Racism on Campus
On February 15th, 2010, University of California San Diego (UCSD) fraternity students threw a “ghetto-themed” party called the “Compton Cookout.” NBC Los Angeles reports that the party was meant “to mock Black History Month” and the invitation encouraged participants to “wear chains, don cheap clothes and speak very loudly.” The Detroit Free Press adds that partygoers were promised “chicken, watermelon and malt liquor.” Students and community leaders in Los Angeles responded, protesting and condemning the event. The editor in chief of the campus’ humor publication “appeared on UCSD’s Student Run Television station on Feb. 18 and called protesters of the controversial party ‘ungrateful niggers,’ ” the Daily Nexus writes. Then, on the evening of February 25th, a noose was found in the main library, hanging from a bookcase and facing a window. The Associated Press reports that the student who hung the noose in the library turned herself in to police. She has been suspended and “is under investigation by campus police for a possible hate crime;” NBC San Diego adds that she could face charges of “hanging a noose with intent to terrorize.” The Black Student Union (BSU) Chapter at UCSD “declared the campus climate to be in a ‘state of emergency,’ the Daily Nexus writes. According to NBC Los Angeles, “black students comprise less than 2 percent of the university’s undergraduates.” Hundreds of students joined a protest on February 26th, both chanting outside the chancellor’s office, and sitting silently in a group “wearing black and listening to fellow students who said that they are tired and hurt after nearly two weeks of racially-charged events,” NBC San Diego reports.
- On February 24th, UCSD’s BSU chapter “declared the campus climate to be in a ‘state of emergency,’ ” the Daily Nexus reports. What do you think the BSU chapter meant by this?
- The student who hung the noose issued an anonymous public statement, the Los Angeles Times reports, stating that “ ‘this was not an act of racism’ ” but a “ ‘stupid mistake.’ ” The student said the noose “was the result of fooling around and had nothing to do with seeking to intimidate black students with a symbol of lynching.” What do you make of the student’s apology?
- UCSD staff member Dierdre Vernon is quoted by NBC San Diego as saying, “ ‘Anytime you hang a noose. That’s a message. That’s a death message. A noose is nothing but death.’ ” What message does a noose send to African American students on the UCSD campus? What message does it send to others? Do you think the student who hung the noose should be held responsible for her actions, regardless of her intent?
- The Detroit Free Press quotes student Cheyenne Stevens, who is African American, as saying “ ‘How am I supposed to walk into that building? How am I ever going to be safe there?’ ” What does it mean for a school to be a safe place for students? What needs to happen in order to make UCSD a safe place for all students?
- Chancellor Marye Ann Fox issued an online video statement saying, “ ‘It is deplorable that while our students, faculty and staff work to heal the campus, a few misguided individuals tried to divide it,” NBC San Diego writes. Yet, according to an editorial for the Los Angeles Times, the Compton Cookout, racial epithet, and noose are not isolated incidents. The “students at UC Berkeley and UCLA, for example, spoke of ‘border parties’ that require attendees to hop a fence or cross a ‘border’ to gain admittance.” The Los Angeles Times claims that the problem is “an all-too-permissive culture in which some UCSD students apparently feel free to express racial malice with a breezy, unconcerned openness.” To what extent are hate crimes or racist incidents a measure of tolerance in a community? How might these racist incidents be indicative of a larger problem? What can be done to address the larger issue of racial malice?
- NBC San Diego reports that “on Monday, the university outlined the actions it has taken to improve the school's climate and cultural diversity. They include creating a task force to focus on recruiting minority faculty, forming a commission to address the campus climate, continuing to fund Faculty-Student Mentor Programs, ensuring ongoing funding for the Chancellor's Diversity Office, identifying space for an African-American Resource Center on Campus and meeting with members of the Black Student Union at least once every academic quarter.” What do you make of the university’s response? What do you think can make a difference?
