EXCLUSIVE: University hosts ‘White Accountability Groups’ for people with ‘white skin privilege'

Dominican University (DU), a Roman Catholic institution in Illinois, advertised "White Accountability Groups" for the Fall 2022 semester, according to an email obtained by Campus Reform.

The university will hold six separate sessions, “[o]pen to students, faculty, & staff who identify as white and/or have white skin privilege,” the email explains.

The email shares that the group will “explore how to recognize whiteness and white privilege, identify and interrupt internalized dominance, and collectively develop strategies for liberation and change.”

[RELATED: New 'White Student Accountability Group' is part of a nationwide trend]

The email was sent by Amy Omi, the school’s Project Coordinator for the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

The first meeting is scheduled for Sept 26. Attendees can fill out an online form to sign up. 

DU students shared mixed reactions towards the groups being offered on campus.

Reyna Valencia, a current freshman, thinks the White Accountability Groups are a “smart idea.”

“What Dominican is doing is amazing, educating others who might’ve not grown up with a community who would educate them on their privilege could be really helpful for them,” Valencia told Campus Reform.

[RELATED: White people banned from common spaces at UC Berkeley’s off-campus housing]

She continued, saying that “[a]t first the name seemed off to me but I think having to reflect on the fact that white people do in fact have to take accountability to take action in educating themselves in the system is at the end of the day, what the group is about.”

Another student, who requested to remain anonymous, did not express the same viewpoint. Instead, the student alleged that the groups could offend people.

“I don’t think I have privilege for being white I think I have privilege based off my life decisions,” the student told Campus Reform. 

Campus Reform reached out to Dominican University and Omi for comment. This article will be updated accordingly. 

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