The UC-San Diego Controversy (Cont.)

In the wake of the controversy over the so-called "Compton Cookout" and discovery of a noose in the UCSD library, this letter is appearing on the UC-Irvine campus newspaper (New University) website.
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"I have a story that needs to be heard. I am the girl you’ve read about, the one who hung the noose in Geisel Library.

Firstly, I’m writing to apologize. I don’t have an excuse for what I did, and I deeply regret it.

Secondly, I’m writing to hopefully put a little bit of faith back into the UCSD campus by clarifying that it was not an act of racism. This is what happened.

I found a small piece of rope on the ground earlier in the day. While I was hanging out with my friends a bit later, we tried jump- roping with it and making it into a lasso. My friend then took the rope and tied it into a noose. I innocently marveled at his ability to tie a noose, without thinking of any of its connotations or the current racial climate at UCSD. I left soon after with one of my friends for Geisel to study, still carrying the rope. After a bit of studying I picked up the rope to play with, and ended up hanging it by my desk. It was a mindless act and stupid mistake. When I got up to leave, a couple hours later, I simply forgot about it. This was Tuesday night. Three days later, on Friday morning, I found out that the noose had been found and construed as another racist act on campus. I felt so ashamed and embarrassed, and the first thing I did was call the campus police and confess. I was hoping to clarify that this was not an act of racism before the incident got a full reaction from the campus. I gave my statement around 9 a.m. They thanked me for coming forward and for trying to clear up the issue. Later, I received a campuswide e-mail saying that I confessed and had been taken into custody, which simply wasn’t true. One thing that is true is that I have been suspended. I know what I did was offensive — regardless of my intentions — I am just trying to say I’m sorry. As a minority student who sympathizes with the students that have been affected by the recent issues on campus, I am distraught to know that I have unintentionally added to their pain."

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I'm not sure how to react to this letter. Understandably, there is no name attached. I am unable to verify anything that is in it. If the contents of letter are 100% factual, I question why the girl was suspended over what appears to be an honest mistake. It still seems murky to me.

Of course, the UCSD incidents have spilled over onto other UC campuses as students demonstrate against what happened in San Diego. Yesterday, there was another protest at UCI. (I wasn't present. I had classes to teach.) Of course, it encompassed all the recent controversies, and pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli students both voiced their opinions.

(OC Register)
How's that Olive Tree Initiative workin' out for ya?


http://www.ocregister.com/news/irvine-237121-administration-front.html


Another interesting side note at UCI is that some students are taking UCI Chancellor Michael Drake to task for "not being more outspoken" about what has happened at UCSD. Since Drake is black, I don't think he needs any "advice" from non-black students on how he should respond to what happens on other campuses.

At the same time, a female UCI student is being taken to task on campus for her recent editorial in the New University questioning the continued utility of "Black History Month". Unfortunately, the timing couldn't have been worse as it appeared as the San Diego events were unfolding. Here is the article. I am deleting the young lady's name since she is taking enough grief.
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"It is irritating how many people today believe that racism will end as long as every American minority has a special day, week, month, club or organization dedicated to them. One such example of a holiday that supposedly helps to eliminate racism is Black History Month, which takes place every February to celebrate the various accomplishments and contributions of African-Americans throughout American history.

Frankly, I don’t even like the term African-American to begin with. First of all, not all blacks are from Africa, and second, “hyphenating” everyone’s racial category in a country that, today, accepts people from all nationalities and backgrounds is a modern-day form of segregation. I wish we could all just be Americans.

This is not to say that I am ignorant of or naïve about racists within our society, but racism no longer characterizes society as a whole. I would argue that focusing on everyone’s ethnic background — American-born or not — in the form of club organizations and holidays is racist because all it seeks to do is give preferential treatment to self-segregating groups whose main purpose is to cry eternal victimhood.

A recent article on this issue, published by Newsweek and written by Raina Kelley, reminds people such as myself of the importance of Black History Month: “[It] is a measure of how fully or accurately our story is being told and a reminder of the work yet to be done.” Kelley argues that “bemoaning” the existence of the month is wasted time that could be spent “[proselytizing]” for issues that need more national attention, such as “failing inner-city public schools, institutionalized poverty, health-care disparities, and job discrimination.”

Kelley does not give concrete modern examples of these ills, nor does she offer a proposal herself on how to fix them. I, for one, do not chalk these issues up to being the fault of the elusive “white man.” I think much of the problem today in the way of racial relations, is with America’s obsession with political correctness. Perhaps these issues are not being addressed because no one feels comfortable enough to say that they are not necessarily the fault of the “white man,” but are also partially the result of personal responsibility — or in this case, a lack thereof. As it is, you probably think I am a racist for delving into this issue to begin with.

To make my point, we have an “African-American” president; other African-Americans in the spotlight are former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Colin Powell, GOP Chairman Michael Steele, Oprah Winfrey, nationally syndicated talk radio show host Larry Elder and many more. This list doesn’t even begin to encompass the slew of African-American actors, actresses, and singers. What was that about job discrimination? Furthermore, it is a known fact that things like affirmative action give preferential treatment to American minorities. I would go so far to say that universities and companies seek minority candidates for the sake of calling themselves “diverse.”

I agree with Kelley in that there are many issues since slavery still extant in the African-American community, but I do not agree that in today’s world it should all be attributed to the “white man.” While slavery is a scar on American history, its legacy has also opened so many opportunities with an equally powerful political force: The Civil Rights Movement. The statement that we live in a “culture over-reliant on stereotype and slow to explore the complexity of racial issues” just doesn’t hold true anymore in post-Civil Rights America.

Still, when that movement radicalizes, it undermines itself and creates a familiar divisive rhetoric. We are all Americans, and we should all be held to an equal standard and judged based on our merit, as opposed to our skin color or ethnic background. While remnants of institutionalized racism have led to our current obsession with diversity and political correctness, Americans must have the freedom to take personal responsibility and to critique others without having the threat of racism hanging over their heads. It is only when this is a real possibility that people of all ethnic backgrounds can engage in a dialogue about solving issues affecting the totality of the American citizenry."
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So do you think that is racist? I don't. The problem is that the young lady has offended the gods of political correctness at a time when at least one and possibly two racist acts actually occurred at a UC campus (UCSD). Due to the aforementioned letter, I am leaving the noose incident open to some question.

But the most shocking information to come out of the entire UC system in February is.....



Not a peep from UC Santa Cruz (America's Wackiest University).