Dear Chancellor Amiridis:

 

Thank you for your prompt reply to the concerns expressed by faculty, students, alumni, and the community regarding the Donald Trump rally scheduled at the UIC Pavilion on Friday, 11 March at 6 pm. This letter serves as one response from the undersigned faculty and staff at UIC.

 

We value free speech and the right to assemble and we appreciate the university’s commitment to those constitutionally protected rights, as well as its commitment to exercising no political bias and neither endorsing, sponsoring nor supporting (nor condemning, excluding, or censoring) any political candidate who requests to lease a space on our campus. From the now 40,000+ signatures (growing by the minute) on the petition requesting that the university cancel the event to the 7,000+ people who have RSVP’d via social media to attend a protest against Trump’s positions on a number of issues and the over 13,000 who have expressed interest in protesting, it is clear that our community is poised to engage publicly in vocal opposition to speech we find unacceptable and violent.

 

The alarm behind the petition, emails and calls you have received extends to more than opposition to political positions or speech acts. We write to turn your attention to the extremely important issue of safety, which you also cite as paramount in your letter to the campus. We are deeply distressed that this event threatens to create a hostile and physically dangerous environment to the students, staff, faculty and alumni who come out to express their opposition. We base this claim on what happened recently at another public higher education institution, Valdosta State in Georgia, where university security ejected a group of peaceful protestors, all of whom were students enrolled at the university, who were seeking to attend the rally being held in a campus venue. We are also concerned for the safety of the diverse staff and team of student employees who work at the UIC Pavilion, as well as of those in our community who have no choice but to traverse parts of the campus around the Pavilion going to and from work and class from the time the event doors open around three through and immediately after the full closure of the building.

 

In addition to the deeply troubling events other educational venues that have rented space to the Trump Campaign, we are also expressly concerned by consistent reports that Trump supporters across the country have used racial slurs and attacked individuals who are members of groups that are represented, valued, and guaranteed respect and safety on our campus, invoking Trump and his candidacy for President as they did so. Donald Trump has done nothing to condemn or distance himself from these hateful speech acts or acts of violence, or hate groups who perpetuate them. A range of reports in both the alternative and mainstream press have provided credible evidence that people of color and individuals with values opposed to those touted by the Trump campaign have been verbally and physically assaulted by not just the crowd attending Trump rallies, but also by the security forces staffing them. This maltreatment has extended to journalists. Some have been violently removed from rallies, despite having done nothing uncivil, let alone illegal. Donald Trump has been quoted as saying something to the effect of being willing to defend in court anyone who finds him or herself in trouble for reporting or expelling dissenters from his rallies and speeches. There is evidence that members of his audience have treated visible racial or religious markers as grounds for expulsion and that security and police have been enlisted to assist them. All of this amounts not only to a refusal to defend the rights and protect the safety of those targeted individuals, but more importantly as a direct affront against those rights and that safety. It also compromises the integrity and mandate of the officers assigned to maintain order and safety. We believe that these actions suggest that an incitement to violence is very likely and must be planned for and stopped if UIC is going to allow the rally to move forward. We believe these examples also constitute sufficient evidence to justify canceling the event to protect the physical safety of the UIC community.

 

If you affirm your decision to allow the event to move forward, we seek answers to a set of questions about how our institution plans to protect us and keep us safe. Will there be extra UIC police on hand to patrol the crowd? Whose command will they be under? How does UIC plan to protect the rights and physical well being of its students in the event that the campaign asks that students be ejected from the Pavilion? How have UIC police been trained to identify and stop illegal mistreatment and endangerment of minorities and dissenters inside the Pavilion as well as public and state property surrounding the Pavilion? What are the plans to enforce the gun ban on campus, given the very real potential that conceal to carry laws mean that people not connected to UIC may have weapons with them? Who will pay for the extra security that will likely be required to ensure our students’ safety as well as all the people who work on campus? What will the guiding principals of justice, safety and security be for the various security personnel working the event?

 

UIC is a model for diversity and the cause of social justice. All eyes are now on us locally and nationally. Please assure us in no uncertain terms that the constitutional rights and physical safety of our students, staff, alumni, faculty and community supporters will be protected. Our student leaders demand this of us and it is their experience that we must hear. Jorge Mena, a graduate student in Latino and Latin American Studies, has quite clearly explained how Trump’s rally will effect him: “The UIC Pavilion is where I walked across the stage to receive my Bachelor’s degree as an undocumented first-generation college graduate. It is the same stage where I will receive my Masters this upcoming May. I do not want this to be the same stage where Trump threatens my family, my friends, and my community. In any other instance if known white supremacists and hate groups with a pattern of violence were found out to be planning to rally on campus, the University would likely (or hopefully) be implementing support and safety plans for students. But in this instance, it’s signing rental agreements.”

 

We are asking you, Provost Poser and Chief Booker to provide answers to our questions above and updates on how the UIC police will oversee any and all security forces from the campaign assigned inside or outside the Pavilion. We also request that all logotypes and UIC brand representations be covered inside the arena so that it is clear that UIC has no connection to the event. UIC should have the right to cancel the contract if the Trump organization refuses to comply with any of these actions. We also request that the University publicly distance itself from the event and make a statement that the Trump Rally is an anathema to the mission of UIC, as the university for Chicago.

 

We, the undersigned, are members of the UIC faculty and staff.

1. *List of signers will be manually updated throughout the day (329 signers as of 9:15am)

 

First Name	Last Name	Department
Lynn	Thomas	Engineering
Kyle	Yabes	Music
Lea	Cloninger	Psychiatry
Gerald	Smith	College of Engineering
Steven	Kragon	Graduate College
-	-	-
Gizelle	Alvarez	School of Public Health
Esther	Murillo	LAS
Han	Michael	Communication
Alicia J	Rodriguez	HCOE
Patricia	O'Brien	Social Work
Angela	Prazza Winters	College of Business Administration
Eduardo	Bastian	Alumni
Ann Cameron	Williams	Department of Disability and Human Development
Jerry	Bona	MSCS
Alicia	Lancero	Psychology
Erica	Chu	Gender and Women's Studies
Kimberley	Egan	-
Luz	Acosta	Department of Criminology, Law, and Justice
Mena	Poonaki	Chemistry (alumnus)
Stephanie	Luviano	Hispanic & Italian Studies
Jasmine	Lopez	Biological Sciences
Anita	Wota	Psychology, Gender and Women's Studies
Colleen	Ma	Urban Planning and Policy
Anita	Wota	Psychology, Gender and Women's Studies
Edwin	Eng	Student
Rhonda	Laylo	Center for Student Involvement
Zitlali	Morales	Curriculum & Instruction
Jay	Patel	-
Lav	Patel	-
Rushit	Patel	-
Sunny	Patel	-
Ishan	Parikh	-
Ronak	Parekh	-
Randi	Provost	-
Nell	Koneczny	Human and Human Development
Utumporn	Kaewken	Student development services
Daniel	Morales-Doyle	Curriculum & Instruction
Xóchitl	Bada	LALS
Arthi	Rao	Curriculum & Instruction
Ramin	Takloo-Bighash	Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science
Melody	Chang	-
Sandra	Guzman	Psychology
Mario	Rodriguez	Multicultral affairs
Irina	Zadov	Jane Addams Hull-House Museum
shannon	moutinho	Disability and Human Development
Helen	Jun	English
Alan	Schwartz	Medical Education
Susanne	Rott	Germanic Studies and Linguistics
Mark	Martell	Asian American Resource and Cultural Center
Sendhil	Revuluri	Learning Sciences Research Institute
Nayhely	Curiel	-
Mark	Shaaya	Pharmacology
Reyna	Ernesto	Education
Fiona	Ian	Linguistics
Germaine	Kindred	LAS
Daisy	Zamora	Gender & Sexuality Center
Oana	Manta	English
Gerry	Gorman	HSS College of Nursing
Katelyn	Gonzalez	Wellness Center
Ana	Martin Sagredo	spanish
Linda Grossman	Linda	Psychiatry
Aixa	Alfonso	Biological Sciences
Theresa	Christenson-Caballero	Graduate College
Judith	Richman	Psychiatry
Katherine	Perez Enriquez	Department of Disability and Human Development
Jenny	Ross	MSCS
Nicole	Sims	Disability and Human Development
Jeanine	Hannoun	-
Kevin	Lyles	Political Science
Erica	Friscioni	Student
Henrique	Cirne lina	Las
Catherine	Becker	Art History
Bonnie	Saunders	MSCS
Deborah	Stratman	Art
Federico	Waitoller	Special Education
Yamile	Molina	Community Health Sciences
Ryan	Viloria	Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy
Frederick	Thulin	MSCS
Dayanara	Fernandez	Latin American and Latino Studies
Brooke	Shipley	Mathematics
Lori	Barcliff Baptista	African-American Cultural Center/Theatre & Music/MUSE
YUE	XU	DHD
James	Kahn	education
Theresa A	Thorkildsen	Educational Psychology
Cristina	Correa	Office of Social Science Research
Norma	Lopez-Reyna	Special Education
Bruce	Tyler	LALS
Julie	Peters	History
Ilham	Kabir	Engineering. * Free speech is only free speech when it works both ways.
Norma	Lopez-Reyna	Special Education
Roberta	Paikoff Holzmueller	Psychiatry, Institute for Juvenile Research
Heather	Gabel	Applied Health Sciences
Ben	Murray	Studio Arts
Ryan	Muench	School of Public Health
Matie	Ovalle	Disability and Human Development
Nathan	Linsk	Family Medicine
Chris	Boyer	History / LALS
Arden	Handler	CHS
Marina	Mogilner	History
Sophie	Naji	School of Public Health
Maggie	Kaufmann	SPH-COIP
America	Quintero	ACCC
Karen	Su	Asian American Studies
Emily	Baca	Anthropology
Andy	Clarno	Sociology and African American Studies
Alana	Steffen	College of Nursing
Lorelei	Stewart	Gallery 400, Art & Art History
Zinon	Papakonstantinou	History & Classics
Elif	Akcetin	History
Sekile	Nzinga-Johnson	Gender and Women's Studies
Elizabeth	McManus	French and Francophone Studies
Bradley	Grochocinski	French and Francophone Studies
Cristian	Roa	Latin American and Latino Studies
Sue	Farruggia	VPUA
Christina	El Gamal	Theatre
Alisa	Velonis	School of Public Health, CHS
Madelyn	Thompson	Engineering
Teresa Helena	Moreno	African American Studies
Margaret	Kleist	Retired support staff, BioS; student
Anthony	Marino	Academic Computing & Communications Center
Qeshawnda	Haynes	ACCC
Pamela	Popielarz	Sociology
Liam	Finnegan	UIC Business
-	-	-
Brian	Kay	Biological Science
Jessica	Williams	Linguistics
Michael	Gelder	Disability and Human Development
Jessica	Thornton	French and Francophone Studies
Christopher	Clarke	School of Public Health
Maricarmen	Herrera	Psychiatry
David	Dror	Library
Vincent	LaMotta	Anthropology
Heather	O'Leary	ACCC
Laura	Nussbaum-Barberena	Anthropology
Miguel	Morales	Disability and Human Development
Cedric	Herring	IGPA Emeritus
hannah	higgins	art history
Devangna	Kapadia	CHS
Nicholas	Brown	English / African American Studies
Jeni	Hebert-Beirne	School of Public Health
Christina	Welter	Public Health
Sloan	Williams	Anthropology
Elizabeth	Aguilar	HIP
Katie	Philippe	Kinesiology & Nutrition
Jeffrey	Wheeler	History
Juan	Gonzalez	Human Nutrition
Norma Claire	Moruzzi	Political Science
Molly	Doane	Anthropology
Ivan	Arenas	Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy
Joel	Palka	Anthropology and Latin American and Latino Studies
Allyson	Czadowski	History
Joe	Iosbaker	Office of Sustainability
Daniel	Pak	LSRI
joan	kennelly	School of Public Health /CHS
David	Tartakoff	Mathematics
Jennifer	Gorski	Disability and Human Development, and Psychiatry
Laurence	Feder	-
Kathleen	Rospenda	Psychiatry
Mary Anne	Mohanraj	English
Jesse	Malmed	Art and Art History
Sonya	Leathers	Social Work
David	Stovall	Educational Policy Studies and African-American Studies
David	Stovall	Educational Policy Studies and African-
Jennifer	Reeder	art and art history
Nora	Vazquez-Laslop	Center for Biomolecular Sciences
Noemi	Espinosa	Learning Sciences Research Institute
Mark	Chiang	Asian American Studies and English
Elizabeth	Todd-Breland	History
Andy	Baker	Music
Selena	Smith	Urban Health Program
Alexander	Mankin	Center for Biomolecular Sciences, College of Pharmacy
Ancel	Montenelli	Disability and Human Development
Claudia	Diaz	Disabilities and Human Development
Patrisia	Macias-Rojas	Sociology & LALS
Steven Marsh	-	Hispanic & Italian Studies
Raymon	Cunha	Disability and Human Development
Yann	Robert	French and Francophone Studies
Marie	Khan	Graduate College
Roger	Reeves	English
Roger	Reeves	English
Roger	Reeves	English
Margarita	Saona	Hispanic and Italian Studies
Jeanne	Link	Library of Health Sciences
Sandy	Magana	Disability and Human Development
MaryAnne	Lyons	English
Lisa	Lee	Art History
Marlene	Garcia	UIC Developmental Disability Clinic
Rosa	Cabrera	LALS and Latino Cultural Center
Nicole	Jordan	History
Lisa	Frohmann	Criminology, Law and Justice
Lynette A.	Jackson	Gender and Women's Studies
Babette	Neuberger	Public Health
Margaret	Miner	French and Francophone Studies
jack	Fisher	Design
Sandy	Sufian	Medical Education
Jesus	Ramirez-Valles	School of Public Health
John	Hagedorn	Criminology, Law & Justice
Joanne	Malinowski	UIC Extended Campus
Irma	Vazquez	Urban Health Program, Admn
Therese	Quinn	Art History
Nicole	Nguyen	Educational Policy Studies
Malgorzata	Fidelis	History
Silvia	Malagrino	ART
Aaron	Krall	English
Monica	Jimenez	History and LALS
Giamila	Fantuzzi	Kinesiology and Nutrition
Robert	Johnston	History
Nilda	Flores-Gonzalez	Sociology/LALS
Christopher	Keys	Psychology, DHD
Nadine	Naber	GWS and ASAM
Robert	Gould	-
William	Barrett	Disability and Human Development
Claire	Decoteau	Sociology
kirk	hoppe	history
Sara	Hall	Germanic Studies/Moving Image Arts
Madhu	Dubey	English and African American Studies
Gayatri	Reddy	Gender and Women's Studies/Anthropology
Joaquín	Chávez	History
John	Abbott	History
Dianna	Frid	Art and Art History
Ricardo	Rivero	Family Medicine
Jennifer	Solheim	French and Francophone Studies
Janet	Smith	Urban Planning & Policy
CHENA	BAITY	DHD/STUDENT AFFAIRS
Janet	Peters	Department of Disability and Human Development
Elena	Gutierrez	GWS/LALS
Chris	Stacey	History
Natasha	Barnes	English and African American Studies
Ellen	McClure	French and Francophone Studies
Anna	Kornbluh	English
Amanda	Lewis	African American Studies
Junaid	Quadri	History
Laurie	Schaffner	Sociology
Phoenix	Matthews	College of Nursing
Lorena	Garcia	Sociology & LALS
Anna	Guevarra	Asian American Studies
Javier	Villa-Flores	History and Latin American and Latino Studies
Ronak	Kapadia	Gender and Women's Studies
Roderick	Ferguson	African American and Gender and Women's
Cedric	Johnson	African American Studies/ Political Science
Jane	Rhodes	African American Studies
Jennifer	Brier	GWS/History
Amalia	Pallares	Latin American and Latino Studies