Fox News Flash top headlines for October 2
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A student organization at the University of Chicago is hosting a discussion on race that is "BIPOC-Only."
The student organization, UChicago United, is hosting an event titled "Race @ UChicago" as part of its "Dis-orientation" on Oct. 15 that is listed as a "BIPOC-Only space." BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous and People of Color.
"A BIPOC-ONLY space for honest discussion of navigating race at UChicago between new and old students," the event description reads.
Other events being hosted by the organization during the fall semester include radical story hour, policing, gentrification, abolition, anti-militarism 101 and activist open house.
A student organization at the University of Chicago is hosting a discussion on race that is "BIPOC-Only." (IStock)
UChicago United's "Dis-orientation" is a series of events "aimed at educating first years about the ‘real’ University of Chicago."
Participants of all events are required to wear a mask, and the student organization wrote "the pandemic is not over. we keep us safe!"
The organization also created a campaign called "CareNotCops," which was in response to the shooting of a student, Charles Thomas, by a University of Chicago Police Department officer on April 3, 2018.
Prospective college students take a tour of the University of Chicago campus in Chicago on June 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
Body camera video from the police officer who shot the student shows that Thomas was shouting and coming toward officers with what police say was a crowbar. A police officer told Thomas multiple times to drop the object, but he ran in the direction of the police officer and was shot, according to the Chicago Sun Times.
According to the report, Thomas was going through a mental health episode.
In response, UChicago United demanded that the university "immediately defund the [University of Chicago Police Department] by reducing its budget by 50 percent," "disarm the UCPD," disclose the police department's budget" and "disband the UCPD by 2022."
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UChicago United's "Dis-orientation" is a series of events "aimed at educating first years about the ‘real’ University of Chicago." (iStock)
Thomas was charged with aggravated assault as well as criminal damage to property, but those charges were dismissed since Thomas went through a court diversion program in place for first-time felony offenders.
A University of Chicago spokesperson told Fox News Digital that university-accredited student organizations cannot discriminate against potential members on the basis of race.
"As stated in our non-discrimination policy, we believe strongly that members of the University of Chicago community cannot thrive unless each is accepted as an autonomous individual. Student organizations formally recognized by the University, which do not currently include UChicago United, ‘may not discriminate against any potential members on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, or other factors irrelevant to participation in the programs of the University,'" the spokesperson said. "The University does not permit the use of campus spaces for events that exclude individuals on the basis of race or any other category included in the aforementioned policy."
UChicago United didn't respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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