“People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.”
Outgoing Student Association President Dillon Schade recited Mother Teresa’s famous poem, “Do it Anyway,” during his final speech to the Student Congress Monday evening.
In his address, Schade claimed that his decision to resign came after a meeting with the Black Student Union’s (BSU) executive board, where he was given “an ultimatum.”
“It was either I resign my position as SA president and they go quietly, or I do not resign and they threaten to use their alumni base to reach out to local, state and national media and the NAACP and force my resignation,” he said.
The president also alleged that he was not allowed to attend BSU’s town hall meeting on Thursday to defend himself.
Pipe Dream reached out to BSU for comment about Schade’s claim, and to Schade for more clarification about the circumstances under which he was not allowed at the town hall, but did not receive a response.
Schade also criticized Pipe Dream’s coverage of the events, and said that he was not given an opportunity to speak for himself.
Pipe Dream spoke with Schade about his Tinder profile last Monday afternoon, but he declined to go on the record. On Tuesday, Pipe Dream reached out again and was referred to Assistant Dean for Off-Campus Services Milton Chester.
Schade’s speech capped off what was a tumultuous week for the president. Following the revelation that his Tinder profile contained offensive, racially charged language, BSU authored a letter calling for his resignation, which was promptly signed by other prominent student groups.
He attempted to limit the damage by first issuing an apology on his Facebook page, which deferred responsibility for the offensive language to an unknown party, and later by sending a formal apology to the student body via email.
However, the requests for him to step down did not go away — the Pipe Dream Editorial Board also called for Schade to resign.
“Given the situation, and the fact that I have a job [that is] at-will at a major firm in Washington, D.C. after graduation, it was in my personal best interest to [resign],” Schade explained Monday evening.
Schade went on to thank many of the people in attendance at the meeting, including his executive board and the students of congress, as well as the “hundreds of people” who reached out to him in support.
“Certainly, this has been a tough time for myself and my family,” he said. “I am looking forward to graduating and moving forward from this experience [and] watching the students who are a part of the SA grow together.”