Yale University Students Protest Halloween Costume Email (VIDEO 2)

Yale University Students Protest Halloween Costume Email (VIDEO 2)

Student A: I give tours every day—not if every week—and have to stand here in the courtyard and say “This is my home. I live up there. My master’s there; my dean. I love my college.” And I can’t say that anymore because it’s not a home. It is no longer a safe space for me. And I find that incredibly depressing for the freshman who are here and who don’t know any better. Who don’t know that this was once a space that I was proud to be a part of because of the loving community. Because I feel, that in your role as master and associate master, after sending that email and after not having an appropriate response, that our opinion has been dismissed. That you guys have not said “I hear you. I hear that you are hurting and I am sorry that I have caused you to feel pain.” I have not heard that from you and I have not heard that from your wife. And that is what I want to hear. I don’t want to hear anymore [inaudible] because it’s not fair [inaudible].

Crowd: [Snaps.]

Student in crowd: Speak up!
Student in crowd: Please speak up?

Christakis: I don’t want to look away from her...

Student in crowd: Just talk louder and look at her!

Christakis: I’m doing my best, everyone. I’m doing my best. I’m doing my best. I’m trying to address her directly and as a human being, face to face, and I don’t want to turn my back to her. And I don’t want to yell at her, I’m this far, if I raise my voice so you can hear me.

Student in crowd: Thank you.

Christakis: So please stop misjudging anything I do, ok. Give me a little bit of talking room, alright?
So as I was telling you… I’ll speak up a little, but I won’t yell at her. That fair?

Student in crowd: Yes.
Student in crowd: That’s fair.

Christakis: Alright. So, what I wanted to tell you, Michaela is that you have spent time with me. You’ve been in class with me. You had all those experiences that you described. And, what’s amazing to me is, despite all of that, you weren’t able to form an opinion of me as a human being and what my beliefs are and to see the extent to which they’re in agreement with your beliefs. That you seem to think that somehow, I don’t agree with the content of your beliefs. That’s not what’s happening from my perspective. From my per…

Student A: I don’t see you as agreeing.

Student B: Can I, can I say something? Can I, can I just interject really quickly? The moral of Michaela’s comments is not... The moral of the story is, she wants an apology, yet you respond not with an apology.
… Are you going to address the heart of her comment? That’s all I want. Are you gonna give an apology? Are you gonna say that you’re hearing us? Are you gonna, then, go to the lengths that she wants you to go to which, to me, don’t seem very far. But, still seem... We’re not making a judgment on like, Master Christakis is inherently b—like, we just want an acknowledgement of hurt, and we have yet to get that which Michaela just said.

Crowd: [Snaps.]

Student B: So, my question is: are you going to say that? Or not? Cause then, I could just leave if you’re not gonna say that. Cause, I’ve heard from...I was at the discussion, I was here, I’m gonna be there on Sunday, and I’m gonna listen. But, like, what I’m listening for, I’ve not yet heard. So I’m just asking, are you gonna provide that or are you not gonna provide that.

Christakis: I have to think about the, this idea for my [inaudible]

Student B: The idea of apologizing?

Christakis: Yes. Because then you have to think, if I ask you to apologize right now for delaying me from all my other obligations to other students.

Crowd: [Jeers, boos, shushing.]

Christakis: I’m just saying, just because you ask for an apology doesn’t mean that the other person [snaps] instantly has to say yes.

Crowd, Student B: [Inaudible.]

Christakis: The person has to think about what it is that you’re asking for. What it means.

Student B: Ok. So then, my question is…

Christakis: For what? Tell me what it is…

Student B: For what?! Ok Ok…