UR College Republicans president Anthony Pericolo withdrew his letter of intent on Tuesday. It had called for a Student Code of Conduct investigation into whether the Chinese Students’ Association (CSA) was involved in the distribution of posters and documents against a College Republicans event on Tibetan democracy.
Senior Pericolo’s withdrawal came hours after he received an email from SA’s All-Campus Judicial Council (ACJC) chief justice, junior Connor Sandagata, clarifying that requests for Student Code of Conduct investigations should go through the Center for Student Conflict Management, not ACJC. Pericolo is dropping the request altogether.
A day before the withdrawal, sophomore Yifan Xu submitted a letter of intent to ACJC calling for a Student Code of Conduct investigation of College Republicans. He was also referred to the Center for Student Conflict Management. He said he will continue to “seek justice” on the matter, “no matter how long or [through] which institution.”
Xu told the Campus Times he is part of the group responsible for the offending posters and documents against the Tibet event. He is unaffiliated with CSA.
Pericolo submitted his letter to ACJC last week in response to a letter of intent submitted days earlier by junior Sampson Hao, CSA’s president. That letter requested the cancellation of an upcoming College Republicans event on China’s mass imprisonment of Uighurs. Hao said that this was a last resort after College Republicans refused to discuss any kind of restructuring or compromise, though Pericolo denied this.
In his letter of intent against College Republicans, Xu used language similar to that of Pericolo’s letter against CSA.
Pericolo had written of Hao’s letter of intent: “In my mind, it solidified the idea that vitriol against Tibet and Tibetan students has been institutionalized.”
Xu wrote of Pericolo’s letter of intent: “In my mind, it solidified the idea that the organization is trying to aggravate the issue and provoke general aversion against Chinese students.”
The College Republicans have stoked such sentiment, Xu said, in spite of Xu offering an apology to Tibetan students. In an email, Pericolo said that Xu’s letter of intent’s “sole purpose is to exacerbate the high tensions on campus that he started with his incendiary flyers prior to our Tibet event.”
Since Hao’s letter of intent did not regard a Student Code of Conduct investigation, he can proceed with his appeal through ACJC. Hao has not yet submitted the appeal. Rather than question the conduct of the College Republicans, Hao told CT the appeal would question whether College Republicans violated the SA constitution, and whether their events on international politics are justified.
The executive boards of both clubs will meet in a restorative circle event on Friday through the Burgett Intercultural Center to discuss the matter. Hao told CT that he hopes the two clubs will reach an agreement satisfactory enough for him to drop the matter in ACJC.
