The slates, Mission Accomplished and Pup N’ Suds, pledged at a debate Thursday night in Tisch Commons to base their programming off student input. They also expressed some openness to the idea of changing the location of next year’s senior class trip.

The Mission Accomplished slate is composed of the Junior Class Council’s current members, including President Michael Offerman and an executive member from each school.

Pup N’ Suds includes presidential candidate Alex Cooper, a junior and current Student Union senator, and others with experience across campus, including leaders in Greek life and the National Black MBA Association and a residential adviser.

In the debate, Cooper presented three major goals for his slate: to have programming people care about, to advocate and educate, and to create long-lasting memories for the senior class.

Offerman stressed his slate’s experience in programming and working together. He recalled his slate’s past accomplishments of creating a class logo and programming with the Career Center.

“We’ve worked together as a team for a year now, and we know what works and what doesn’t,” Offerman said. “We’ve had events that have been successful and less than successful. We’ve learned quite a bit about our strengths and weaknesses.”

Cooper also called attention to his slate’s experience in programming for different groups across campus.

“That’s something we take seriously and know how to execute,” Cooper said. “We know how to step up and advocate. We’re here to listen and facilitate.”

Cooper said he wanted to create memories for the senior class through programming. “[We could program] simple things like picnic under the Arch and being able to sit and hang out and enjoy a nice day together,” Cooper said.

The two slates also differed on how they would pick the location of the next senior class trip when asked about the subject by moderator Morgan DeBaun, a junior and the student body president.

Cooper said he would send a survey out to seniors over the summer to see where they wanted the trip to be and identify their programming preferences.

Offerman said that he would be open to changing the location but also appreciated the tradition of a Chicago trip.

“Part of me likes the tradition of it being in Chicago and looking forward to that as that being the location to go,” Offerman said.

The slate were also asked about funding for the senior class trip. Typically the Senior Class Council runs out of money and appeals to Treasury for more funds.

Cooper proposed fundraising by selling 2012 memorabilia and having club nights.

Offerman suggested selling the usual class shirts and charging to attend some events.

The Mission Accomplished slate includes Anthony Bernatas-Popeo for treasurer, Lindsey Moses for external vice president, Vaishnavi Hariprasad for internal vice president and Chris Lo for secretary.

The Pup N’ Suds slate is composed of Jonathan Howard for treasurer, Liam Morrissey for external vice president, Vaidehi Ambai for internal vice president and Caitlin Lutsch for secretary.

The rest of the students will stay in the Congress Plaza Hotel, where they have been registered to stay since September.

After the Fairmont cancelled the seniors’ rooms last Wednesday, the Senior Class Council booked rooms at the Sheraton near O’Hare Airport, away from many of the planned activities and the rest of the seniors.

The new hotels are the Marriott ExecuStay Millennium Park Plaza and the Homewood Suites by Hilton Chicago-Downtown. Initially, the class council was unable to find new rooms downtown due to a conference for the American Academy of Opthamology, which has attracted reservations for more than 25,000.

Following the cancellation, staff at the Fairmont agreed to help members of the class council look for new downtown accommodations. According to senior class president Alex Kiles, authorities at the Fairmont told the class council that the Sheraton was the closest available hotel.

The Marriot is more expensive than the original rooms and will cost an additional $5,220. The class council has also been unable to get a refund for the $9,000 that they put down at the Sheraton. To cover these costs, they have been in touch with the Fairmont about compensation for breaking their contract.

On Tuesday evening, a manager at the Fairmont confirmed that the hotel would pay the difference.

“We are committing to pay for costs related to the contracting of an alternate hotel in the O’Hare area … and the additional room rate increase associated with the downtown rooms at the Marriott,” wrote Dan Dolan, the Fairmont’s director of sales and marketing, in an e-mail to the Senior Class Council.

So far, perception of the senior class has been understanding.

“It is really rude of the hotel to mess up a contract like this. I don’t understand how can a hotel be overbooked by 300 rooms,” senior Toby Shepard said. “This shows the incompetence of the hotel’s management.”

The Senior Class Council encouraged seniors to contact the hotel to express their frustrations. On Monday, Kiles sent an e-mail template to the trip’s participants, and the hotel’s management has been inundated with e-mails and phone calls from both students and parents.

“We don’t accept this kind of behavior at Wash. U.,” Kiles said. “I want to thank all of the members of the class of 2011 that worked to mobilize the troops and get calls in.”

The school is not yet taking legal steps against the Fairmont.

“At this point, we’re still trying to figure out what all the facts are and how the Senior Class Council wants to move forward. If any actions are taken, that will be a decision for the legal counsel to make,” said Mary Zabriskie, the assistant director of campus life.

Kate Gaertner | Student Life

Members of the Class of 2010 gather in the Field House for the world's longest human massage chain

On Sunday afternoon, 710 members of the Class of 2010 gathered in the Field House of the Athletic Complex, just like they will at Thursday and Friday’s graduation ceremonies. But instead of receiving diplomas, they received massages—and a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The senior class will now hold the Guinness record for the world’s longest human massage chain. The previous record, set in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2001, involved 617 people.

The Senior Class Council organized the event in an effort to unite the senior class for a final, lighthearted accomplishment. “We thought breaking a world record would be a fun and interactive way to bring everyone together,”  Senior Class President Fernando Cutz said.

Guinness requires that the massage chain last for 3 minutes, and Cutz counted down the minutes with a megaphone. A Guinness photographer was on hand to document the massage, and 15 independent community members served as judges.

According to Cutz, the Senior Class Council considered other record-breaking possibilities before deciding on a massage chain.

“Originally we were going to do one where we would put Mentos inside Coke bottles and explode them, but we decided that wasn’t interactive enough. We thought [a massage chain] would be a more fun, more interactive thing to do,” Cutz said.

Chancellor Mark Wrighton, who was present to participate in the massage chain, credits the Class of 2010 for the event’s success.

“I think this has been one of the more organized, more enthusiastic classes in terms of school spirit, and it’s been fabulous to see that enthusiasm at our University,” he said.

This isn’t the first record-breaking attempt that Wrighton has seen from his students: In 2005, 926 members of the incoming freshman class gathered to play the world’s largest game of Simon Says.

But Wrighton was enthusiastic about the Senior Class Council’s particular choice of record.

“It’s relaxing!” he said.

Cutz said that he hopes the record-breaking event will be something that this year’s senior class can remember after Wash. U.

“It will be very cool to pick up the Guinness Book of World Records and find our name in there as the Class of 2010.”

Senior Class Treasurer Regis Murayi speaks at a news conference Wednesday held in the DUC. Murayi, along with Senior Class President Fernando Cutz and the five other students alleging racial descrimation, announced an agreement with the Original Mothers bar. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

Senior Class President Fernando Cutz, along with the six black students who allege they were racially discriminated against by the Original Mothers bar in Chicago, said on Wednesday that they will not be pressing charges against Mothers, as part of a legal agreement between the two sides.

Cutz announced that Mothers will issue a public apology to the students, and managers at the bar will undergo diversity sensitivity and awareness training led by members of the Anti-Defamation League.

The students’ comments came in a news conference Wednesday afternoon in the Danforth University Center.

Mothers will also hold four charity fundraisers, three at the bar in Chicago and one in St. Louis. The students will determine what charity will receive funds from these events. Senior Class Treasurer Regis Murayi, one of the six students rejected from the bar, said the money will likely go toward a charity that works to promote awareness of race-related issues.

Cutz also announced at the conference that the Senior Class Council will be leading a “massive demonstration” against racial discrimination. The demonstration will occur in Chicago in late November and will include both University students and representatives from Mothers. Mothers managers will speak at the event.

Cutz told Student Life that he has met with representatives from Student Union about funding transportation for the event and that SU has agreed to pay for buses for all students interested in attending.

The students at the conference stressed that they are not seeking financial 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.

Murayi emphasized that the students’ primary goal in the agreement was to raise awareness about race-related issues.

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

The students also announced at the conference that they are receiving free legal counsel from Covington and Burling LLP in their negotiations with Mothers.

According to Seth Tucker, the students’ attorney, the students and Mothers reached a settlement quickly. Negotiations lasted under 24 hours.

“I think it is a great result for both sides,” Tucker said. “It was a creative resolution. They have created a win-win settlement.”

If Mothers does not comply with the agreement, the students could still press charges. According to Tucker, this is an unlikely situation.

“I don’t expect them to break the agreement,” Tucker said. “They seem genuine and sincere.”
Mothers’ attorney, Brad Grayson of Strauss & Malk LLP said the bar is devoted to the agreement.

“My clients are very committed to going forward with the things we agreed upon with the students,” Grayson said.
Representatives from Mothers said in a statement that they are pleased with the agreement.

“We’re happy that it appears we have resolved differences with the students amicably and in a manner that promotes unity rather than division,” the statement said.

Cutz also said he is pleased with the agreement.

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

Although the six students are no longer pursuing litigation, city, state and federal investigations into the incident are still underway. According to Cutz, the agreement reached between the students and Mothers stipulated that the investigations would continue.

On Wednesday morning, U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr., D-St. Louis, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and to the Washington office and Chicago field office of the FBI requesting further investigation into the incident.

With additional reporting by Dan Woznica

In cases of racist activity, however, the wrong that must be rectified is not the act itself, but the sentiment behind it. The impetus behind wrongful acts such as turning customers away from an establishment because of their race begins long before these acts take place.

It is therefore necessary—and appropriate—that the settlement announced this Wednesday between the Original Mothers bar and the six Washington University seniors it turned away on the basis of race does not involve punitive financial damages but rather mandates direct participation in diversity awareness training for the employees of the bar. Because racist acts begin with ingrained prejudices, these prejudices must be removed—layer by layer—if the inherent wrongness of the action is to genuinely be rectified.

I am certain that some will criticize the settlement, saying that it is not harsh enough, that a lawsuit demanding punitive damages is justified, that Mothers bar ought to be put out of business because of its actions.

Such a lawsuit, though, would localize the incident and limit the dialogue that it has the potential to create. As members of our community discussed at the Town Hall meeting on Monday, and as several students have alluded to in comments on the Student Life Web site, the fact that students were turned away from a club because of their race was not surprising. The Mothers incident speaks to a larger problem—one that no amount of money could rectify, and one that putting a single nightclub out of business could hardly make a dent in.

The fact is that racism still exists in our society. It exists, however, in ingrained prejudices that cannot legally be manifested, thanks to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and subsequent civil rights legislation.

The great civil rights battle of our generation will not be fought on legal grounds, but rather on social grounds; it is only when owners of nightclubs do not associate gang activity with race that justice will truly be served. This is perhaps a utopian vision, but I believe that it is a goal worth striving for.

By forcing the bar to sponsor fundraisers for socially just causes, and by forcing its employees to undergo diversity training, the settlement begins to rectify a larger social wrong than what happened to the “Mothers Men” last weekend.

In her column this Wednesday, Eve Samborn wrote that we ought to take the response to this incident as a model for student activism. Knowing how the response has played out in legal terms, I’d like to take this prescription a step further: We ought to take the response to this incident as a model of how to resolve acts motivated by prejudice.

The apology to be issued by Mothers should retract the racist sentiments behind the bar’s action. The diversity awareness education programming should force its employees to formulate other, more appropriate, ways of thinking about the relationship between race and culture.

The six students who negotiated this settlement demonstrated an admirable capacity to look past the problem at hand and ensure that the incident creates a larger dialogue about race and social justice. Hearing Wednesday’s news made me proud to be a member of the Wash. U. community.

Kate is a junior in Arts & Sciences. She can be reached via e-mail at kate.gaertner@studlife.com.

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.”

The Association of Black Studentss, Connect4 and the Senior Class Council are hosting a town hall-style forum tonight to address students’ reactions to the alleged discrimination that took place at the Original Mothers Bar during the senior class trip to Chicago two weeks ago. The forum is meant as an opportunity for the students involved to tell their story and to deal with some of the larger issues at play in the controversy. Student Life will be live blogging from the forum in LabSci 300.

10:02 p.m. | Signing Off: The forum just wrapped up and students are slowly filing out, though a significant number are hanging around to continue the discussion. This concludes our live coverage of the town hall, but check StudLife.com later tonight for full coverage of the forum.

9:55 p.m. | Thanking Fernando: Iboro Umana makes a point of thanking Senior Class Council President Fernando Cutz for his hard work and Cutz receives a standing ovation.

9:52 p.m. | Closing Words: Cutz says that the Senior Class Council will be meeting tonight to discuss the recommendations from the forum and to formulate their “demands to Mother’s. On Wednesday, Cutz says that Student Union Senate will be taking up this issue. Iboro Umana takes the microphone back to wrap up with a message to students: “We have so much unlimited potential,” said Umana. “If you see something going on, I challenge you to take part in it.”

9:45 p.m. | Be Creative: “We need to demand that they write an anti-discrimination policy, and they need to post it outside of their bar,” and they need to be accountable to that policy said senior Nikki Spencer. She went on to say that the University has an opportunity to create tools for people who are not students to take advantage of and to make Mother’s an innovator in solving the problem.

9:41 p.m. | What one who was discriminated against wants: Senior Chuka Chike-Obi said that “I’m very happy with the amount of support we’ve gotten from my friends and from across the country…It’s hard for me to be in this position and talk about what I want because part of me was hurt and part of me wants to lash out.” He then continued that “It’s very easy for those of us in this institution to become comfortable…and one of the things I think is to show that it happens to all African American males.  The second thing is that I want to show Mother’s and all the places, not just bar and restaurants, that this is not acceptable.  When Mother’s did this they did not expect this to happen. And the next thing is I want those who get discriminated across the world on a daily basis not to internalize it but to feel like they can fight back.”

9:38 p.m. | Take it to the courts: Senior Natacha Lam said, “There is no demand that I think could make this stop. Money would be nice. Making them train could be fun, but there is no demand that should make this stop.  We need to take this to the courts.”

9:36 p.m. |A time out for Mother’s: One student told the auditorium, “I don’t know if a thing like counseling for racism exists, but Mother’s Bar needs to sit down and think about what they did…I’m flabbergasted that an apology hasn’t been given because the first step is admitting that you have a problem.”

9:32 p.m. | What’s The Real Issue?: Senior Nadia Mann is asking the room what the core issues at play are—the most infuriating thing to her has been that people cannot grasp what the magnitude of the problem is. “People keep asking why this matters and that’s the issue that’s really at hand here,” she said.

9:27 p.m. | Remembering beyond college: “The worst thing I think that could happen is for us to forget about it three years,” one student says. He went on to say that when the students have graduated this conversation needs to go on.

9:25 p.m. | Our Money is Our Vote: Senior Audrey King suggests that seniors’ money should be returned. Another student suggested that the money go toward education.

9:20 p.m. | How Could Mother’s Make it Up?: According to Cutz, attorneys from Mother’s Ball reached out to him earlier today looking to know what they could do to help make the situation better and alleviate the media storm. Cutz posed the question to the room: What could Mother’s do to make up for this?

9:15 p.m. | Acting in Our Own Community: Students are discussing whether the community’s response should focus on Mother’s in Chicago or whether it should focus on the local St. Louis community and discrimination broadly. “It’s absolutely necessary that we reach out to the people who don’t want to have this conversation,” said one graduate student.

9:13 p.m. | More than an apology: One student who witnessed the even says that he wants “One, an apology, but not only an apology. I want an admittance that this was racism.”

9:09 p.m. | More protests- A Junior asked is there is another protest planned, as she could not be a part of the first one. Fernando Cutz answered that “We would be open for discussion on whether you would be open to that tonight.”

9:04 p.m.| Punishment for Mother’s: The moderator asked “What, in your world, would you like to see done to Mother’s Bar?”

9:00 p.m. | What’s Next?: The conversation is shifting toward what the student body should do next. Cutz is recapping what has happened so far: Chancellor Wrighton wrote a letter to Mayor Daley calling for an investigation and Northwestern University has been involved with the discussion (a reporter from the Daily Northwestern is at the forum)

8:58 p.m. | “A seriously large pitcher of lemonade”: “Never underestimate the power of a Washington University education,” Karen Aroeste the Anti-Defamation League said. “You do have an opportunity to turn lemons into a seriously large pitcher of lemonade,” she added before telling students “I would think carefully before you decide operate, because the nature of civil rights cases is that you still take it on the chin.”

8:56 p.m. | Civil Rights groups reaching out: Fernando Cutz speaks about the Anti-Defamation League and how they were the first group to reach out after the incident.

8:49 p.m. | A “microcosm of the real problem”: One student said that, “We can sit here all day and be angry about six guys being rejected from a bar—and I support you guys totally—while there are 50,000 black men in East St. Louis getting rejected from society.”

8:49 p.m. | The Discussion Heats Up—In Cyberspace: The discussion in the room is heating up as the topic of conversation begins to turn toward life Washington University. At the same time, there is a very lively discussion of the forum happening on Twitter—a number of students are posting live updates from the forum to the social networking site. The online participants include @jdherg, @lyricist3 and @brittneyroetzel.

8:46 p.m. |Self-Segregation at Wash.U: “Maybe we need to look in the mirror and see what we perpetuate before we condemn someone else for what they’ve done,” one student said.

8:44 p.m.| Interracial Association: One student says she is not surprised about the Chicago incident as “It happens all the time. I’ve seen it happen on campus.”  She says that as a white woman she doesn’t have to deal with it but “it’s important to realize that even associating iwth black people can still be an issue even at Wash. U.”

8:38 p.m.| Is student Leadership important: “I do have a problem with some of the fliers that were put up. I knew some of these men personally, and I know that they are exceptional student leaders. But this wasn’t about whether they were student leaders, this was because they were black…and I don’t want this to turn into a class issue.” – Washington University student.

8:33 p.m.| Student’s react: Multiple students reacted as dismayed by what their peers went through, but extremely proud of their school

8:28 p.m | International Coverage: The New Zealand Journal is the first international news organization to cover the Mother’s incident.

8:26 p.m. | The F.B.I. is On The Case: Fernando Cutz confirms that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has begun a formal investigation of the incident at Mother’s Bar. According to Cutz, Representative William Clay (D-MO) will be submitting a letter to the F.B.I. tomorrow asking them to expedite their investigation. Cutz also reiterated that Mother’s is in the process of conducting its own internal investigation.

Senior Class President Fernando Cutz speaks at a town hall forum on the Mother's Bar incident. (Sam Guzik | Student Life)

8:24 p.m. | Why No Walk Out: Senior Class President Fernando Cutz  takes responsibility for the decision not to hold a walk out, stating worries that people “weren’t level headed and that it could escalate the situation.”

8:22 p.m. | The Mother’s Men Speak: The six Washington University students who were denied access to Mother’s Original Bar are now telling their story. Senior class Treasurer Regis Murayi presented the story and has handed the microphone off to Senior class president Fernando Cutz.

8:10 p.m. | Presentation Has Begun: The lights have dimmed and a PowerPoint presentation is running right now with news clips from stories about the Mother’s Men from the past several days. So far Student Life and the Chicago Tribune have featured prominently—as well as the CNN story that brought the incident into the national spotlight. The room is entirely silent.

(Sam Guzik | Student Life)

8:03 p.m. | Just Getting Started: The auditorium is about three-quarters full (the total capacity of the room is 400) and students continue to mill in. Rob Wild is in attendance and there are news crews from a number of TV stations.

If you have any questions that you would like to see answered during the live blog, post them to the comments section or reply to @StudLife on Twitter.

Correction (10/27/09, 9:49 a.m.):
In an earlier version of this post, Representative William Clay was mistakenly referred to as Representative Henry Clay. Student Life regrets the error.

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

Click here for updated information about the Mother’s Men

After being denied entry, a black student changed jeans with a white friend, who was smaller and wore the jeans even more loosely; the white student then successfully gained access to the nightclub. This quick-thinking and foolproof experiment demonstrates that the incident had an entirely racist motivation.

The next morning, hundreds of students protested down the block from the nightclub in front of their hotel. While some criticized the short duration of the protest or its location, the Senior Class Council members who organized the protest were told they could not protest in front of the nightclub without a permit, and a permit could not be obtained overnight. Additionally, students were constrained by the necessary departure of the buses returning to St. Louis. Given the circumstances, we commend this unified and quickly-organized display of student activism.

In an e-mail to the student body, Senior Class President Fernando Cutz announced a town hall forum next Monday to discuss the incident, and also indicated the Senior Class Council’s intention to work with the NAACP and Chicago-area colleges to organize a protest. We strongly support these actions, encourage students to attend the forum and commend student leaders for taking this initiative.

Because of the blatant racism of the situation, we urge the Chicago community to not let this incident be forgotten. A sizable portion of Wash. U. students are from the Chicago area, and we encourage students and their friends to refuse to patronize Mother’s Nightclub. Furthermore, each class council should inform the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and the Black Consumer Business Bureau of the incident and their intention to boycott this nightclub.

Finally, we take this opportunity to formally call upon organizations such as the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce to condemn Mother’s Nightclub. The business members of the Chamber of Commerce are hurt by the perception of racism in Chicago, and we compel them to denounce this recent instance of intolerance.

It was touching, on Sunday, to observe the way a community unites behind its leaders and the standards it knows to be right. In addition to the protests, many students commented on the article detailing the incident in Student Life or posted it as their Facebook status.

We find it ironic that the members of the Senior Class Council who planned the trip were among those excluded from the nightclub, demonstrating the senselessness of the racist attitudes exhibited. Hearing that well-regarded student leaders like Regis Murayi and Iboro Umani were turned away from a nightclub seems other-worldly.

But it is precisely because this incident seems other-worldly that we must not forget about it. In our world —the safe and diverse world of Wash. U.—the concept of turning someone away because of the color of their skin is blatantly wrong. This incident serves to remind us that there is a larger world outside of the insular Wash. U. community, one in which even black student leaders are subject to prejudice, one for which the operating principle is not tolerance but discrimination. We must take this event as a signal of our charge in fighting the currents of prejudice. It is our duty to recognize the undercurrents of social racism and fight against them; it is, moreover, our responsibility to fight politically against Mother’s Nightclub. We must ensure that an institution that rests judgment on the race of its would-be patrons is one that cannot continue its practices.