Chi Theta Chi (XOX) residents and members of the Stanford community will march on the office of the Vice Provost of Student Affairs this morning in protest of the University’s decision to terminate the house’s lease and in support of the house’s continued independence.
“The [University] has repeatedly ignored and evaded the residents of Chi Theta Chi during the process of their takeover,” said a Facebook event page dedicated to the march. “The residents of Chi Theta Chi and all those in solidarity will march…to make their voices heard.”
According to the event page, which listed 85 attendees at the time of publication, protestors will march on the office of Student Affairs and make a direct case for the house’s continued independence.
“With a forceful and passionate turnout…we can show the University that this cause will not go away,” wrote George Malkin ’13, a former XOX resident, in a post on The Unofficial Stanford Blog.
Administrators first moved to terminate Chi Theta Chi’s lease on Feb. 8, citing “pressing life safety issues,” with the intent of assuming control of the house on April 2. The University later postponed the takeover until Aug. 31, when the annually renewed lease will expire.
XOX Alumni Board representatives and University officials are currently close to an agreement that will provide for joint oversight of the house for a “minimum of two years.”
XOX residents protested the University’s Feb. 8 announcement vociferously, disputing various rationales put forward by administrators as grounds for the lease’s termination and criticizing the lack of notice provided in advance of the announcement. In subsequent weeks, a petition supporting the house’s independence gathered more than 2,000 signatures, and the ASSU Undergraduate Senate unanimously approved a resolution advocating the lease’s renewal.
“We believe the University is beginning to understand why independence is critical to the house’s unique character, thanks to the outpouring of support from alumni and the community at large,” wrote Abel Allison ’08, president of the Alumni Board, in a March 12 email to The Daily.
In recent weeks, residents have been much more muted in their protests. According to Gerald Hanono ’12, XOX house manager, the shift was prompted by requests from administrators and the Alumni Board to create a less strained atmosphere for ongoing negotiations.
However, as details of the proposed resolution emerge, residents and supporters have returned to a more vocal posture in an effort to more directly convey their displeasure with the settlement. Protest organizers singled out an alleged lack of clarity on how the house can regain its lease, as well as the loss of XOX’s singular autonomy under joint oversight, as particular sticking points.
“Residential and Dining Enterprises and the Vice Provost’s Office have continuously displayed a fundamental lack of understanding of [XOX’s] culture,” Malkin wrote. “XOX’s culture is rooted in its independence.”
Event organizers have also sought to portray the debate as one with implications beyond Chi Theta Chi, arguing that the decision to let the lease expire is simply a manifestation of sustained University efforts to “homogenize” residential life.
“We ask you to stand with us (literally) to show…that Stanford is one community, that the injustices faced by one house affect us all,” the event page read.
Following an all-campus breakfast at Chi Theta Chi at 9 a.m. on Monday, marchers will depart for the office of Student Affairs at 9.30 a.m.