I just got back from a visit to Colorado. While there, I visited a university campus, and picked up a copy of “College Avenue.”
One of the first articles is called “College Avenue can do better.”
Dear readers,
Within the first weeks of the school year, we’ve already witnessed an incident involving four White students in blackface. A week later, a swastika was found next to a community coordinator’s door in Aggie Village. These recent incidents have certainly shocked the campus community, but it is ultimately just the latest iteration of discriminatory behavior persistent within the past three years at Colorado State University. The fact that such incidents have been a mainstay on campus for the past four years is irrevocably heartbreaking.
An incident of racism has been a highlight of every semester since 2016. Since then, Rocky Mountain Student Media Corporation – College Avenue’s parent company – has reported over 20 incidents related to bigotry; from a noose found hanging outside a Black resident assistant’s dorm room in 2017 to clashes between White nationalists and anti-fascist protesters in 2018. Intentional or otherwise, these incidents perpetuate racist and racially ignorant beliefs, none of which have any place on our campus…
So, this year, we’re making a stronger commitment to sharing the stories of underrepresented groups on campus. To do that we intend to schedule and attend meetings with the Student Diversity Programs and Services to have honest, thorough discussions about making College Avenue an inclusive platform for underrepresented voices.
Let’s look at the blackface incident. According to The Root:
One of several white Colorado State University students who were pictured wearing blackface striking a pose from Marvel’s billion-dollar-plus blockbuster Black Panther said her actions were stupid but not racist…
A picture posted on social media depicts four students in blackface as two of them cross their arms in front of their chests in a “Wakanda Forever” salute, a reference to Ryan Coogler’s groundbreaking superhero movie. The photo was captioned “Wakanda forevaa.”
Given today’s political climate, and said students’ vulnerability, it wasn’t advisable to do what they did. In fact, it was downright foolish. But was their intention to demean black people? On the contrary. The movie Black Panther was just one of many pro-black creations these students were exposed to. According to Jamil Smith, in Time:
This is one of the many reasons Black Panther is significant. What seems like just another entry in an endless parade of superhero movies is actually something much bigger. It hasn’t even hit theaters yet and its cultural footprint is already enormous. It’s a movie about what it means to be black in both America and Africa—and, more broadly, in the world. Rather than dodge complicated themes about race and identity, the film grapples head-on with the issues affecting modern-day black life.
David Betancourt, of the Washington Post, has this to say about it:
At the heart of the story is Africa, and specifically Wakanda, the fictional Marvel Comics-created land, and its relationship with the world. Wakanda and the Black Panther/King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) must take a hard look in the mirror and ask themselves if keeping their existence a secret has kept the world safer (it keeps the nation’s technological advancements out of the hands of those who would use them for harm), or if they are guilty of ignoring the black suffering that has been endured across the planet by those who descend from the African motherland.
In an era when blacks, and black cultures, are put on a pedestal, it should come as no surprise when some non-blacks want to identify with blacks. They even want to BE black. The fact that the white students were giving the “Wakanda salute” and captioned the photo “Wakanda forevaa” should make it obvious that their intentions were not to be demeaning toward blacks. They were young whites who were taught that it’s cool to be black, and they acted out what they were taught – but not in an approved manner.
In other words, the very policies that the of the above article wants to expand (“focusing on underrepresented voices”) are the policies that cause young white people to want to BE those minorities. Also, “minority voices” are anything but “underrepresented,” as is evident by articles such as the one in question.
As for the swastika incident, it was probably done by an “anti-racist,” if history is any indication. Until, and unless, we learn otherwise, it means little to nothing.
Another article, in the same magazine, laments that:
Students also feel discriminated against because of the lack of diversity on campus. Minority groups make up a small portion of the students on campus, meaning they make up less of the money coming in for the University… almost 70% of the 24,600 undergraduates identified as white as of fall 2019.
The article includes a chart showing the ethnic breakdown of the university. According to the chart, 68.8% of the students are white. As for Colorado, as a whole, 84.2% of its population is white, according to the latest statistics. In other words, whites are underrepresented at Colorado State University. What is being done to address this?
What is being done is condemnation of white students. Consider the following statements, from the latter article in this publication (titled “When will enough be enough at CSU?”):
Many want the University to start educating students, mainly those from privileged and white backgrounds – meaning those who have systemic advantages or those who are not subjected to racism – on how their actions impact others.
“I think that there are two types of distinct ignorance that make up the white population,” said Huddah… “It is ignorance towards not understanding students of color due to lack of exposure, lack of education, lack of community versus ignorance being racism, and prejudice because of personal bias towards people of color.”
“CSU is scared to reprimand their white students because all of the biased incidents, from what I know, has been a white student.”… If all of their students who are white feel like as if they’re finally going to be held accountable and they can’t be themselves in a sense, I guess, then why have them come here?
Accompanying the article is a graph showing all the the “Racial Events” at CSU. It includes anything that the Establishment Left finds offensive. For example, “First Free Speech Wall on Plaza by Trump supporters” is a “Racial Event.” “It’s Okay to be White 4Chan signs posted on campus” is counted as a “Racial Event.” “Candance (sic) Owens comes to campus” is a “Racial Event.”
But back to the last quote. Could you, dear reader, even imagine a campus magazine publishing the following statement?
“CSU is scared to reprimand their black students because all of the violent incidents, from what I know, has been a black student.”… If all of their students who are black feel like as if they’re finally going to be held accountable and they can’t be themselves in a sense, I guess, then why have them come here?
No. Such a statement would never get published, and if it did, heads would roll. And that leads us to ask: If you can openly criticize white students, as a group, but you cannot openly criticize non-whites, then who is being marginalized?
