U Mich pharmacists take 'stand against collusion'
The University of Michigan’s School of Pharmacy recently draped a banner in one of its on-campus buildings saying it stands “against collusion.”
“I STAND AGAINST,” the top of the banner boldly proclaims, followed by a list of terms such as “racism, classism, sexism, bigotry,” and “white supremacy.” A disclaimer at the bottom, however, notes that "all terms of oppression are not listed."
[RELATED: Trump supporters ‘not welcome,’ says diversity chair]
A notable outlier among the “terms of oppression” is the word “collusion,” which unlike every other word on the list does not refer to some form of prejudice or discrimination.
Campus Reform reached out to the School of Pharmacy for elaboration on its inclusion of the term, and Dean James Dalton explained that while he “wasn’t involved in the selection of the words,” he imagined “that ‘collusion’ was included amongst the other words signifying practices that exclude others based on unfair or biased measures.”
He went on to express confusion at the genesis of Campus Reform’s “focus on the word collusion,” asking for “additional information.”
[RELATED: University department calls Trump, Sessions ‘criminals’]
Campus Reform elaborated that the word is mostly used to describe illegal cooperation between government officials, and was popularized most recently during allegations that the Trump campaign plotted with Russian diplomats.
“The additional context is helpful. I think it is safe to say that the term can be applied in many contexts,” Dalton responded, citing “business, political, and academic integrity” as examples.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @AGockowski
