University under fire to create a safe space for white students called 'White Awake & # 39;

The University of Maryland's counseling center received negative feedback after creating a group called "White Awake" as "a safe space for white students" to discuss running on campus.

(UMD)

The University of Maryland (UMD) was forced to pull out flyers and change the name of a counseling program that offered "a safe space for white students" after eliciting outrage over the campus.

At the beginning of the fall semester, the UMD Advisory Center issued flyers for a new group called "White Awake", which caused the backlash.

On Friday morning, the university's website was renamed "Anti-Racism and Ally Building Group" and removed any reference to "safe space" and "white students".

"This group provides a safe space for white students to explore their experiences, questions, reactions and feelings," read the initial description. "Members will support and share their mutual reactions while learning more about themselves and how they fit into a diverse world."

The pamphlet also asked if whites felt "uncomfortable and confused" in their "interactions with racial and ethnic minorities" and they "wanted to become a better ally".

Several students expressed outrage over social media and campuses.

"The world is a space in which whites can speak," said a student at The Diamondback, a UMD student newspaper, expressing how unnecessary the new initiative is.

Another student tweeted she was "ashamed of the waking white's performance," writing, "Why do they need to attend therapy sessions on how to be a decent human being in society … of coexist?

Noah Collins, who leads the group and specializes in group therapy for the counseling center, is interested in "racial and cultural awareness," said late Thursday that the UMD will drop the leaflet and consider group.

He added that the pamphlet was "not clear enough" explaining that the goal of the group was "anti-racism and become a better ally".

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The university told Fox News in a statement that the UMD's counseling center acknowledged it "did not choose the right words to raise awareness about this research-based initiative, and how that group is perceived. "

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"It's an incredibly difficult and nuanced question, and that's why we need to discuss it," Collins wrote. "The goal of this group is to help white students become more culturally competent, so that they can better participate in creating a more inclusive environment at the university." 39, University of Maryland. "