Scripps College hosts no-whites pool party; student paper says segregated events becoming common

Everybody in the pool!

Unless you're white.

Café con Leche, a registered student club at Scripps College in Claremont, California, recently organized and announced a pool party for non-whites.

Social media announcements for the pool party state that only people of color from Claremont Colleges are invited to attend. In addition to Scripps College, that includes Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, Pomona College and Pitzer College.

The party is set for 7 to 10 p.m. Friday at Scripps’ Sallie Tiernan House Pool.

Who is organizing the party?

Café con Leche, a "Latinx" group, said the pool party is intended to create “a safe space for 5C students that identify as [people of color] to come together and build community."

Latinx is a "gender neutral" term used to replace Latina or Latino.

Cafe con Leche states on its Facebook page that the group welcomes all members of the Scripps community “regardless of racial and cultural heritage.”

But the event appears to violate Scripps’ anti-discrimination policy, the Claremont Independent, a student publication, reported.

The policy states: “Scripps College is committed to a policy of equal opportunity, and no differentiation will be made based on race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, veteran status, or the presence of a disability.”

Excluding white students may also violate federal law.

“Because Scripps College receives federal assistance, it is bound by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VI states, ‘Schools and colleges that receive federal funds must operate without discriminating when it comes to race, color, and national origin.’ ” the Claremont Independent stated.

Has this happened before?

“Self-segregated spaces and events exclusively for POC are increasingly common across the Claremont Colleges,” according to the report.

For example, Pitzer College’s Climbing Club is hosting an off-campus people of color event later this month.

A description for the event reads: “Are you a person of color? Have you ever wanted to try climbing, but felt intimidated by the predominantly white space that is the climbing community?”

The notice invites members to “bring all of your POC identifying friends for a fun, FREE, night of climbing! … This is a closed event for POC identifying people only.”

The climbing club indicated it plans to have another climb event in the near future that will be open to everyone.