international media attention. CNN ran a TV spot on the story Sunday night, and The New Zealand Herald covered the story Monday.

Cutz also addressed questions about why students at the bar had not staged a walk-out from the establishment on the night of the incident.

Cutz took full responsibility for this and cited concerns he had on the night of the incident that people “weren’t level-headed and that it could escalate the situation.”

“The Senior Class Council and the six students who were involved were the only ones outside when it happened,” Cutz said in an interview. “The majority of students, I don’t believe they should be blamed for that decision. It wasn’t their decision to make.”

Karen Aroeste, St. Louis regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, also spoke at the event.

Aroeste said University students have the potential to use the incident to make a significant positive change.

“You do have an opportunity to turn lemons into a seriously large pitcher of lemonade,” Aroeste said.

Students react to Mothers,University-wide response

After the event, students shared their personal reactions.

Alex Cooper said he was unsurprised when he first heard about the incident at Mothers.

“I think the things that happened at Mothers bar were ridiculous but not too surprising just knowing how America is,” Cooper said.

Brandon Wilson, a sophomore and African-American studies major who is black, echoed Cooper’s sentiment that incidents of racism are common in America today.

“I’ve been called n—– and have racist comments directed towards me all the time,” Wilson said. “This [incident at Mothers] is really a microcosm of a bigger issue. We can get angry all day about six young men being rejected from a bar, but there’s 60,000 men being rejected from society in East St. Louis.”

Junior Wandalyn Savala, a member of Connect 4 who was involved in planning the event, said she felt students at the town hall were energized about the issue but fears they will not be for long.

“Everyone’s really fired up, and I’m excited about that,” Savala said. “But I know in a few weeks, people are going to be like, ‘Eh. Kinda don’t really have time. Kinda have a midterm.’”

Said junior Audrey Morrow, “I just really hope that when the spotlight goes away, that people still remember that we still have these problems to fix.”

Click here for updated coverage of the town hall and the Mother’s incident

Students expressed anger at the Original Mothers bar and demanded that the establishment issue an apology and return students’ money at a town hall forum Monday night.

Some students called for another protest against the bar. Others demanded that the bar’s managers be given anti-discrimination training or be fired.

Almost 300 students showed up at the forum, which was arranged by the Association of Black Students, Connect 4 and Senior Class Council to foster discussion about an incident of alleged race discrimination by the bar against six black male students on Oct. 17.

All six students, who have said they were denied entry to the bar because of their race, were in attendance at the forum.

Senior Class President Fernando Cutz announced at the beginning of the event that the incident and subsequent response have generated both national and international media attention. CNN ran a TV spot on the story Sunday night, and The New Zealand Journal covered the story Monday.

Cutz also addressed questions about why students at the bar had not staged a walk-out from the bar on the night of the incident.

Cutz took full responsibility for the decision not to stage a walk-out, citing concerns he had that people “weren’t level-headed and that it could escalate the situation.”

The Mother's Men stand in front of a packed town hall meeting to discuss the next steps following the alleged discrimination incident at Mothers bar in Chicago. Approximately 400 people filled Lab Sciences 300 Monday evening for the town hall event. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

“The Senior Class Council and the six students who were involved were the only ones outside when it happened,” Cutz said in an interview. “The majority of students, I don’t believe they should be blamed for that decision [not to stage a walk-out]. It wasn’t their decision to make.”

Karen Aroeste, St. Louis regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, also spoke at the event. Aroeste made the suggestion that Mothers could fund a scholarship for a University student as a means of making amends for the incident.

The floor was then opened up to students to express their opinions and suggest future courses of action.

Students react to Mothers, University-wide response

Alex Cooper said he was not surprised when he first heard about the incident at Mothers.

“I think the things that happened at Mothers bar were ridiculous but not too surprising just knowing how America is,” Cooper said.

Brandon Wilson, a sophomore and African and African-American studies major who is black, echoed Cooper’s sentiment that incidents of racism are common in America today.

“I’ve been called n—– and have racist comments directed towards me all the time,” Wilson said. “This [incident at Mothers] is really a microcosm of a bigger issue. We can get angry all day about six young men being rejected from a bar, but there’s 60,000 men being rejected from society in East St. Louis.”

Junior Wandalyn Savala, a member of Connect 4 who was involved in planning the event, said she felt students at the town hall were energized about the issue, but will likely not be for long.

“Everyone’s really fired up and I’m excited about that,” Savala said. “But I know in a few weeks people are going to be like, ‘Eh. Kinda don’t really have time. Kinda have a midterm.’”

Said junior Audrey Morrow, “I just really hope that when the spotlight goes away that people still remember that we still have these problems to fix.”

Click here for updated coverage of the town hall and the Mother’s incident

Seniors Regis Murayi (left) and Jordan Roberts (right)wear the same pair of jeans. Murayi was told he could not enter a Chicago bar because he violated its ban on baggy jeans. He then switched jeans with Roberts, and Roberts was admitted into the bar. Murayi says the bar discriminated against him because he is black. (Courtesy of Fernando Cutz)

Complaints about alleged race discrimination by a Chicago bar against six black Washington University students have prompted state and federal investigations and a likely lawsuit to be filed by the students against the bar.

The developments came in the week after the incident, which occurred during a senior class trip night out at the Original Mothers bar in a popular nightspot downtown. Senior Class Council had made prior arrangements with the bar for some 200 seniors to go there.

The investigations, which include an FBI inquiry, are a result of complaints filed by Regis Murayi, one of the students denied entry into the bar on Oct. 17. Murayi, treasurer of Senior Class Council, filed complaints with the Chicago Commission on Human Rights, the Illinois attorney general’s office and the U.S. Department of Justice.

In the complaints, Murayi alleged that the bar’s refusal to admit the students constituted discrimination under the Chicago Municipal Code, which prohibits places of public accommodations from discriminating against clientele based on race. Race discrimination is also a federal offense under Title II of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Murayi said the manager of Mothers told him and the other students that they could not enter the bar because they were violating the bar’s ban on baggy jeans. But Murayi said the manager admitted white students wearing baggy jeans. To prove this, Murayi changed jeans with senior Jordan Roberts, a white student, and Roberts was then admitted into the bar wearing the jeans.

Murayi said he thinks the six were discriminated against not because of their jeans but because they were a large group of black men.

“The bar racially discriminated against us and automatically assumed that we were dangerous,” Murayi said.

Representatives from Mothers declined to be interviewed this weekend by Student Life but said in a news release that the bar “does not discriminate against guests or patrons on the basis of race, and would never tolerate discriminatory conduct.” Mothers said it is conducting an investigation into the case and will take disciplinary action if necessary.

Mothers representatives also told the Chicago Tribune Friday that the students were rejected because of security concerns, not racism. Mothers’ human resource manager, Dan Benson, said a security photograph showed that two of the students had been wearing backward baseball caps, which are associated with gangs. Benson said gang violence is common in the area near the bar.

Murayi disputed that his clothing suggested he was in a gang. Murayi said he was well dressed, wearing a peacoat, loafers and a button-down shirt. He offered to show his Washington University IDs as proof of enrollment.

Benson also noted in the Tribune that other black patrons had been admitted into the bar. Murayi said this does not change his opinion that the bar discriminated against the students on the basis of their race.

“In and of itself that’s racial in that they automatically assumed that we were a gang,” Murayi said.

Now, Murayi and the other five black students are preparing to take legal action against the bar. Murayi said a number of lawyers have offered to take up their case for free, and the students are currently working to select a candidate.

Murayi and the others are seeking to be compensated for out-of-pocket, emotional distress and punitive damages, as well as the suspension of licensing to Mothers.

“We want to hurt them financially moving forward,” Murayi said.

University officials and students are also taking action against the bar.

Chancellor Mark Wrighton wrote a letter to Mayor Richard Daley on Thursday in which he expressed his “most intense disappointment” about the incident.

“I can only imagine the humiliation and discouragement these six young students felt last weekend when they were turned away from this establishment because of their race,” Wrighton wrote.

Wrighton called the incident a “setback for the City” of Chicago and requested that Daley respond.

Student Union also issued a resolution last Wednesday condemning Mother’s actions and urging further on-campus discussion. The Association of Black Students, Connect 4 and the Senior Class Council organized a town hall forum that will feature professors, students and others at 8 p.m. Monday in Lab Sciences 300.

With additional reporting by Michelle Stein and Johann Qua Hiansen