UCSD student who hung noose has been suspended from school (Noose ignites more protests at UCSD)

[Nikki Stone1]

Source: Los Angeles Times

....UC San Diego police confirmed that the student contacted them Friday morning and acknowledged responsibility for placing the noose the night before on a lamp fixture atop a seventh-floor bookcase in the campus' main library. Police did not release the woman's name or race or provide any information about a motive.

The incident was the latest in a series of events sparking racial tensions and concern at the San Diego campus. On Feb. 15, an off-campus party, described as a "Compton Cookout," mocked Black History Month, leading to large student protests. A few days later, a campus satirical group defended the party and used a derogatory term about blacks on a campus television show.

Fox said she suspended the student who hung the noose pending further investigation.

Under state law, hanging a noose, a symbol of racism and lynchings for many African Americans, if done with "intent to terrorize," is considered a misdemeanor that can bring up to a year in county jail and a $5,000 fine....

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-uc-protests27-2010feb27,0,3967867.story

---

[Sultana]

1. Expel and fine her ass!

:mad:

[Nikki Stone1]

33. ALL BACKSTORY LINKS HERE

#1 http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7767315
#2 http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4286603&mesg_id=4286612

#3 http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7791454&mesg_id=7791454

#4 http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7801524&mesg_id=7801524

#5 http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7803228

[tango-tee]

84. Thanks, Nikki

for all the work you have put into this, and bundling the information for us.

I'm so disgusted, and I do wish they had not only suspended but expelled her.

[Nikki Stone1]

93. I think she needs to be arrested.

But the lawyers are probably already waiting in the wings with "free speech" arguments.

[No Elephants]

120. Death threats and hate speech may not be speech that the First Amendment protects equally with

political speech? Especially not within a school?

Don't know, but that's what I'd say. Of course, the Republiscotus may decide differently. Wouldn't want to put a crimp in hate radio.

[tango-tee]

140. Nikki, you really kick ass.

Love it. Keep doing what you're doing - thank you for all your hard work!

There are quite a few people I can think of who I would love to see buried underneath the jailhouse so deep that sunshine would have to be *pumped* to them.

:yourock:

[Nikki Stone1]

146. I am trying to keep up with the details.

I'll let you know about what happens this week.

[tango-tee]

156. Nikki, any news about the KKK hood?

Haven't had the chance to check any other posts or the news and thus depend on you for info.

Good grief, will there be some idiots trying to make us believe that this has been some brainless, innocent teenage prank? And that those of us who think that this whole pathetic act is sickening are dried-up, stuck-in-the-sixties fuddy-duddies?

I'm going to pour myself a drink right now. Straight up, no ice. Brrrr. Cheers, Nikki.

[Nikki Stone1]

160. UCSD: KKK mask found near Dr Seuss statue, Geisel Library (w/comments)

http://www.ucsdguardian.org/news/strike-four-kkk-hood-hung-on-dr.-suess-statue/

Strike Four: KKK Hood Hung on Dr. Suess Statue
Posted on 02 March 2010
Tags: COMPTON COOKOUT, GEISEL, KKK, LIBRARY, RACISM
By Angela Chen

Less than a week after a noose was found on the seventh floor of Geisel Library, police are investigating another racially charged act on campus: a Ku Klux Klan-style pillowcase hood, complete with a hand-drawn KKK symbol, placed on the Dr. Seuss statue outside Geisel.

The discovery was made at 11 p.m. on Monday, March 1, and has since been confirmed by UCSD Head Librarian Brian Schottlaender. In addition to the hood, a rose was placed in the statue’s fingers.

The statue was donated in 2004 by Audrey Geisel — widow of Theodor Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss — who also donated $20 million to the construction of the library.

According to an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, Geisel was contacted by a librarian regarding the incident. She said the act was an example of “a little faction” that gets “carried away” with the attention these events receive.
According to an article from KPBS San Diego, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney General’s office are all investigating the recent offensive acts on campus.

Both Director of Library Communications Dolores Davies and Assistant Manager of University Communications Christine Clark said the planting of the hood is being treated as a crime, and all those responsible will be punished under the law. Police have removed the items and are processing them for evidence, including fingerprint and DNA analysis.
“This is being treated as an investigation which is being treated with all authority,” said Clark.

Officers at UCSD finished their investigation of the noose today and submitted it to city police. The student who claimed responsibility for the noose is currently suspended, and has been charged with a possible hate crime.

The hood is the latest incident in a two-week rise in hate speech throughout the UC system, which included the scrawling of a noose on a UC Santa Cruz bathroom — with the words “UCSD lynching” near it — and the vandalizing of the UC Davis LGBT Resource Center with homophobic slurs.


Share and Enjoy:

« Mar. 1, 2010
15 Responses to “Strike Four: KKK Hood Hung on Dr. Suess Statue”
missx says:
March 2, 2010 at 11:36 pm
Since the Compton Cookout was organized by a black man and the noose was done by a person of color claiming that blacks are being taunted by white racists is hysteria. As far as the school paper- they are every bit as abusive to asians, jews, gays, and women as they are to blacks so to give their black racist comments a higher degree of offense is in itself racism. As far as this noose incident- I suspect it was done by the BSU as a way of demomizing the school as racist. Since we don’t know yet all I can say is “3 out of 4″ of your claims that blacks are being targeted are untrue… and it is possible that this last one too is also a hoax.

James says:
March 2, 2010 at 11:49 pm
missx you are a complete IDIOT. all of your info is false. that jiggaboo jones character DID NOT organize that racist crap – WHITES did. the “minority” that placed the noose in the hall was a WOMAN….that is what she meant by minority.

and the rest of your comment….you are obviously just an idiot. yea, black people are really gonna go plant hoods and nooses white people cant ever be a problem right?

get the hell outta here, moron.

Tom says:
March 3, 2010 at 12:17 am
To James:
missx is quite right with her cautious consideration of all possible motives. Just think, why would this incident entitle the BSU to demand USCD to shut down the whole school? This is crazy!

You call missx names, but you would not identify yourself, you coward, would you. And who are you, to decide who can stay and who can not. Shame on you.

missx says:
March 3, 2010 at 3:11 am
Sorry to tell you this but YES african americans have HAVE done things like hang nooses, racist graffetti, and similar things to what we have seen here in the past few weeks.
Then there is Tawnana Brawley and Crystal Mangum…. I get the feeling that the BSU are full of them

Robert says:
March 3, 2010 at 3:46 am
It wouldn’t surprise me if this was done by the BSU considering some of the things that I’ve heard BSU memember say in the past week.

Thor says:
March 3, 2010 at 3:58 am
It doesn’t really make any sense for white people to hang the noose or put the hood on. It wouldn’t benefit a white supremacist in any way. Wouldn’t a racist want to keep the number of black students to a minimum and prevent further protests. Also the noose planter didn’t use minority in the context as a woman, her text was

“As a minority student who sympathizes with the students that have been affected by the recent issues on campus”

this is clearly in the context of race as she is empathizing with the racial hurt caused by her actions.

If you approach the campus situation from the point of view of a racist you have two approaches, logical and fanatical. Logically planting the hood or noose would be counter-productive. From a fanatic insane racist perspective planting these items is also counterproductive. Fanatics would benefit not from a small symbolic act anonymously in the middle of the night. They would as all fanatics to claim responsibility as a group and do so in a widespread manner across campus. Fanatics want recognition. There should have been dozens of nooses and KKK propaganda spread throughout campus and interference with the protests and rallies. Placing a single hood on a statue simply compromises the fanatic racist, it does not promote their presence on campus,and it does not show that they are a force to threaten black students.

The most likely cause of the hood on the statue is the Koala or perhaps an antagonist who seeks attention. More so, wouldn’t a KKK member use an actual hood and not a pillow case? And why would they plant a rose too?

The existence of this terrorizing white racist element is absurd. The only group to benefit from the hood is the BSU. If there was no hood their cause would be forgotten nationally in a week, and their demands would be lost in the UC bureaucracy. EVERY STUDENT loses from the noose and hood, as our degree are devalued by such actions. We are nationally denounced as racists, which compromises all of the work we have done academically for our degrees.

I am white. I am not a racist. The last few weeks have created a campus environment where I am demonized and condemned, when I have done nothing wrong. No matter what actions I take I am still glared at as if I am full of hate. Thank you BSU, thank you noose girl, and thank you who ever put the hood up.

yvonne says:
March 3, 2010 at 5:09 am
how the saga has changed.

notice how everyone’s attentions have been diverted away from the original issues of exclusion, low black student numbers on campus, and acceptance of negative stereotypes on campus.

1. “the devil made me do it” defense: i don’t believe for one second that jigga jones organized the event. even if he did, it is still offensive.

2. “the black students are doing it to themselves”: maybe they are hanging nooses and hoods on campus. do you have evidence, or only conjecture?

these are red herrings. the original issues are being ignored.

yvonne says:
March 3, 2010 at 5:12 am
and i see that no one is mentioning how “nigger” was used by a koala tv staffer on air, and how the “compton lynching” note was found. i guess black students did that too, so that all 1.3% of them can take over the entire campus.

yeah. makes ALOT of sense.

Thor says:
March 3, 2010 at 5:14 am
nope that was the koala, they definitely made everything worse for everyone for the simple goal of creating chaos.

UCSD says:
March 3, 2010 at 6:57 am
1. This is obviously party of helping the BSU get their demands.

2. Lets put the claims of institutional racism into context. The same kinds of claims are made about UC Berkeley. Thats right, UC-Hippies-Living-In-the-F-ing-Trees-Berkeley. Think about that a second folks. These kinds of groups are never going to stop making demands and extorting funds and special privileges from the school. Don’t encourage this behavior by appeasing them.

3. How many of you are UCSD students right now busting your butt in classes that grade on the curve to get into Med School, Law School or other graduate program? Did you all know that UCSD is going to be lenient with grades and assignments for all the people involved with all this race hustling going on. This puts you go-getters at a disadvantage for working hard. Affirmative Action is now alive and well at UCSD.

Shorty says:
March 3, 2010 at 8:18 am
It’s interesting how our elites keep us fighting with each other over this stuff, isn’t it? While we argue about a noose and a cookout, hundreds of people — of all colors — are shot, stabbed, unemployed, underemployed, imprisoned for smoking or selling plants, sent off to kill innocent men, women and children around the world for the Pentagon, and indebted in a neo-feudalist monetary system headed by the evil Federal Reserve bank and its puppets the IMF and World Bank.

Then our masters play up stories like this in the media so we’re all fighting amongst ourselves instead of looking at them.

Fight the real enemy. It’s not each other.

http://www.campaignforliberty.org

"Shawna" says:
March 3, 2010 at 8:54 am
As a student of color, I have read the comments below and I think some of them are way out in left field and others could be right on the nose. But one thing you all have to keep in mind is that contrary to popular belief, racism is real and still exists. With things like hanging a noose and placing a KKK hood on a statue all denote hate towards ALL minorities. The noose is a direct jab at the African American community and denotes intention to do bodily harm to those of this community. To me, it gets personal. As I am not a student at UCSD, I have worked closely with those at UCSD and find that these activities are heinous and out of line. I hope that the federal government finds the people responsible and punishes them under the federal law. Racism is an act of hate, and should not be tolerated by any minority group, whether it be African Americans, Latino/a, Asians, etc. This just so happens to bring up what the underlying issue really is: lack of support for the African American community. After all that African Americans have done, they are still treated as if they don’t have a voice, as if they are still a 5th of a person. But know that through history, they have overcome any and all obstacles placed in otheir way and this is not going to deter them from achieving their goals. I am proud of the Black Student Union for all of their efforts! I love them and will support them 1000%!

Benito Juarez says:
March 3, 2010 at 9:46 am
June 4, 1977: An original poem composed for the 99th Commencement of Lake Forest College by Theodor Seuss Geisel (a.k.a Dr. Seuss). Eugene Hotchkiss III was president of Lake Forest College from 1970 to 1993.

Dr. Seuss Keeps Me Guessing
A Commencement story by President Emeritus Eugene Hotchkiss III

As Theodor Geisel (a.k.a Dr. Seuss) stepped forward to join me at the podium on a bright spring day in 1977, I began nervously to read the citation accompanying the degree the College would be awarding him on this occasion. Although he was listed in the program as the Commencement speaker, I was uncertain if he would accept his degree with anything more than a thank you. And thereby hangs a tale.

The search for a Commencement speaker that year had been unusually frustrating and unsuccessful; one after another of those recommended by the seniors declined. I recall to this day the visit from a reporter of the Stentor, who was preparing copy for the final issue of the year. He pled unsuccessfully with me to give him the name of the individual who would address the graduating class. Alas, at that late hour not even I knew who he or she might be. Suddenly I recalled that a trustee of the College, Kenneth Montgomery, had once told me that should I ever need a speaker he would be willing to approach his good friend Ted Geisel and invite him to the campus. “Green eggs and ham,” thought I. “Why not?”

A phone contact was made by Trustee Montgomery, who told me that Mr. Geisel would be pleased to be honored at the Commencement ceremony. I quickly informed the Stentor, and the word was out: Dr. Seuss would be the Commencement speaker. The seniors were elated, but I was told that some faculty expressed the opinion that my choice just proved that the Seuss books were likely the last ones I had ever read!

Still, I relaxed…until, responding to a formal invitation I had written describing the nature of Commencement and his talk, Mr. Geisel called to say that there must have been a mistake. He thought he was being asked to receive a degree, not to talk. “I talk with people, not to people,” he declared, and if, he continued, I was proposing that he give an address, there had been a grave mistake. No, he reported just days before Commencement, he would not agree to speak.

As I pondered my choices I grasped onto his statement to me, and I urged him to arrive early Friday afternoon so that he might talk with the graduates at the senior reception. And then, talking with him in person, I would attempt to persuade him to talk to the graduates, albeit if only briefly. He agreed to come to the campus as early has he could on Friday, although because he lived in California and would be flying against the clock, the odds of a timely arrival were slim indeed.

The events on the day preceding Commencement were several, and each was surreptitiously extended so that the reception would be delayed, anticipating Mr. Geisel’s late arrival. Happily, shortly after the now-delayed reception began, he joined my wife, Sue, and me in the receiving line and did indeed talk with the graduates and many others, even autographing some well-loved Dr. Seuss books. Still, I wondered, would he be willing to say anything from the podium the next day?

Both before and after dinner that Friday evening, I talked with him informally, hoping the influence of good wine might soften his resolve as it strengthened mine. I urged him to respond following the awarding of his degree, but he did not waiver. Perhaps the best that could be made of a desperate situation, thought I, was to announce at the Commencement that, as he requested, he had indeed talked with the graduates on Friday and to thank him for his cordiality. The evening came to an end — well, almost, for I did not sleep well that night, and I could hear the seniors partying and, undoubtedly, discussing the talk their much-liked Dr. Seuss would give.

On Commencement morning, as the honored guests robed in their academic regalia, I again asked Mr. Geisel if he would be willing to say but a few words, acknowledging his degree. Still his silence was penetrating. Finally the time came to read his citation. As I reached its end and as Faculty Marshals Rosemary Cowler and Franz Schulze stepped forth to place the hood over his head, I spoke these penultimate words, for which I must credit my wife, Sue: “We proclaim you not the ‘Cat in the Hat’ but the ‘Seuss in the Noose’.” And then I awarded him the College’s degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

At that moment, fearing his response, I shook his hand in a whisper and asked him if he would be willing to say a few words. He reached under his academic gown, announcing loudly for all to hear that it was “a bathrobe,” pulled out a piece of paper from his shirt pocket and turned to the microphone. And the rest, as they say, is history.

On Dr. Seuss’s piece of paper were these words:

My Uncle Terwilliger on
the Art of Eating Popovers

My uncle ordered popovers
from the restaurant’s bill of fare.
And, when they were served,
he regarded them
with a penetrating stare…
Then he spoke great Words of Wisdom
as he sat there on that chair:
“To eat these things,”
said my uncle,
“you must exercise great care.
You may swallow down what’s solid…
BUT…
you must spit out the air!”

And…
as you partake of the world’s bill of fare,
that’s darned good advice to follow.
Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.
And be careful what you swallow.
—Dr. Seuss

http://www.lakeforest.edu/alumni/spectrum/spring04/seuss.asp

Mike McGee says:
March 3, 2010 at 11:24 am
Shawana still doesn’t get it. In her words: “The noose is a direct jab at the African American community and denotes intention to do bodily harm to those of this community.”

No, it wasn’t a direct jab at the African American community. It didn’t denote bodily harm. Bodily harm wasn’t even a connotation of the noose in the library. It was put there by a woman of color who now claims she didn’t even know what she was doing (however that’s possible).

Get it, Shawana. Nobody, and certainly no white person, hung a noose to threaten black students at UCSD. No threat, no handouts. Okay?

Geez.

missx says:
March 3, 2010 at 12:40 pm
yvonne “notice how everyone’s attentions have been diverted away from the original issues of exclusion, low black student numbers on campus, and acceptance of negative stereotypes on campus.”

So now this is being used to push for affirmative action. If there are too few black students on campus the BSU should work with black high school students to keeping their grades up so the QUALIFY to get it. It is NOT the job of a college to try and try and entice blacks to attend their school. As a white person no one ever jumped through hoops to try and get me to attend their college.
So don’t expect the school to come to you.

As far as negative stereotypes, the Black Student Union and Muslim groups sure have been good at doing that to Jews and I see no outcry. I do not believe blacks have a right to enforce rules demanding respect any more than any other group.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

[Nikki Stone1]

2. BACKSTORY POST #1 (With Links) "Compton Cookout"

This all started with a fraternity party making fun of African Americans during Black History Month

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7767315

A friend of mine sent me this from UCSD:

On behalf of SOM Diversity Response Coalition we would formally like to invite you as students, student leaders, future caring physicians, and humanistic people to unite and support our efforts to mobilize a response against the racist "Compton Cookout" party that was put on by a fraternity at UCSD off campus. If you have not heard about the incident, please read about it by clicking on the link. At the end of this email is a description of the party.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/feb/17/outrage-expressed-over-party/

The SOM Diversity Response Coalition is a group of medical students that want to express solidarity with the UCSD undergrad community and the San Diego community to promote diversity and equality on campus and beyond. We are outraged that something like this could happen. However, we also feel that this is an incident that is not isolated. As future physicians, we face health disparities that arise from low socioeconomic status that is historically embedded in racism. Not only that, but the school of medicine has failed to increase our diversity partly because minority students want to attend a university where they will feel comfortable and cared about.


We ask that you please:

1. Join us next Tuesday Feb 23rd at NOON as we march in solidarity toward library walk. We will meet in front of OSA at 12:00pm. Please wear a black shirt or wear a black shirt with your write coat on top.
2. If you have time, please make a poster to represent your ideals.
3. Attend the "teach in" Wednesday, February 24th from 12-2pm at the Price Center East Ballroom as a UNIFIED student body!
4. PLEASE PASS THIS EMAIL ALONG TO ANY GRAD OR UnderGRAD STUDENTS THAT MAYBE INTERESTED IN JOINING US

In Solidarity,

Michelle Contreras
UCSD School of Medicine, LMSA Member
SOM Diversity Response Coalition

Here was the original invitation:

Party invitation
February marks a very important month in American society. No, i'm not referring to Valentines day or Presidents day. I'm talking about Black History month. As a time to celebrate and in hopes of showing respect, the Regents community cordially invites you to its very first Compton Cookout.

For guys: I expect all males to be rockin Jersey's, stuntin' up in ya White T (XXXL smallest size acceptable), anything FUBU, Ecko, Rockawear, High/low top Jordans or Dunks, Chains, Jorts, stunner shades, 59 50 hats, Tats, etc.

For girls: For those of you who are unfamiliar with ghetto chicks-Ghetto chicks usually have gold teeth, start fights and drama, and wear cheap clothes- they consider Baby Phat to be high class and expensive couture. They also have short, nappy hair, and usually wear cheap weave, usually in bad colors,such as purple or bright red. They look and act similar to Shenaynay, and speak very loudly, while rolling their neck, and waving their finger in your face. Ghetto chicks have a very limited vocabulary, and attempt to make up for it, by forming new words, such as "constipulated", or simply cursing persistently, or using other types of vulgarities, and making noises, such as "hmmg!", or smacking their lips, and making other angry noises,grunts, and faces.

The objective is for all you lovely ladies to look, act, and essentially take on these "respectable" qualities throughout the day.

Several of the regents condos will be teaming up to house this monstrosity, so travel house to house and experience the various elements of life in the ghetto. We will be serving 40's, Kegs of Natty, dat Purple Drank- which consists of sugar, water, and the color purple , chicken, coolade, and of course Watermelon. So come one and come all, make ya self before we break ya self,keep strapped, get yo shine on, and join us for a day party to be remembered-or not.

Here was the SD Union Tribune report:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/feb/17/outrage-expressed-over-party/

"LA JOLLA — A weekend party that involved University of California San Diego students and mocked Black History Month has drawn the ire of black students and prompted a condemnation sent to all students and faculty by the chancellor.

An invitation to the “Compton Cookout” event urged participants to wear chains, don cheap clothes and speak very loudly, according to wording circulated by outraged students and verified by campus administrators.As a guide for girls attending the event, the invitation read, “For those of you who are unfamiliar with ghetto chicks — Ghetto chicks usually have gold teeth, start fights and drama, and wear cheap clothes. …”

Several disgusted students and faculty met with campus administrators last night about the event, which was linked to members of a fraternity.

“These are the people I go to school with and knowing that they’re mocking my culture and the history of black people is really offensive,” said UCSD sophomore Elize Diop of Los Angeles. “I would like to see the fraternity get reprimanded.”

Campus officials say they likely won’t discipline any students associated with the event.

“Because it wasn’t a UCSD-sanctioned event, or run by a student organization, it doesn’t appear that there was a technical violation,” said Jeff Gattas, UCSD’s executive director of communications and public affairs. “At this point, we don’t have a reason to penalize them.”

....But an e-mail obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune from Gary Ratcliff, assistant vice chancellor for student life, linked the event to Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

“It was not an official Pike event, but the students who posted it on Facebook were members of Pike and other frats,” he wrote...."

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

7. As one who has been born, lived in La Jolla and worked and retired from UCSD

I believe the real problem has been coming from the fraternities, it would be a better campus without them, there is no pressing need for them to be there. The word spoiled comes to mind.

[Nikki Stone1]

10. I agree with you on this.

That's what sparked this whole thing, as you can see by the backstory threads.

[yava]

20. I was at a fraternity at MIT...

I won't name it but I stayed less than one academic year.
We had blacks in uniform serve us weekend dinners with candle light!
It was pathetic (1968).
Everyone had sports cars.

[Nikki Stone1]

22. OMFG!

nt

[liberation]

50. ... which makes the fact that we didn't have real fraternities at Caltech

yet another item in the long list of reasons why we are better than you guys!

Just Kidding ;-)

[Nikki Stone1]

53. Good on Cal Tech!

:)

[No Elephants]

122. Sound like my dinner "aboard" the Empress Lillie at Disneyworld in the 1980's

Lost my appetite and left.

[NoQuarter]

118. The word "worthless"

is what comes to my mind.

[No Elephants]

121. Not a defender of fraternities (or sororities), but you don't eliminate racism by banning frats.

I don't care if they're banned, but that is not going to be the be all and end all. You have to address the underlying issue, too.

[Nikki Stone1]

3. BACKSTORY POST #2 (With Links) University Response: Teach In/March and BSA holds own teach-in

Responding to the "Compton Cookout", UCSD holds a teach in and march:

From my friend at UCSD:

UCSD
CAMPUS NOTICE
University of California, San Diego


OFFICE OF THE VICE CHANCELLOR -
STUDENT AFFAIRS

February 24, 2010


ALL ACADEMICS AND STAFF AT UCSD
ALL STUDENTS AT UCSD

SUBJECT: Today's Teach-In

Students, faculty and staff are invited to participate in a Teach-In
from noon to 2 p.m. today in the Price Center Ballrooms A & B to engage
with fellow UC San Diego community members for a discussion on why
racially stereotyped events still occur and the impact of these events
in our community.

The URL for the live webcast of today's Teach-In here at UC San Diego:
http://mediaservices.ucsd.edu/live

You will need to install the latest version of Adobe Flash Player,
available at http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

We will provide a test stream starting at 9:30 am, running for about ten
to fifteen minutes. The live stream will start at 11:55 am.



Penny Rue
Vice Chancellor

However, the Black Student Association was not happy with the teach-in, figuring the University was just trying to cover their own ass, and started its own:

http://www.ucsdguardian.org/news/teach-in-walks-out /

Teach-In Walks Out
Black Student Union and supporters ditch university teach-in to host speakers of their own.
Posted on 25 February 2010
By Angela Chen

Hundreds of students walked out of an administration-planned teach-in yesterday morning to attend a counter teach-in organized by the Black Student Union.

The Feb. 24 Price Center protest began with a press conference held by the BSU, the student organization that declared campus climate to be in a “state of emergency” last Friday. The BSU has addressed the “toxic” environment with a rally and a list of 32 demands. BSU Chair David Ritcherson called for the UCSD chancellor cabinet to respond to the organization’s demands by March 4 — the same day as a systemwide protest against limited accessibility to higher education — with a “thorough, written timeline for immediate action.”

Press-conference speakers included history professor Daniel Widener, who applauded A.S. President Utsav Gupta for his recent decision to freeze funding for all 33 student media organizations, then asked administrators to disregard the current budget crisis in favor of meeting all the BSU’s demands.

“We will not allow any discussions of the budget crisis to affect discussions of our demands,” Widener said.
After the press conference ended at 11:30 a.m., participants marched from Library Walk to the official teach-in, scheduled to be held at the Price Center East Ballroom. The crowd — which included community members, as well as students from Cal State San Bernandino, San Diego State and the University of Southern California — chanted slogans such as “Real Pain, Real Action”.

Following speeches by theater professor Nadine George and LGBT Center director Shaun Travers, A.S. Associate Vice President of Diversity Affairs Jasmine Phillips and BSU Vice Chair Fnann Keflezighi called for the attendees to walk out and attend a counter teach-in instead.

“If you truly care about our university, if you want to stand in solidarity, you will join me in walking out of this teach-in and joining us at our teach-in,” Keflezighi said.

The majority of participants left the room and convened at the stairs above the Triton statue.....

....Eleanor Roosevelt College junior Niko Arranz, a student protestor, said the counter teach-in was more powerful than the one the administration had planned.

“The first teach-in was a joke,” he said. “I was falling asleep because it wasn’t relevant.”

Keflezighi said she created the counter teach-in because she wanted to educate the community according to BSU’s own terms.

“We were angry when we weren’t asked to be part of the planning process,” she said.

Vice Chancellor of Student Life Penny Rue responded positively to the counter teach-in....

[TacticalPeek]

4. "suspended from school"

Heh.

[Nikki Stone1]

11. You don't believe it?

?

[Heidi]

83. You don't _get_ it?

sus·pend (s-spnd)
4. To hang so as to allow free movement: suspended the mobile from the ceiling.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/suspended

[Nikki Stone1]

92. Oh, a pun!

OK. Groan.

[Nikki Stone1]

5. BACKSTORY POST #3 (With Links): KOALA says Blacks are "ungrateful n*****s" Student media frozen.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7791454&mesg_id=7791454

http://www.ucsdguardian.org/news/campus-reacts-to-racial-slur/

Two words aired on Student-Run Television Thursday night brought UCSD into the national spotlight — and into yet another campus free-speech debate. After Kris Gregorian, editor in chief of humor newspaper the Koala, said that protesters of last week’s controversial “Compton Cookout” party were “ungrateful niggers” on Channel 18, the Black Student Union declared a “State of Emergency” and issued a six-page list of demands to the university.
In response to the outrage — expressed principally by the black population at UCSD, or about 1.3 percent of 22,000 undergraduates — A.S. President Utsav Gupta immediately shut down SRTV. Then, on Friday afternoon, he unexpectedly decided to freeze all student fees toward media organizations...

This led to all student-run media funding being frozen.


From my friend at UCSD:

UCSD
CAMPUS NOTICE
University of California, San Diego


ASSOCIATED STUDENTS

February 25, 2010



ALL ACADEMICS AND STAFF AT UCSD
ALL STUDENTS AT UCSD

SUBJECT: Student Run Television (SRTV)


On Thursday night, a deeply offensive and hurtful program was aired on
Student Run Television (SRTV), a service of the Associated Students.
The content of this program does not represent the views of the
Associated Students, and was aired by KoalaTV, the television show put
on by the student organization The Koala. We condemn the actions of The
Koala, its program and its content.

The Koala was not properly authorized to display content on SRTV. We
are in the process of determining how the program was aired. In the
meantime, as authorized by the ASUCSD Standing Rules, and in conjunction
with our Associate Vice President of Student Services, I turned off the
station to allow for a review of its Charter. We will only open it
again when we can be sure that such hateful content can never be aired
again on our student funded TV station.

Alongside this initiative, I have frozen all student media organization
funding. The Koala has long since been a controversial publication at
UC San Diego and is primarily funded by our student fees. I do not
believe we should continue funding this organization with our fees.

We must develop effective policies to ensure that our fees do not go to
the support the hateful speech that targets members of our community. I
ask that those media organizations that did nothing wrong and are
unfairly affected to be patient until we can resolve this situation and
develop new funding bylaws for our Association.

To this end, I have charged a campus-wide committee to review the
funding of student media. This committee is open to every member of the
UC San Diego community - faculty, staff, students, and whoever else
feels strongly about this issue. The committee shall meet on Thursday,
at 8:00PM, in the 4th floor Price Center Forum. Feel free to email me
at [email protected] if you have any questions.

The Associated Students stands in solidarity with those affected by
Thursday night's program, and we remain committed to being the voice for
all UC San Diego students.



Utsav Gupta
Associated Students President

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

14. The Koala has aways been deeply offensive.

Somethings never seem to change.

[Nikki Stone1]

17. They get $7000 in student fees for utter crap.

Unbelievable.

[Nikki Stone1]

6. BACKSTORY POST #4 (With Links): Someone hangs a noose in Geisel Library

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7801524&mesg_id=7801524



Campus notices from my friend:

UCSD
CAMPUS NOTICE
University of California, San Diego


UC SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPARTMENT
Crime Alert Bulletin

February 26, 2010


ALL ACADEMICS AND STAFF AT UCSD
ALL STUDENTS AT UCSD

SUBJECT: Crime: Hanging a noose with intent to terrorize 11411 (a) PC
Case: 2010-0240
Location: UC San Diego Geisel Library 7th Floor (Southwest
Corner - West side of aisle 3)

The UC San Diego Police Department encourages you to download
and post this bulletin in appropriate areas under your control.

Date/Time Occurred: Thursday, February 25, 2010 - 10:30pm

Subject: No suspect information is available at this time

Information: On Thursday, February 25, 2010, at approximately 10:30pm
the UC San Diego Police Department received multiple reports of a noose
hanging from a bookcase on the 7th floor of the Geisel Library.

The library was searched by officers and library staff. A noose was
found hanging on the west side of aisle 3, which faces the windows. The
aisle is located in the southwest corner of the 7th floor.

Officers spoke with people who were in the area but no one witnessed the
noose being placed on the bookcase. We have received unconfirmed reports
that the noose was seen hanging from the bookcase as early as 8:00pm.

The UC San Diego Police Department is asking for your assistance in
identifying witnesses and those responsible for this criminal act. If
you have any information that may assist in the investigation please
contact the UC San Diego Police Department by calling 858-534-4359 or
sending an email to [email protected]

The UC San Diego Police Department encourages you to report any criminal
or suspicious activity, occurring on campus, as soon as possible. To
report a crime or suspicious activity call 858-534-4357 or 9-1-1 (in an
emergency).

Community Service Officers are available for escorts on campus between
5:30pm to 1:00am daily. To arrange for an escort call 858-534-9255.
Escorts after 1:00am are available by calling 858-534-4357.

The camera phone photo of the noose gets sent to many students and faculty, including my friend:
(Note: this is not a press photo. It's a student photo of the noose sent around by cell phone.)





A student admits to hanging the noose:

UCSD
CAMPUS NOTICE
University of California, San Diego


UC SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPARTMENT
Crime Alert Bulletin
UPDATE

February 26, 2010


ALL ACADEMICS AND STAFF AT UCSD
ALL STUDENTS AT UCSD


A student contacted the UC San Diego Police Department and admitted to
hanging the noose in the Geisel Library. Detectives have interviewed
the student and taken a statement. The investigation is ongoing as we
continue to identify and interview witnesses. Anyone with information
is asked to contact Detectives by calling 858-534-4357 or emailing
[email protected].

The Noose story picks up steam, covered by the LA Times (below), the SD Union Trib, and AP.

Student hangs noose at San Diego campus library 2 weeks after racially tinged party

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-black-history-mock-party,0,7754335.story

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A student at the University of California, San Diego admitted hanging a noose in the school library less than two weeks after an off-campus party mocking Black History Month ignited racial tensions, authorities said Friday.

The discovery prompted a rally at the school already roiling with resentment over perceived intolerance.

The noose was found dangling from a light fixture on the seventh floor of Geisel Library on Thursday night, authorities said. A University of California statement said a student admitted she and two other people were responsible. The statement did not identify the students or their race or include a motive.

UC and campus authorities did not indicate whether the students would be charged with a hate crime. Under state law, hanging a noose to terrorize is punishable by up to a year in jail.

"Whatever the intent of the authors of this act, it was a despicable expression of racial hatred, and we are outraged," the UC statement said. "It has no place in civilized society, and it will not be tolerated."

To blacks, a noose recalls the days of widespread racism and lynchings.....

[Nikki Stone1]

8. BACKSTORY POST #5 (With Links): Protesters take over UCSD chancellor's office

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7803228

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/feb/26/noose-protest-ucsd/


Protesters take over UCSD chancellor's office
They are outraged over latest episode, a noose hanging at the library

BY STEVE SCHMIDT, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 26, 2010 AT 8:34 A.M., UPDATED FEBRUARY 26, 2010 AT 2:23 P.M.


NELVIN C. CEPEDA

UCSD Chancellor Marye Anne Fox addressed students and read from a prepared statement concerning the investigation on a noose that was discovered hanging in the Geisel Library.

Students are protesting atop desks and countertops throughout Fox's suite, except for her own sanctum. They are chanting, "Real pain, real change." Some are playing drums.

Fox has twice addressed students today, once outside the library where a noose was found last night and once in a eucalyptus grove outside her office. Students remain upset with the pace of the administration's response to their demand for action over ongoing racial strife.

"You can't imagine how pained we are, we are heartsick," Vice Chancellor Penny Rue told the students on a bullhorn.

Campus police are questioning a student who admitted she hung the noose on the seventh floor of the university library, on the west side of aisle three, which faces the windows.

"This is truly a dark day in the history of this university," Fox told students gathered earlier along Library Walk. "It's abhorrent and untenable."

The noose was found hanging from a bookcase of the Geisel Library at 10:30 p.m. last night, and the student called at 9 a.m. today to confess, according to vice chancellor Gary Mattews.

"It's someone who didn't think that leaving a noose was an issue," he said.

Authorities are classifying the crime as “hanging a noose with the intent to terrorize.”

At a morning rally, about 300 students and others gathered near the Price Center. Some speakers read poetry, while others made speeches. Many made heartfelt pleas for racial unity and also asked students not to respond in kind....

More at the link

[havocmom]

47. "It's someone who didn't think that leaving a noose was an issue," MY ASS

If that human garbage didn't think it was an issue, why did she do it? She knew it WAS an issue or she wouldn't have gone to the trouble to make her cowardly statement of tying the noose in the first place. It was an attempt to terrorize and she damned well knew the effect.

[Nikki Stone1]

63. Of course.

That's just bogus as it comes.

[Nikki Stone1]

9. BACKSTORY POST #6 (With Links): Student suspended: See OP.

,,

[Nikki Stone1]

12. Timeline of events from http ://stopracismucsd.wordpress .com/

Timeline Of Events From UCSD:

Fact Sheet on Past and Recent Events that Occurred at UCSD

On Monday, Feb. 15, an off-campus party was held named the “Compton Cookout,” where UC San Diego students participated in are producing racist, classist and misogynistic stereotypes of the black community and intentionally organized this party to mock the ongoing celebrations of Black History Month.

The “Compton Cookout” and the two other “private” parties that were planned for the following weekend involved hundreds of UCSD students, which were framed as an expression of contempt for Black History Month and the free use of hate speech.

On Thursday, Feb. 18, between the hours of 11 p.m. and midnight a group of students on the UCSD Student Run Television Program (SR-TV) made statements in support of the “Compton Cookout” party, by stating racial epithets targeted towards the black community and expressed the support for such hate speech.
On Friday, Feb. 19, a piece of cardboard was found at the UCSD SR-TV office stating “Compton Lynching”, which posed as a direct threat to the black student population at UCSD.

The same weekend that these parties occurred, UCSD’s Black Student Union (BSU) and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) hosted their annual joint high school conference, where hundreds of high school students came together from all over south California to empower students through educational workshops, caucus spaces and influential speakers to ensure that there are safe spaces for students of color on this campus.

The undergraduate black student population at UCSD has never reached above 3 percent since its founding in 1960. This past fall 2009, only 1.3 percent of the 4000 plus undergraduate students admitted to UCSD were black students. Black students currently represent less than 2 percent of the undergraduate population here at UCSD, a percentage that is scarcely better than the 1 percent representation of black people among faculty and academic professionals.

In 2006, the UCSD Concilio composed of Chicano/a and Latino/a students, faculty and staff at UCSD presented a list of demands to the Chancellor to help with the Campus Climate. Many of these demands are repeated in the following campaign.

Earlier this year, the UCSD BSU, with the larger statewide coalition, organized and coordinated the “Do UC Us?” campaign in an effort to increase the numbers of black students on the UCSD campus. The “Do UC Us?” campaign clearly addressed the issues of campus climate at UCSD compiled with admission statistics and criteria, diversity and yield reports from the university through the form of student testimonial, demands and student-initiated programs to increase the yield of black students.

Since these events have occurred, many students have reinstated that UCSD must prioritize creating a healthier campus climate to address the needs of historically underrepresented communities.

For further information on the events that occurred, please visit: stopracismucsd.wordpress.com

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Nikki Stone1]

16. Considering that white students called the Black Student Alliance "ungrateful niggers" I find it

more likely that the noose was hung by white students and not black students.

[naaman fletcher]

18. It happens quite a bit. nt.

[Nikki Stone1]

19. A noose was hung by white students at a California university last year, along

with a confederate flag. Students thought it was "funny."

[waiting for hope]

23. Sick sense of humor, you have to

wonder what environment is allowing these bigots freedom to do these things.

K&R for content.

[Nikki Stone1]

25. Yes,

and thanks! :)

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

29. And this happens quite a bit to. One of my co-workers was driven

from her apt. Only two blocks from UCSD campus. Her problem was that she was not white, how dare she live in an all white complex. Yes that really did happen.

[naaman fletcher]

32. If its that bad there...

Then I retract my bet... just there have been quite a few incidents where its a minority who does the offensive thing is order to "raise awareness".

[NoQuarter]

119. I would posit

that "awareness" couldn't be any more "raised" than it already is.

[Cha]

35. One would think those students at that

University, who were involved, would have had a better upbringing and more focus on making the best of their college years instead of leaving a behind a smear on their humanity.

[NoQuarter]

123. Haven't you heard? The President is BLACK!

People have lost their goddamned minds over this single fact.

It's Bizzaro World. It's Opposite Day. It's the end of human existence as they know it (at least in the US of A), and the world WILL come to an end unless they do something.

[No Elephants]

125. No, but the RW publicizes it out of proportion the few times that it does happen. Why help them?

[naaman fletcher]

137. I'm not helping them...

I don't filter my thoughts and contents through some prism as to if they ought to be published because somewhere on the internet a RWer might be happy seeing them. It happens plenty, particularly on campuses. I doubt that a white person did this, but I might be wrong, we will see.

[wayne fontes]

145. Looks like naaman flecther

wins his bet. The student who hung the noose was a probably a minority.

http://ucsdcalrev.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/minority-student-apologizes-for-hanging-the-noose/


The student newspaper website is down at the moment so I wouldn't call this verified but I've seen it a couple times.

[cornermouse]

27. Deaton decries cotton incident; town hall meeting set

You want to blame this on black students as well? It's certainly not as threatening as the noose in California but its still despicable.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2010/feb/27/deaton-decries-cotton-incident-town-hall-meeting/

University of Missouri Chancellor Brady Deaton has called on the public to help MU police find the person or persons responsible for scattering cotton outside the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center yesterday morning.

In a statement, Deaton called the incident “a disheartening and inexcusable act.”

Police are investigating who was responsible for scattering cotton balls outside of the center, which is on Virginia Avenue. MU police Capt. Brian Weimer said officers were told that two individuals were seen running from the area between 1:30 and 2 a.m. yesterday. Police were expected to review video from nearby surveillance cameras.

[naaman fletcher]

44. It's totally despicable.

We will see what the police figure out, I imagine fairly soon.

[No Elephants]

126. Even if an African American did leave it, would that prove nothing racist happened?

Forest. Tree.

[naaman fletcher]

138. huh?

If an African American did it, it would prove that white students did not do it. It would prove that this specific racist incident did not happen.

[classysassy]

37. Why?

[liberation]

51. Who wants to bet you will pas when it comes to eat all that crow...

I would suggest that you should not start bets without even having read the article linked.

[Lilyeye]

59. I bet it makes you feel better to believe that.

We do know it was a WHITE students who had that disgusting party and said "ungrateful n********" which helped to spark this mess.

[Jamastiene]

69. This is speculation and not helpful at all.

If you are going to make an allegation, back it up with facts.

[naaman fletcher]

87. I didn't make an allegation.

Speculating on the internet.. imagine that!

[No Elephants]

127. Speculation that backs up RW "reverse racism" positions attracts scrutiny at DU. Imagine that?

BTW. you did make an allegation, and repeated it.

[naaman fletcher]

136. I don't consider a bet an allegation,

rather it is a matter of probability. You all are the ones making an allegation that it was a white person, which I doubt. We will see soon enough.

[bitchkitty]

96. Why do you think that? n/t

[No Elephants]

124. What's your point? Maybe a "black" student wrote the invitation, too?

If an African American student left it, it would be to point out the racism that was going on and its end result (no pun intended). However, it would still be ill advised.

I very much doubt that African Americans are responsible for displaying the majority of nooses. However, when an African American has been responsible, the RW media has trumpeted it a hell of a lot more than when a person of another race displays a noose.

So, I would not ever chime in about how often it happens, unless I had some solid evidence that African Americans were responsible in the majority of instances.

But, who left the noose and why is less significant that the racism that pervaded the entire incident, from conceiving the event, to writing the invitation, to those who thought it funny, etc.

Focusing on who left the noose misses the larger issue.

[Nikki Stone1]

15. BACKSTORY POST #7 (With Links): EVENTS SCHEDULED FOR NEXT WEEK!

http://stopracismucsd.wordpress.com/

Events on campus this week
Posted in Events on February 23, 2010 by ucsdcoalitionforeducationaljustice
Monday, Mar. 1, 2010

2:00-4:00pm: Ethnic Studies Dept. Town Hall on Campus Racial Emergency (NOTE: LOCATION HAS BEEN CHANGED TO GREAT HALL, ELEANOR ROOSVELT COLLEGE), Description: The Department of Ethnic Studies invites you to attend a town hall meeting to continue the discussion that you have initiated on the degrading racial climate on campus. We applaud the paradigm-changing protest that you have waged this past week and want to work with you to make sure that the momentum that you have built will result in meaningful and lasting change on campus.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010

7:00-9:00pm: Asian & Pacific Islander Student Alliance (APSA) Forum on the current racial emergency (Cross Cultural Center, 2nd Floor, Price Center East).
MARCH 4, 2010!!!

Let’s continue the momentum. March 4 is the National Day of Action for Education. We will be demanding that the state government and the UC administration provide true accesibility and educational funding for all. Join us on our struggle to reverse the privatization and corporatization of our public university. Let’s not forget that funding for recruiting historically underrepresented minority students and any departments/programs having to do with diversity in this campus are at the top of the list of things the univ. wants to cut in their effort to privatize. For more details about what’s going on at UCSD and in San Diego on that day, click HERE.

[joshcryer]

21. Thanks for all of these backstory posts, you rock. :)

[Nikki Stone1]

24. Thank you for noticing them.

I've been documenting this for days. I had a friend in the demonstration yesterday and he has been sending me info all week.

[Lilyeye]

65. I have a question.

I heard there were other groups who were protesting with the black student union as well. Is this true? I'd like to think they're more students against this crap. Because I've seen some excuse this crap or act like its no big deal.

[Nikki Stone1]

70. Lots of students were protesting

This was a photo taken at the protest yesterday:

?42b0fb247f69dabe2ae440581a34634cbc5420f3

It's a fairly diverse group

[Lilyeye]

78. Thank you. This is wonderful to see.

[Nikki Stone1]

81. Read this letter from Prof. Yang @UCSD (It will make you feel better too)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4286603&mesg_id=4286899

[tango-tee]

85. Wonderful show of solidarity! Love that pic.

Good for these students!

[Nikki Stone1]

26. ACLU reacts to Frozen student media: letter

http://www.10news.com/download/2010/0225/22664817.pdf

[Nikki Stone1]

28. ACLU has no email addy. Only phone: Tel: [phone]

David Blair-Loy, Legal Director
P.O. Box 87131 ·
San Diego, CA 92138-7131 ·
619.398.4496

[Nikki Stone1]

72. "UC San Diego temporarily closes campus TV station after racial slur"

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/02/uc-san-diego-debates-campus-media-suspension.html


UC San Diego temporarily closes campus TV station after racial slur
February 23, 2010 | 6:45 pm
UC San Diego’s student government has temporarily shut down a campus television channel and suspended funding for 16 or so media outlets because of a student show that used a racial epithet for African Americans.

The actions, criticized by free speech advocates, came as UC San Diego was reeling from news that some students had organized an off-campus party Feb. 15 that mocked Black History Month and invited participants to dress as ghetto stereotypes.

Then, on a television segment last week, members of a controversial student satire group used the racial slur and described blacks as "ungrateful" in a discussion of the party and the campus response to it.

Associated Students President Utsav Gupta suspended the campus station and said he needed to temporarily stop funding the other media outlets while new rules are written to ensure that student fees do not support hate speech. He said he expects the matter to be resolved in a week or two and insisted that he was not advocating censorship.

The main UCSD student newspaper, The Guardian, which is not affected by the funding suspension, blasted Gupta’s actions, describing it as dictatorial and against free speech on the campus.

-- Larry Gordon

[No Elephants]

131. The ACLU protects my rights (and yours) when no one else, Democrat or Republican, does.

The ACLU is correct that the purpose of the First Amendment is to protect unpopular speech, because speech that does nothing more than reflect or reinforce the views of the majoriy requires no First Amendment protection. BUT. at the same time, the ACLU does not have to get involved in every situation.

It's a tough call. However, I don't want my donations to the ACLU going to defend racist student broadcasters against loss of funding. The ACLU has cited "limited resources" as a reason not to get involved in other cases that have more merit. Maybe that's what they should do here.

Most of all, the University needs to change its rules so that no organization gets to promote racism on campus.

[Cha]

30. Someone is seriously fucked up.

[Nikki Stone1]

31. At least she is suspended.

We'll see what happens from here.

[Cha]

36. I wonder what prompted her to confess?

Conscience?

[Nikki Stone1]

40. Or maybe someone spotted her

And she decided to come clean.

[naaman fletcher]

45. nah.. security cameras everywhere..

she figured she would be caught soon enough and so decided to confess first.

[Nikki Stone1]

80. Actually, the UC Regents blog says there were no cameras in the library

2:20pm UPDATE
UCSD Police Department: There have been no eyewitness accounts. There are no cameras in that area of the library, so there is no documentation of who might have put it there. The area has been dusted for fingerprints, and the noose has been removed so they can run a DNA analysis. Unfortunately, a DNA analysis can only match up with people who are currently in the criminal database as well. They are currently running a criminal investigation, the police chief has been called.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4286603&mesg_id=4286894

[laughingliberal]

34. Thank, Nikki. This stuff makes me sick to my stomach

Seems like I've been up against these types my whole life. Every time I see it still going on I get sick to my stomach all over again.

I weep for our hate filled country.

on edit: rec'd

[Blandocyte]

38. College Tea Partiers at work!

Buncha effin dumbasses. And these people are going to get college degrees? Points to the difference between intelligence and wisdom, I guess.

[Judi Lynn]

39. You've done interested DU'ers a real service with this thread. Thank you. n/t

[wellstone dem]

41. Thank you for these posts

this is awful.

[Nikki Stone1]

42. I know. It's terrible

But it helps to have the facts.

[hlthe2b]

43. So are charges being brought against this woman?

Has this even been asked by the press?

[Nikki Stone1]

54. Not as far as we know....yet

I'll let you know as soon as I do.

[No Elephants]

129. Whiich law was broken?

Reminds me of when a jury acquitted Lorena Bobbit.

A comedian said "They should at least have convicted her for littering."

(For those who don't recall, Lorena cut off her husband's penis, hopped into a car with it, drove some, then threw the penis out of the car window. It was later found and reattached, but never functioned normally.)

[havocmom]

46. K&R Thank you for deeper info on this

It is important to get this story right

[Nikki Stone1]

52. My friend was on the spot and he sent me first hand reports

and university mailings.

[MadMaddie]

48. Hey it's just a matter of time before

Limpballs, Beck, O'Leilly come to her and the other students defense.

tick..tock..tick..tock.

[mindwalker_i]

49. Sounds like it becoming a real noosance

She should hang her head in shame.

[Nikki Stone1]

71. You did NOT say that....

Groan...

[Nikki Stone1]

55. Ahnold weighs in: "Calif. governor troubled by racism on campuses"

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/feb/27/calif-governor-troubled-by-racism-on-campuses/

Calif. governor troubled by racism on campuses
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2010 AT 2:04 P.M.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Saturday he is deeply troubled by recent acts of racism at three University of California campuses.

Schwarzenegger's statement comes after a string of incidents this month on the campuses in Davis, Irvine and San Diego.

Students at the San Diego campus took over the chancellor's office Friday to protest the hanging of a noose in the library. The noose was discovered less than two weeks after an off-campus party mocking Black History Month where students urged people to dress as ghetto stereotypes and promised there would be chicken, watermelon and malt liquor.

A Jewish student earlier this week found a swastika carved into her dorm room door at the Davis campus.

Earlier this month, 11 students were arrested for interrupting a talk by Israel's ambassador Michael Oren at the Irvine campus. The New York-based Zionist Organization of America has accused UCI's chancellor of failing to condemn anti-Semitic speech and has asked potential students and donors to boycott the campus.

"I am deeply troubled by the horrific incidents that recently took place on various campuses of the University of California system," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "There is no excuse for this kind of behavior in our system of higher education or anywhere else and it will not be tolerated."

[Lilyeye]

60. Wow. This is soooooo terrible. All three schools?

Looks to me like the racist have done nothing, but this this crap over to their children. I've said it before, but some folks like to believe we're in a post racial America.

[Nikki Stone1]

62. Yep. I'd love to blame it on Clear Channel and their influence on talk radio

over the past 20 years, but, as a friend of mine pointed out tonight, most of the state, outside of the major cities (San Fran and LA) is like the American south.

[tango-tee]

86. I lived in Santa Ana in the late 70s

and needed daycare for my three-year old son. Called up a lady in the neighborhood who I heard provided excellent care, and she said that of course she would be glad to take care of my child. We went over right away. As soon as we arrived, and she saw that he was biracial, she was just sooo sorry to have to tell me that another child had already taken my son's place. Yeah, right.

[Nikki Stone1]

91. OMG.

I guess this is entrenched.

[No Elephants]

128. Santa Ana--where Trinity Broadcasting Network got its start. Not saying Trinity is racist.

Just sayin'.

[tango-tee]

139. What made it really painful

was that my marriage had broken apart a short while before. We, AA husband and I, were madly in love, but trying to live this love in Southeast Texas at that time was beyond what he and I could manage. It crumbled, not from a lack of caring, but due to many other influences.

I had a good job offer in Santa Ana, and went there with my child thinking it could only be an improvement on the South, only to be met with a more gentrified version of racism. What made it particularly painful was the fact that I was from another country and had absolutely no one in this giant country to call upon for help or solace. No aunts, uncles, counsins... no one. Just my child and myself.

But I am happy to say that that was really one of the very few instances of thinly veiled racism we came upon in SoCal, or anywhere else for that matter. I met so many open-minded, kind, nice and sweet folks in various states; there are so many good memories, despite that first kick in the teeth.

[shanti]

158. totally understand

i was born in so cal, raised in santa ana (like my mother and p-grandfather before me) in the 60's/70's and when i got a divorce in the 80's, i couldn't get out of the OC fast enough!

[No Elephants]

166. I am so sorry you had to go through all that. Isolated spouses from another country

is another issue, all in itself. Culture shock is powerful and real. A man I know married a woman from Ireland and brought her to Boston. She could not bear it. She had a nervous breakdown and returned home. He chose not to leave the U.S. and they divorced. So, on the bright side, tango-tee, congratulations on being a strong, strong person.

I'm glad you had good experiences and have good memories, too. I hope for many good things for you in the future, starting today.

I apologize for not responding to this sooner. No excuse. I am awful about checking responses to my posts unless someone P.M.s me.

Best wishes for better things for you.

[EFerrari]

56. Thanks, Nikki.

Bookmarking.

[Nikki Stone1]

64. You're welcome. I'll keep updating so check back.

There will be more to come.

[Nikki Stone1]

57. SD Tribune does not like protests...surprise, surprise....

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/feb/27/time-for-cooler-heads/

Time for cooler heads / Latest UCSD protest not constructive
BY UNION-TRIBUNE EDITORIAL BOARD,
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2010 AT 12:04 A.M.

Someone evidently slept through her course on U.S. history, or at least the part about race and lynchings. According to an official at the University of California San Diego, the female student who left a noose hanging in a library Thursday night and confessed the next morning “didn’t think that leaving a noose was an issue.”

Why would it be? Just because one of the nation’s finest universities has spent a week embroiled in racial controversy with one ugly incident after another and just because, as a result, student protests have become an everyday occurrence on campus?

What was this young woman thinking? Obviously, like the other UCSD students who were involved in a racist “Compton cookout” party and the racially provocative show on a student-run TV station that followed, she wasn’t thinking. Authorities described the latest act as “hanging a noose with the intent to terrorize.”

What UCSD really needs is peace and calm. Things have already gone too far at the university and it’s time to bring it down a notch. Cooler heads must prevail. Let’s start with the student protesters who yesterday took over the offices of Chancellor Marye Anne Fox. Instead of standing on desks, playing drums and chanting slogans, these students should have engaged in more constructive action.

Besides, Fox has been nothing if not supportive. She has been extremely critical of these racial incidents. She deserves praise and not condemnation. In fact, after the noose was discovered, Fox said to a gathering of students that the incident was “abhorrent and untenable” and amounted to “a dark day in the history of this university.”

She’s right. Of course, there have been several dark days lately. Now it’s time for enlightenment.

[suffragette]

134. Characterizing this as "wasn't thinking" is similar to media calling O'Keefe's crime

a "caper."

In both cases, the media's characterization is a purposeful minimization of the acts in an attempt to excuse criminal actions.

In this article, they are clearly trying to portray this act and the others leading up to it as not including "intent" when these actions clearly were intended to provoke.

They weren't thoughtless; they were purposefully cruel.

[Nikki Stone1]

58. "Governor demands end to racial unrest at UCSD"

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/feb/27/governor-demands-end-racial-unrest-ucsd/

Governor demands end to racial unrest at UCSD
BY CRAIG GUSTAFSON, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 27, 2010 AT 6:04 P.M., UPDATED FEBRUARY 27, 2010 AT 7:32 P.M.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the recent “horrific incidents” that have caused racial unrest at the University of California San Diego must stop.

“The acts of racism and intolerance that we have witnessed are completely unacceptable and I join with the University of California president, chancellors and student leaders in condemning these terrible incidents,” Schwarzenegger said in a statement released Saturday afternoon. “There is no excuse for this kind of behavior in our system of higher education or anywhere else and it will not be tolerated.”

Three high-profile episodes with racial overtones involving UCSD students have occurred in the past two weeks, leading many black students and others to say they now fear for their safety on campus.

The turmoil was sparked by an off-campus party Feb. 15, dubbed the “Compton Cookout,” that mocked Black History Month, and further stoked by a show on a student-run TV station that supported the party and called blacks ungrateful, using a racial slur.

Then a noose was discovered Thursday night hanging in the UCSD library, which led about 150 students to stage a sit-in in Chancellor Marye Anne Fox’s office the following day to demand the university push harder to boost enrollment of blacks and other disadvantaged minorities.

Fox told the students Friday that the racial incidents were “abhorrent and untenable"

[Nikki Stone1]

61. 2/28 NY Times: California Campus Sees Uneasy Race Relations

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/27/education/27sandiego.html?scp=1&sq=UCSD&st=cse

".....“The campus has been pretty silent about racism and nobody, until now, says anything,” said Aaron Gurlly, 30, an African-American graduate student who was among those occupying the administration building. The fallout from the incidents has jolted this campus in an era when many students and faculty believed that the progress of African-Americans nationwide have made such discussions passé.

But more than a decade after a state ballot proposition barred the use of race and ethnicity in admissions decisions, the University of California continues to struggle to diversify its campuses. Black and Latino undergraduate enrollment systemwide plummeted and, although gains have been made in the numbers of minority students since then, the proportion of white (30.5 percent) and Asian (39.8 percent) students enrolled last year far exceeded that of blacks (3.8 percent) and Latinos (20.4 percent).

Just a few years ago, the Los Angeles campus, one of the system’s most prestigious, was shaken with the news that only 103 black freshmen had enrolled, 2.2 percent of the class in a county that is 9.4 percent black. (The numbers have since ticked up to about 4.5 percent of the class.)

“We are constantly examining admissions practices, and there are no easy answers here,” said Nina Robinson, the university’s director of policy.

The San Diego campus, set on a bluff along the Pacific Ocean, has long struggled with attracting what the university calls “underrepresented minorities.” Black students make up fewer than 2 percent of undergraduates, among the lowest representation in the 10-campus, 220,000-student system....."

[Nikki Stone1]

66. Interesting blog on the role of FACEBOOK in this whole horrible mess

http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2010/02/i-feel-a-little-sorry-for-the-uc-san-diego-frat-boys-who-last-weekend-thought-it-would-be-funny-to-throw-a-little-bash-they-d.html

Racist frat boys will be racist frat boys ... on Facebook
February 17, 2010 | 5:13 pm
I feel a little sorry for the UC San Diego frat boys who last weekend thought it would be funny to throw a little bash they dubbed the "Compton Cookout." Apparently, members of Pi Kappa Alpha corralled a couple of hundred socially tone-deaf friends to celebrate Black History Month by pantomiming ghetto life and the black underclass. Now they're taking a drubbing on television, in newspapers and, of course, in the blogosphere. Poor things. Their beer-addled brains probably don't even know what all the fuss is about....

....This whole incident might have fallen into the category of frat boys behaving like frat boys if they hadn't made one teensy mistake: posting the event on Facebook. The organizers probably didn't envision the details of their gig ever reaching civil rights groups, the Los Angeles Urban League, Craigslist and even Essence Magazine, which posted an item on its website. The organizer has taken down his profile page, but it's cached. In 5 minutes you can tell not only what his hobbies are (golf) but also where he's from.

Meanwhile, UCSD is scrambling to distance itself from the party, reminding everyone that it was not sanctioned by the university, whose principles "reject acts of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion and political beliefs," height, weight, hair length, food preferences and musical taste....

[Spheric]

67. Excellent research Nikki. Thank you for this. K&R/nt

[Nikki Stone1]

68. One heartbreaking student comment

http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2010/02/i-feel-a-little-sorry-for-the-uc-san-diego-frat-boys-who-last-weekend-thought-it-would-be-funny-to-throw-a-little-bash-they-d.html

"Ana said...
I am a student at UCSD and I can attest to how the campus climate is one that has been and continues to be unfriendly towards students of color. Whether it be that horrible Koala newspaper funded by AS making a mockery of the Haiti earthquake by using the n-word, or by refusing to fund yield programs to target students of color to come to UCSD, to the administration fighting against making a mural portraying Chian@ history permanent to refusing to return Kumeyaay remains, it is happening in what many ignorantly call a "post-racial" society. This is not a case of "it's a joke, ha ha ha" it is a serious matter. This action undermines the struggle of people of color and makes a mockery of the lived reality of racism that continues to prevail. It also has served to degrade and dehumanize the black community, of which I stand in solidarity with.

The 'theme party' was presented in a such a way that echoes the racist blackface minstrel shows conducted by whites to poke fun of black culture and of the caricatures that portrayed blacks in a negative racist manner throughout slavery and the Jim Crow era. This transcends the supposed "black culture" seen on tv and reality shows, this goes back to the times where the portrayal of blacks derived from racist perspectives.

In addition, if you wish to argue against the gravity of the matter, you are being ignorant. You cannot claim reverse racism or double-standard because this history is much more violent than that against whites (though my intent is not to undermine that racialized history). Does the portrayal of whites through the Wayans serve as violence against whites?? Truly think about this. And if you want to talk about affirmative action, let us talk about LEGACY SPOTS, you know, the one that favors whites?!

The only part in which I deviate from Ms. Richardson is that I encourage our community to stand strong here at UCSD. Although we may be the minority we must stand together to pave the way for a better UCSD for students of color to come.

In hope and solidarity,
Ana"

[Lilyeye]

73. Great post.

I clicked on that link and read some of the comments. Totally disgusting and shameful that some folks don't see the racism in what has been going on at UCSD. I am really ashamed at the level of ignorance and hatred out there.

[Nikki Stone1]

74. It scares the hell out of me.

I am just hoping that these are just the more vocal types, and that there are others who feel more differently.

[Lilyeye]

75. I feel the same way. When I read crap like that, I always hope those are just the vocal types.

However, when I see folks in my own family who act like this or some people on DU who seem so ignorant...it puts a damper on my hope.

[Nikki Stone1]

77. San Diego has one of the highest concentrations of white supremacist groups in California

From this blog:

http://www.rickross.com/reference/hate_groups/hategroups242.html

[Nikki Stone1]

79. Open Letter from Prof Yang (Ethnic Studies, UCSD) GREAT LETTER!!

http://ucregentlive.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/open-letter-from-prof-yang-ethinic-studies-ucsd/

Open Letter from Prof Yang (Ethnic Studies, UCSD)
February 24, 2010 · Leave a Comment


(Reposted from StopRacismUCSD)

The problem is not (just) the party. The problem is the party line.
An open letter to the UC San Diego community

Dear us,

First and foremost, we should all commend the Black Student Union and its many allies across the spectrum of student organizations (including fraternities/sororities), for the dignity with which you have faced the recent onslaught of racist provocations. You are turning personal insult into a push for structural changes that are sorely needed at our university. You fight not only for the benefit of African-American students, but for all our common good. You are continuing a tradition of UC San Diego student activism dating at least as far back as 1968. You honor us. I hope our university will honor you back.

That said, I’m not writing to condemn the PIKE party. I’m writing to condemn the university’s party line.

University officials have been quick to the condemn the party, and even quicker to point out that it happened “off campus.” The party line is one of shock and horror, as if prior to last weekend, this institution was a model of diversity and racial justice. We repeat buzzwords like “mutual respect” and “diversity” and “community” until they are empty of meaning. The party line is to individualize a racist system to a few “racists,” and to isolate the event as a freak occurrence at UCSD. This party line says: Let’s go after a few fraternity boys, and then go back to business as usual.

What is business as usual?

We have a 1.3% African-American student enrollment, not simply because of poor admissions, but because admitted students don’t choose to come to UCSD. Only about 13% of admitted African-American students come to UCSD (compare to 44% at UCLA). This information comes directly from the “Yield Report” – a 2007 UCSD Final Report from the Advisory Committee on Increasing Yield of Underrepresented Students. The Yield Report actually provided multiple strategies for improving campus climate, and for increasing the number of underrepresented students. These recommendations have by-and-large NOT been implemented despite 2 years of research and 3 years of reading time.

Business as usual means that for the last 30 years our university has refused to repatriate Native American human remains found on the ancient burial ground (on top of which the Chancellor’s house now stands). This outright defies federal law and treaty rights. San Diego has the largest number of Native American reservations of any county in the United States, but UCSD has a nearly 0% Native American student body. Why wouldn’t Native American students want to come here? It’s not just because of some frat parties.

All the administrative condemnations of a woefully misconceived fraternity party will not increase African-American enrollment at UC San Diego. All the email links to the “Principles of Community” will not make UC San Diego more diverse. A Chancellor-sponsored Teach-In, however well intentioned, will not lead to systemic change. Even as a symbolic gesture, it is misdirected – enough so that we should teach against this Teach-In.

What exactly does this Teach-In teach?

The Teach-In puts the blame for racism on our students. It exonerates the “teachers” of their role in perpetuating a poor campus climate. If our administration refuses to take responsibility for a toxic campus climate, for our share in the disrespect of African-American, Native American, and other excluded communities, then why would we expect our students to act differently? If our administration deals with collective problems by disavowing individuals, then why would we expect students to act differently? If our administration is silent about its own poor track record in race and community relations, then why would we expect students to act differently?

Furthermore, a two-hour Teach-In trivializes the work of teachers who critically examine race and racism year-round. We teach in History, Ethnic Studies, and Psychology, as well as other programs, departments and colleges, such as Thurgood Marshall’s Dimensions of Culture. In these classes, our students and instructors put in intense intellectual and personal work in struggling with our inheritance of racism, sexism, and classism.

But most importantly, teach-ins are strategies for the powerless, not for people in power. The Chancellor has a wide-range of powers and more than a few resources to commit to improving campus climate. The BSU is rightfully pressuring the administration to administrate, not just talk about, solutions for improving our campus climate.

What should the administration do?

To paraphrase Cornel West, “Young people don’t want to hear a sermon, they want to see a sermon.” It’s time to commit to some real structural changes. We can start with the BSU demands. But if a simpler list is needed, I have some suggestions below.

1) Implement the Yield Report. This report came out 3 years before last week’s frat party. Can the administration take this state of emergency and finally implement the Yield Report recommendations?

2) Put some teeth into the diversity office. Currently, the Chief Diversity Officer is a 50% position with no budget, no staff, and no formal power. Upgrade it to a Vice Chancellorship and equip it with a staff and budget. Such offices at UCLA and UC Berkeley are able to provide material support for research, teaching, and student affairs. They can take a preventive approach to racial incidents on campus. (This recommendation can also be found on page 10 of the Yield Report.) But don’t stop there. Give this office wide reform powers over all units on the campus, and we will gain at least one institutionalized motor for bridging the gap between the rhetoric and the reality of diversity.

3) Fund organizations that support underrepresented students. Right now, student organizations like the SAAC orgs (BSU, MECHA, and others) are doing the work of the administration to recruit, retain, and respect underrepresented students. These student leaders bear a double burden – even as they are assailed by a toxic campus climate, they are also expected to be its antidote. How do we expect to retain our current students if they are mending our university on top of their obligations to schoolwork, jobs, and family? These orgs should be given increased funding for major events such as high school conferences, overnight recruitment events, and graduation ceremonies. (This recommendation is on page 9 of the Yield Report).

4) Create a committed commission on campus climate. No, not a group of Chancellor’s appointees, but a coalition of organizations with a track record of transforming our university. Start with the SAAC orgs, the Campus Centers, and the interdisciplinary departments and programs.

5) Repatriate, Research, and Respect. If diversity is to be more than an empty word, then it has to become part of the fundamental business of universities: research, teaching, and service. Fund collaboratories and cluster hires around indigenous scholarship, black and black diaspora studies, and chicano/latino studies. Develop curriculum and coursework relevant to these areas. (These recommendations are on page 10 of the Yield Report). But don’t stop there. Repatriate the Native remains, the burial grounds, and the Chancellor’s house on it. Let the Kumeyaay decide how they wish to establish a Native peoples’ presence on campus. UCSD would lose an unoccupied house, gain a Native cultural hub, and comply with the law. We might also become a truly attractive option for both established and aspiring Native American scholars.

What should the faculty do?

As departments, programs, divisions, and as the faculty senate, we should formally endorse the BSU demands and the Yield Report recommendations. We should change our admissions policy from comprehensive to holistic. But don’t stop there. Let us create admissions criteria that value local San Diego community knowledge, especially the community intelligence it takes to persevere within structurally disadvantaged schools. We would not only increase campus diversity, but also demonstrate commitment to the local community in these adverse economic times. UC San Diego might yet live up to our namesake.

What can students do?

It is a privilege to teach here at UC San Diego, where I am constantly impressed by our students’ initiative, compassion, and sense of social justice. Stay up, stay strong, and stay righteous. You’re changing this campus.

With respect,

K. Wayne Yang, Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies
Affiliated Professor of Urban Studies and Planning

[Lilyeye]

82. What an incredible letter with so much truth. Thank you Nikki for this information.

[Nikki Stone1]

90. Everyone should read this letter to understand what is happening at UCSD now

It's so right on.

[salin]

97. Interest read... both this and the student letter.

I would be willing to bet that unless the University throws out increased financial aid - the very low acceptance rate (13%) of African American students who were admitted (that is those who were accepted to UCSD, but declined to attend) will decline further for next fall. Given that there have been other racially hostile events at other SoCal UCs, I would bet that the NoCal UCs acceptance rates will climb.

I shouldn't be shocked as I read your links... but I am. In the horrified sense of the word.

Thank you for keeping us updated as this story unfolds.

[Nikki Stone1]

98. Sometimes, it takes incidents like this to bring out what's lying underneath the rocks

and it's pretty slimy. :(

[No Elephants]

130. Southern California is Republican, neo theo heaven.

[Nikki Stone1]

142. Yes, it is

It's really intolerant.

[Ellen Forradalom]

101. Sexism compounds the vileness

Most of the party's invitation is devoted to spelling out in detail how women invitees are expected to dress and act. This delivers a brutal two-fer: it cruelly insults black women and debases women attendees by making them the "entertainment". It's grotesque racial burlesque. I am sorry that any women participated in their own degradation.

While confronting racism, the sexism should not be ignored. It's just as reprehensible.

[Nikki Stone1]

104. Excellent point.

.

[Ellen Forradalom]

105. Thank you

And thanks for posting the information here so we can keep up-to-date.

It's a sorry characteristic of the age that while racism is vigorously confronted, sexism and misogyny get a free pass.

[Nikki Stone1]

106. Ain't that the truth.

Sigh.

[Nikki Stone1]

109. Statement from Critical Gender Studies (Formerly Women's Studies)

http://stopracismucsd.wordpress.com/2010/02/27/statement-from-the-critical-gender-studies-program-at-ucsd/

Statement from the Critical Gender Studies Program at UCSD
Dear CGS Friends,

As concerned faculty affiliated with an academic program dedicated to the study of gender and sexuality at the intersections of class, race, ethnicity, religion, and other important organizing constructs of modern societies, we write to express our unequivocal support of the letter issued by the University of California, San Diego faculty of African descent, and ask that the University act immediately to respond to the demands by the Black Student Union.

We believe the racist and misogynist event last week is not an aberration but symptomatic of a larger systemic problem on our campus that the university has historically failed to redress. UCSD has not been forthcoming in fostering an intellectual and pedagogical environment hospitable to those who consider campus diversity foundational to teaching, critical thinking, research and public service. In the past this reticence has profoundly hampered our program’s growth.

Over the past two decades, many faculty affiliated with the Critical Gender Studies Program (formerly Women’s Studies Program) have dedicated their time and energy to increasing diversity on campus. In the absence of the University’s commitment to supporting and sustaining historically underrepresented groups in general, and women of color in particular, an alarming number of African American and other CGS faculty of color have left the campus in bitter disappointment. An African American CGS faculty who recently left UCSD would lament that in her “Black Feminist Theory” class, she was the only “black feminist” in the room. Another African American CGS faculty, who published an award-winning book in timely fashion, was not tenured due to institutional oversight. She left UCSD to teach at a prestigious university with tenure. Earlier when a large number of CGS faculty were involved in the Coalition Against Segregation in Education (CASE) that rallied against the California’s Proposition 209 under the banner, “No University without Diversity,” the University neglected to publicly issue its commitment to diversity in education. After the offensive campus incident last week and the continuing acts of antagonism, we are now being asked to reach out to the prospective students from historically underrepresented communities to assure them that the recent display of hostility is not representative of UCSD. But some of us have been struggling against these conditions long enough to know that this is hardly unusual. At the same time, as faculty affiliated with a program that has managed to grow despite these serious setbacks, we are also aware that much can be accomplished with the concerted efforts and commitment of our students, staff and faculty mobilized for the consistent administrative leadership.

As faculty teaching in CGS, we are keenly aware of the intersecting oppressions many UCSD students face on a daily basis and we know how important it is to have programs like ours, giving all students the theoretical tools to analyze and challenge these structures. There are too few spaces on this campus that offer safety and support in an often alienating climate and we want to emphasize the amazing work done by the Cross Cultural, LGBTR and Women’s Centers. These centers were created due to student pressure and the recent events show how important they and their commitment to intersectional politics still are. We are proud, though not surprised, that again students are taking the lead in pushing for a livable campus climate for all and we fully support their demands.

Symbolic gestures disavowing racism and misogyny will not usher in the changes necessary to achieve our highest aspirations in public education. The CGS Program faculty invites the entire campus community to support the University in its effort to implement the demands of our students and colleagues and immediately commit concrete institutional resources towards bringing forth substantial structural changes to UCSD.

Lisa Yoneyama, Director

Steering Committee:

Patrick Anderson, Communication

Fatima El-Tayeb, Literature

Sara Clarke Kaplan, Ethnic Studies/CGS

Nayan Shah, History

[Ellen Forradalom]

112. Awesome response.

Thanks for posting it. I'm glad they're drawing attention to the misogyny and the intersection of that with racism. We advance together or not at all.

[Nikki Stone1]

114. I liked it too.

I want to get as much of this out here on DU to read as I can. This story isn't over.

[No Elephants]

133. I would be amazed to find a racist, male or female, who was free of other forms of bigotry,.

Bigotry requires a stereotyping mentality. Women are the "weaker sex," the quintessential "pussies." They are not too bright, can't battle, be it in war or in the operating room or in the courtroom, and they need protection. The Irish are drunkards, the Italians are either in the mob or have mob connections. At the very minimum, they are all tasteless "Guidos." The French are arrogant, Canadians are nice, but boring, eh, etc.

My stereotyping: A bigot is a bigot is a bigot is as bigot.

[Nikki Stone1]

76. UC Regent Live(blog) "More are Coming"

http://ucregentlive.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/a-noose-found-at-ucsd-library/

1:18AM UPDATE

monifigi NOOSE WAS FOUND IN THE LIBRARY. SOMEONE SENT A MESSAGE TO THE GUARDIAN SAYING MORE ARE COMING. MEET AT LIBRARY WALK TOMORROW AT 8am.
adanacnut UCSD: someone sent message to the Guardian saying more nooses will come, they’re fucking with us.

2:20pm UPDATE
UCSD Police Department: There have been no eyewitness accounts. There are no cameras in that area of the library, so there is no documentation of who might have put it there. The area has been dusted for fingerprints, and the noose has been removed so they can run a DNA analysis. Unfortunately, a DNA analysis can only match up with people who are currently in the criminal database as well. They are currently running a criminal investigation, the police chief has been called.

[panzerfaust]

88. African Americans make up just 1.6% of the school's undergraduates

The noose hanging student, and her supporters, seem to have much in common with their cousins ...

[mbperrin]

89. Arrest. Prosecute. Imprison. Never slow it down any other way.

Suspend? That's what you get for writing answers on your arm for a test....

[Nikki Stone1]

94. Arrest, yes

Suspension is too weak.

[No Elephants]

132. That, or an appointment to the # 2 spot on the Republican Presidential ticket.

(I'm betting that is not the first time six colleges in five years (or was it five colleges in six years?) Sarah wrote something on her hand.)

[Nikki Stone1]

95. KOALA guy who called BSA "ungrateful n*****s" on the air: a FIFTH YEAR senior

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/feb/28/stoker-of-ucsd-ire-cant-justify-hurt-caused/

....Well, that can happen, when you drop the “n” word during a student TV show hosted by your organization, inflaming racial tensions that were already on the rise.

Did he expect a parade?

It’s tough to figure people, but I thought I’d give it a shot. Our reporters couldn’t get comment from Gregorian because of ethical issues — and time restraints — with his beer demand. I was able to overcome both....

....Gregorian is 25, a fifth-year senior. He swears he just wants to drink beer and have fun. The Koala makes fun of everyone, he said.

But a lot of people are saying it went way too far recently when on its weekly TV show it blasted blacks — called them ungrateful for being upset over the “Compton Cook Out” party, which mocked Black History Month.

Metaphorically speaking, there was a big fire on campus, ignited by the party. And here came the Koala, with gasoline … and a big, wide smirk.

The campus has since stopped funding 33 UCSD-based media outlets, the Koala included, because of that broadcast. The school says it wants to figure out a way to use student fees for publications and productions that might not be apt to get the campus in an uproar.

That’s happening a lot these days. On Friday, a noose was found hanging from a bookcase on the seventh floor of the university library, causing more outrage and protest.

To Gregorian, the funding cutoff is just another example of the campus — and society in general — limiting free speech.

“There’s no point in having rights if you can’t use them,” he said. “And history shows if you don’t push the envelope, typically you’re more likely to lose them.”

But, come on …

In the most recent issue of the Koala, it made fun of Haiti, the place recovering from a devastating earthquake.

The Koala noted how “dead children are good for a lot of games.”

In an issue from last year, the Koala made light of the death of a student who died practicing pole vaulting on campus.

“Our express goal,” Gregorian said, “is to offend every group possible.”....

.....Watching this guy justify his incendiary and hurtful antics by wrapping himself in the First Amendment made me sad.

I’d ask him to refund my $12 for beer — and the $4 tip, too. But it would mean talking to him again.

No comment....

[Lilyeye]

99. What a sorry piece of shit!!

The idiot can say whatever the hell he wants, but he can do it without funding from the school. The school shouldn't have to continue to kick out money so he can hop on his racist soapbox. He can can fund his own sorry show if that is the case.

[Nikki Stone1]

100. I agree!

.

[Nikki Stone1]

102. From the ETHNIC STUDIES Department at UCSD

Ethnic Studies Faculty and Student Response to UCSD Campus Crisis Precipitated by the Event Dubbed the "Compton Cookout"

http://www.ethnicstudies.ucsd.edu/currentissues.shtml#esresponse-edcc


As faculty and graduate students in the Ethnic Studies Department at UC-San Diego, we unequivocally condemn the February 15th off-campus party, dubbed the "Compton Cookout," as an example of racist, classist and misogynist stereotyping that degrades Black people through disparaging representations of so-called "African American culture." Like similar events thrown on college and university campuses across the United States, this "theme party" in one quick, broad stroke reduced the complex lived experience of a heterogeneous racialized community to a caricatured depiction of cultural deviancy. All the more troubling, this particular themed party was intentionally organized to mock ongoing celebrations of African American History month in the U.S. and specifically here at UC San Diego.

This "monstrosity" (as some of the organizers called it) has a violent and racist history that began with blackface minstrel shows in the U.S., starting in the early 19th century, heightening with popularity during the Abolition Movement, and extending into 20th century theater and film. Both blackface minstrel performances and parties such as the “Compton Cookout” reinforce and magnify existing material and discursive structures of Black oppression, while denying Black people any sense of humanity, negating not only the actual lives that exist behind these caricatured performances but the structural conditions that shape Black life in the US. Far from celebrating Black history, events such as this one are marked celebrations of the play of power characteristic of whiteness in general and white minstrelsy in particular: the ability to move in and move out of a racially produced space at will; the capacity to embody a presumed deviance without actually ever becoming or being it; the privilege to revel in this raced and gendered alterity without ever having to question or encounter the systemic and epistemic violence that produces hierarchies of difference in the first place. Moreover, like their blackface minstrel predecessors, the organizers and attendees of the “Compton Cookout” demonstrate the inextricability of performances of white mastery over Black bodies from structures of patriarchy: by instructing their women ‘guests’ on how to dress (“wear cheap clothes”), behave (“start fights and drama”), and speak (“have a very limited vocabulary”), these young men not only paint a degrading and dehumanizing picture of African American women as so-called “ghetto chicks,” but offer a recipe for the objectification of all women—made permissible, once again, through the appropriation of blackness.

Contrary to what some have claimed, the recent "Compton Cookout" is neither an aberration nor unique. Rather, it is best understood as part of a broader social reality that despite the celebrated juridical/political advancements achieved by people of color in the United States through centuries of struggle, full racial justice remains a goal, rather than accomplishment. The same month that we witnessed Barack Obama sworn in as the first Black man to reach the White House, the number of Black men imprisoned in the United States reached one million. Meanwhile, the backlash against affirmative action in public institutions that began a decade ago in the state of California has reduced representation of people of color in institutions ranging from the University of Michigan Law School to the New Haven Fire Department to public school districts across the US, making the criminal justice system the only state institution in which African Americans are still sought after and included in large numbers. Indeed, the unacknowledged slow reversal of the promise of Brown v. Board of Education is evident here at UCSD: Black students currently represent less than 2% of the undergraduate population here at UC San Diego, a percentage that is scarcely better than the 1% representation of Black people among faculty and academic professionals. Given this, despite the protestations of its organizers, events like the "Compton Cookout" are never “harmless fun.” Rather, they are the cultural matter through which raced and gendered hierarchies of difference are reproduced and instantiated; they are the venues in which white privilege is rationalized through the representation of African Americans as less civilized and more deviant, less human and more animalistic, less deserving of education and more worthy of satire.

Indeed, the “Compton Cookout” demonstrates that as a country and as a campus, we have yet to create the institutional systems that would make places of higher education more accessible to and less alienating for Black students and other students of color. Indeed, if recent events on campus are any indicator, as a campus, we have only begun the work of recognizing our own complicities in the problem at hand. As scholars of race and power in the United States and transnationally, the faculty and students of the Ethnic Studies Department and our affiliates are well-versed in the history and intersectional analysis of events such as this recent party, and the continuing raced, classed, and gendered structures of inequality that it represents. We remain ready to assist the administration in not only developing "teach-ins" but also institutional policies capable of radically changing the campus climate within which such events can be conceived of as ‘harmless’ and be carried out unchecked.

In that vein, the Department of Ethnic Studies calls upon the University of California, San Diego administration to view this event not as an incident of wayward students violating the principles of UCSD’s community, but rather to engage this event as a moment to re-think the logic of institutional accountability: who is responsible for creating a campus climate of permissibility around racial/gendered representational violence, and who pays the price of such a climate? We applaud the intellectual, political, and emotional work that is already being done by students, faculty and staff around the party and the broader issues it points to; at the same time, we recognize that moments such as this place additional and exhausting demands on a limited number of bodies, in part due to administrative expectations that students, faculty, and staff of color will serve as educators and crisis-managers, counselors and public representatives of the University. We therefore call upon the administration to model institutional accountability at the highest levels by taking concrete steps to make UCSD the educational and social environment promised by the Principles of Community—a university that is not only accessible to and affordable for African Americans and other students of color, but one in which students of color can feel valued, safe, and protected.

[Nikki Stone1]

103. MARCH 4: DAY OF ACTION

http://ucsdcoalitionforeducationaljustice.wordpress.com/

[Nikki Stone1]

107. Third Racist Incident Sends Protestors Into Chancellor’s Complex (UCSD student paper)

http://www.ucsdguardian.org/news/third-racist-incident-sends-protestors-into-chancellors-complex/

......Fox emerged once more, emphasizing to an emotional crowd that the university was doing all it could to take action against the incidents.
“I strongly condemn the offensive acts of hate and bias that have occurred over the past days,” Fox said. “It is deplorable that while our students, faculty and staff work to heal the campus, a few misguided individuals tried to divide it.”
Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Penny Rue echoed these sentiments.
“You can’t imagine how pained we are,” she said. “We are heartsick.”
UC President Mark Yudof also issued a statement condemning the incidents.
However, as Fox made no mention of a shutdown, BSU leaders asked her once again to meet with the Academic Senate in order to determine if a shutdown was feasible. In the meantime, protestors moved into her office and hosted an impromptu sit-in. At approximately 2 p.m., the chancellor announced that she saw no reason for a shutdown; however, protestors decided to continue occupying her office until the 5 p.m. deadline for responding to their requests.
At 5:30 p.m., members of the BSU revealed that their meeting with the Chancellor had concluded, and announced that she had not met their demands.
“They handed us over a bullshit-ass document,” BSU Vice Chair Fnann Keflezighi said. “Basically, it said everything that we already knew, no concrete things on how they’re going to implement anything. They’re dumber than we thought they were — dumber than I thought they were.”
She announced to the remaining supporters that BSU would take to Library Walk once again on Monday at 10 a.m. to demand more progress on meeting the list of demands.
In light of these racial tensions, many events on campus have been cancelled, such as the LGBT Non-Sexist Dance scheduled to take place last Saturday night, as well as the Dr. Seuss birthday celebration scheduled for March 2.....

[Nikki Stone1]

108. Black Student Union Demands

http://www.scribd.com/full/27523059?access_key=key-dkgi9mygphbljd5c9vb


Access:

WE DEMAND PERMANENT FUNDING FOR STUDENT-INITIATED ACCESS
PROGRAMS.
As a public institution, UCSD has a responsibility to the historically underrepresented
community that it should serve. On top of the fact that it has the Student Promoted Access Center
for Education and Service (SPACES) doing more than enough work in the field of access,
SPACES is a student-run and student initiated center—MEANING THAT STUDENTS ARE
THE ONES DOING THE WORK OF THE UNIVERSITY. Yet, the funds of SPACES are not
secured. With a budgetary crisis, it is now more important than ever for the funds of SPACES
and Student Initiated Access Program and Services (SIAPS) to be secured permanently so as to
assure the outreach to our historically underrepresented communities. Due to California’s shift in
funding allocations from schools to prisons over the past decade the number of freshpeople
enrolling into UCSD has decreased and will continue to decrease dramatically. Therefore, we
demand that the university match funds with the SPACES budget, including SIAPS-—the branch
that works towards access in SPACES. In addition, we demand that the university also
supplement the difference of the cut in funds from the students’ fees that would have been paid
to SPACES had enrollment decreased in the present academic year in comparison to the previous
year.

Admissions:

WE DEMAND THAT THE ADMISSIONS POLICY CONTINUES AS
COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW WITH ADDITIONAL POINTS GIVEN TO FIRST
GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS AND STUDENTS WHO ATTEND A FOURTH
OR FIFTH QUINTILE HIGH SCHOOL IN CALIFORNIA.
The Senate-Administration Task Force on Budget recently proposed to increase Non-Resident
Enrollment by switching from a Comprehensive Review to a Holistic Review. We demand that
half of the revenue generated from non-resident tuition be allocated to programs specifically
designed to support the access for and retention of underrepresented California students at UC
San Diego. In order to increase the number of students of color on this campus, we demand that
the admissions policy give more points to historically under-represented groups on this campus,
first generation students, and students who come from fourth or fifth quintile schools. We
demand that the University announce public plans to ensure that the pool of admitted out of state
students resembles the demographics of California.

Yield:

WE DEMAND THAT THE UNIVERSITY BEGIN TO DO ITS WORK IN RECRUITING
HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS BY IMPLEMENTING YIELD
PROGRAMS INITIATED BY THE STUDENTS AND FULLY FUNDED BY THE
UNIVERSITY.
Yield is designed to facilitate the transition between student initiated access and student
initiated retention. This is solely the responsibility of the University to FUND, IMPLEMENT
AND MAINTAIN such listed programs. We demand the University implements, maintains and
fully funds BSU's Student Initiated Yield Programs, as well as other historically
underrepresented and marginalized communities on this campus. Having this demand protects students of color from disappearing from the University of California public education system. It
institutionalizes the efforts of recruitment to this campus by placing part of the responsibility in
the hands of administration.

Retention:

WE DEMAND THE NECESSARY INSTITUTIONAL RESOURCES FOR PROGRAMS
THAT CONTRIBUTE TO OUR INTELLECTUAL AND SOCIOCULTURAL
DEVELOPMENT, RETENTION, AND ACHIEVEMENT.

The Academic Success Program (ASP), housed within the Student Promoted Access Center
for Education and Service (SPACES), is geared towards retaining underrepresented students via
programs such as their quarterly Book Lending Program and tutoring. These services are
invaluable to students, especially historically underrepresented minorities on campus, who need
a community that not only provides a safe space but also provides tools promoting success in
institutions of higher education.

ASP is funded through student fees and therefore vulnerable to enrollment percentages. As a
result, WE DEMAND that the University supplement the SPACES budget whenever first year
enrollment is purposely capped. ASP cannot provide substantial resources to underserved
communities when funding is continuously subject to administrative whim and decision-making
processes without compensation. The University must take it upon itself to ensure the
sustainability of these programs via this pledge to counteract administrative enrollment caps.
Also, WE DEMAND the University match funds with SPACES (ASP and SIAPS). Access and
retention should be a priority of the University as a whole and therefore warrants financial
support. Students should not be expected to initiate, run, and pay for the University’s
commitment to diversity. As the entity supporting all student-initiated efforts, SPACES should
be funded with the help of administration.

The Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services (OASIS) not only provides
academic support but also builds community for people of color on UCSD’s campus. Through
programs such as Summer Bridge, students are given the opportunity to learn about the struggles
historically marginalized groups encounter, how to formulate a sense of community even when
encountering heightened underrepresentation, and ways in which to keep one’s self retained on
this University campus. With the persistent budget cuts, OASIS has decreased the number of
students the Summer Bridge program can support. This does not reflect a commitment to
diversity at the University level when salient programs are decreased in an effort to cut down on
spending. A true commitment to diversity requires continual funding, constant program
implementation, and expansion. Cuts to an entity such as OASIS are detrimental to say the least.
When students are not given the opportunity to learn, gain mentorship, be tracked, and feel
connected, there becomes little to hold that individual within the institution. Connections must be
forged. OASIS provides that space. Secure funding for Summer Bridge along with Mentor
Practicum, tutoring, and other programs will help the center maintain and increase the amount of
students it mentors and continue the work of keeping all students engaged and tied to the
University. WE DEMAND OASIS receive mandated, permanent, budget-crisis free funding
from the University since OASIS is a force on campus at the forefront of retaining the
underrepresented, underserved, underprivileged populations on campus. WE DEMAND the University provide additional funding to OASIS for free tutors for African-American students as
well as other historically marginalized students who seek academic support. We suggest that this
program be structured similarly to the tutoring program provided for Athletes through the
Academic Department.

In relation to OASIS, the Campus Community Centers (Cross-Cultural Center, Women’s
Center, Lesbian/Gay/Bi-Sexual/Transgender Resource Center) also require secure
institutionalized funding. The Community Centers provide a safe space that creates a sense of
belonging for marginalized students, fosters a commitment to community, and ultimately breeds
activism on campus. The Campus Community Centers provide internships to students, host
events relevant to minority struggles, with a clear focus on validating the presence and
contributions of underrepresented groups.


Academic:

WE DEMAND STRONG INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT FOR ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
THAT CONTRIBUTE TO AN IMPROVED CAMPUS CLIMATE.

Supporting the African American Studies Minor (AASM) and the Chicano/a and Latino/a Arts
and Humanities Minor (CLAH) is a form of retention, reflective of a prioritization of people of
color studies, and also can improve campus climate at UCSD. If these programs are fully funded
with appropriate coordinators that act as curriculum guides as well as a support system, it shows
that the University views these disciplines as worth studying. This creates true commitment to
cultural engagement. The minors along with Critical Gender Studies and Ethnic Studies majors
provide insight not only about the people we are sharing a classroom with, but also, presents
knowledge about the subterranean histories of the country every individual at UCSD inhabits.
Emphasis should be placed upon the fact that everyone is a beneficiary of diversity. It creates an
enhanced marketplace of ideas, teaches individuals how to interact with people of different
communities, and ultimately calls for a critical assessment of the dominant philosophies in
society. Therefore, we DEMAND full financial support of the AASM, CLAH minor, Critical
Gender Studies major, and Ethnic Studies major because these disciplines serve to educate
communities of color, as well as the campus community as a whole. These courses will help
students acknowledge their personal privilege, realize their positionality in society, understand
the historical and continual oppression of people of color, and comprehend their role in
preventing the perpetuation of ingrained societal frameworks that uphold inequalities.

We demand the University establish an Organized Research Unit to work towards supporting
research on African American, Chican@, and Native American and indigenous communities.

We demand an increase in the number of historically underrepresented faculty and post-doc
positions.

We demand the Chancellor, the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, and the UCSD Academic
Senate mandate a diversity sensitivity requirement for every undergraduate student, which will
be met by taking an African-American studies, Ethnic Studies, or Critical Gender Studies course
before graduating from UC San Diego. WE DEMAND THAT THE UCSD ADMINISTRATION TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR
IMPLEMENTING INSTITUTIONAL ACTION TO DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN A
CRITICAL MASS OF UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS.

Administrative accountability serves to institutionalize the diversity efforts presented in these
demands. With this we will accomplish and work to diminish the institutionalized and systemic
racism that exists on the University of California, San Diego campus.
Part of administrative accountability includes that the administration and faculty also represent
the demographics of the state of California. It is clear each year that the faculty of color either
remains stagnant or drops in numbers and those numbers have not improved over the past
number of years. This stagnancy is the first problem that the university must solve in order to
begin becoming administratively accountable to the underrepresented student population.
Students, particularly students of color and womyn, need to be able to see themselves and their
cultural backgrounds be reflected in the professors that are educating these students. In order to
see the kinds of third world majors that we want to see on this campus, we must first see the
faculty of color, including womyn of color, which will teach these courses. In hopes to establish
a Department of Black Studies, Department of Chican@ Studies, and a Department of Native
American Indian Studies, we demand that the university begin the hiring process of three faculty
each department respectively. Seeing as how some faculty might be hired as assistant professors,
we consequently demand one of these three faculty for each department be hired as tenure
faculty so as to assure that their teaching positions and their critical positions as faculty of color
at this university are not in danger of being slashed from our already reduced people of color
community. Along with teaching classes of ethnic identity, sexuality, race, class, and gender,
these faculties will be hired on the premise that their work and research will be instrumental
towards working on the establishment of their respective community's Resource Center. This
way the faculty can be working towards what will eventually be departments for Black Studies,
Department of Chican@ Studies, and a Department of Native American Indian Studies who will
ultimately contribute to the betterment of campus climate.

We demand the University to increase the African-American populations and other
underrepresented marginalized communities of color in various aspects of campus to reflect the
greater San Diego Population.

We demand the expansion of the Chief Diversity Officer to an Associate Vice Chancellor of
Diversity Affairs as a fulltime position with a fully funded office with responsibility for all
campus diversity initiatives. This person WILL NOT be responsible for the Preuss School. We
demand students from SAAC should participate in the search process.

We demand the Chancellor and the University issue repercussions to those that violate the
“Principles of Community.”

Campus Climate:

WE DEMAND A CAMPUS CLIMATE THAT PROMOTES AND ADDRESSES THE
NEEDS OF HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES.

We demand that the Chicano Legacy mural become a permanent installation on this campus.
We demand full funding for outdoor, permanent, and centrally located art spaces that are
reflective of historically underrepresented communities. We demand that students sit on the
Stuart Committee and become involved in the decision-making process as voting members. We
demand that students have the utmost say in the conceptual development of the art pieces
established.

We demand that the naming of Sixth College and prominent campus buildings to reflect the
minority population of California be made an immediate priority. In doing so, we demand that a
committee comprised of SAAC-recommended community members, UCSD undergraduate
students, and faculty be involved in this decision making process.

We demand the establishment of the African American resource center, a Chican@ Resource
Center and a Native American Resource Center.

FINALLY:
We demand that the administration respond to these demands on March 4th. The
Chancellor has had more than enough time these past few years to make a decision. We
expect all of administration to be out on Library Walk on that Thursday to state their
message on these demands while allowing the students to respond back. As students, we
will set up the stage and speakers on Library Walk, we only ask that your presence is there
(Chancellor, ALL Vice Chancellors, Academic Senate Representatives).

If these demands are not addressed and decided upon, WE AS AFRICAN AMERICAN
STUDENTS AND ALLIES WILL BE FORCED TO SEND OUT A PUBLIC CALL TO
OTHER UNIVERSITIES TO PROVIDE US THE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
FREE FROM DEGRADATION, HOSTILITY, AND INTIMIDATION THAT THE
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO REFUSES TO PROVIDE.

[Nikki Stone1]

110. Apparently, student came forward with two witnesses. Her punishment?

http://www.ucsdguardian.org/news/third-racist-incident-sends-protestors-into-chancellors-complex/

....Vice Chancellor of Resource and Management Gary Matthews then revealed that a female student had come forward earlier that morning to turn herself in for planting the noose, along with two witnesses. According to a police bulletin sent to all UCSD students and faculty, the event is being treated as a crime with “intent to terrorize.”

Fox said the student has been suspended for an undisclosed amount of time, but did not explicitly state that criminal prosecution would be pursued.

BSU leaders asked that the student receive stricter punishment, and that administrators respond to their list of 32 demands by 5 p.m. — not March 4, as previously requested. They then demanded that the campus be shut down until all students felt safe....

[scottsoperson]

111. racism

a slight majority of whites think blacks are better off than them financially.

http://www.cir-usa.org/articles/177.html

[warm regards]

113. I bet they never dreamed they would get this much publicity.

And the NCAA champion chain pullers are...

[Nikki Stone1]

115. Chain pullers?

?

[scottsoperson]

116. black unemployment is typically

twice as high as white unemployment.

[Jax]

117. why?

and on edit:

a link for this, it is needed and necessary.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

165. Racism.

People are less likely to hire blacks, even if they're equally qualified as whites.

[No Elephants]

135. Glad noose woman was caught, but, IMO, too much emphasis on her and not enough on the

rest of the incident.

Racism was not acceptable when I was in college, not among the administration, the professors or my peer group.

These folks party like it's 1899. What will the school do about it? (Demonstrations on March 4 are fine and well-intended, but are not going to cut it as a long-term solution.)

[Nikki Stone1]

143. I hear you.

The UCSD home page is not very encouraging.

http://www.ucsd.edu/

Spotlight

March Letter from the Chancellor
http://www-chancellor.ucsd.edu/letter2010_0301.html


Read a Followup Statement from Chancellor Fox on Friday's Events
http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/general/02-10MAFupdate.asp


Police Alert of Geisel Library Incident
http://police.ucsd.edu/docs/100240u.pdf


Review the "Do UC Us? Report on Campaign to Increase Numbers of African-American Students at UC San Diego
http://adminrecords.ucsd.edu/Notices/2010/2010-2-19-1.html


UC San Diego Chancellor Marye Anne Fox Issues Video Statement Regarding Recent Incidents on Campus
http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/general/02-26ChancellorStatement.asp

[No Elephants]

167. They need a long term action plan re: creating a diverse and welcoming

administration, faculty and student body and training for all of the foregoing--and not as an elective, either.

Nooses cannot be deemed either amusing or a political statement. Peer pressure has to go in the opposite direction from nooses and from racist themed frat parties.

[Nikki Stone1]

141. Update and rally in support of BSU (From the Union)

Email from my friend's union:

"On Friday (while many of us were rallying outside her office), Chancellor Fox presented the Black Student Union with what BSU considered an unsatisfactory response to their demands. They decided to review her response over the weekend, draft amendments to it, and meet with administration again today, Monday, March 1st at 10am. They have requested that people gather at the Chancellor's Complex this morning to to support them. UAW 2865 encourages members to join us out here now."

[Nikki Stone1]

144. Chancellor's message

http://battlehate.ucsd.edu/

[Nikki Stone1]

147. The girl who made the noose has written an apology:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4289107&mesg_id=4289107

[Nikki Stone1]

148. UCSD GUARDIAN: ‘Shut It Down’

‘Shut It Down’
Angry students take over the Chancellor’s Complex, awaiting a response to their demand that the university cease operations.
Posted on 01 March 2010
By Angela Chen

Erik Jepsen/Guardian
Student protesters occupied the Chancellor’s Complex for over six hours on Friday, calling for administrators to shut down the university and respond to a list of demands issued one week before by the Black Student Union.

The BSU altered their requests from the original 32 demands to a conslidated list. For example, the BSU no longer calls for a change to a holistic admissions system, but instead wants the current comprehensive review system to include additional points for first-generation students and those who attended schools in the fourth or fifth quintile.
The sit-in was in response to the discovery of a noose hanging from a light fixtureon the seventh floor of Geisel Library on Feb. 25 — the latest in a string of racially charged events, including a “Compton Cookout” party held Feb. 15 and slurs aired on Student-Run Television Feb. 18.

According to a police bulletin e-mailed to all students and faculty Thursday night, the UCSD police received reports of a noose — historically used in black lynchings — at approximately 10:30 p.m. on Feb. 25. The incident is being treated as a crime with “intent to terrorize.”

Leaders of the BSU immediately planned a protest for the following morning at 8 a.m. The Library Walk rally drew approximately 300 participants, including speakers from BSU, the LGBT community and faculty.
Sociology professor Ivan Evans spoke heavily about the “special horror of lynching” and called for the students to take direct action.

“They have gone where they should not have gone, and I believe we should respond appropriately,” he said. “I don’t believe it is the chancellor’s role to shut the university down, and I believe it would be difficult for her to do so. I believe it is our role to do that.”

Campuswide Senator Desiree Prevo referenced the recent reaction from members of student media organizations to A.S. President Utsav Gupta’s funding freeze last Friday, a reaction to BSU requests to shut down controversial humor newspaper the Koala. Prevo said this was not a free-speech issue.

“The Bill of Rights, in which the free-speech document came from, was never meant to include my people — our people — so how do you expect me to respect free speech, when I was never supposed to have free speech?” Prevo asked.
Chancellor Marye Anne Fox emerged from the Chancellor’s Complex to speak to the crowd. She said all criminal violators would be punished.

Vice Chancellor of Resource and Management Gary Matthews then came forward, revealing that a female student had confessed to hanging the noose around 9:30 a.m., and had turned in her two accomplices.
According to a letter to the Guardian from the student who hung the noose, the incident was “a mindless act and stupid mistake.” The student, whose identity has not been released, has been suspended for an indefinite period of time.
California Law AB 412, passed in August 2009, states that hanging a noose in a public area is a misdemeanor punishable up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. However, the suspended student has not yet been taken into custody.
Protesters expressed their unhappiness with the administration reaction, and marched to the Chancellor’s Complex at noon.

Fox emerged once more to assure protesters that the university was taking action against hate on campus.
“I strongly condemn the offensive acts of hate and bias that have occurred over the past days,” Fox said. Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Penny Rue echoed Fox’s sentiments.

“You can’t imagine how pained we are over this,” she said. “We are heartsick.”
However, Fox made no mention of a campus shutdown, prompting protesters to pressure her to meet with the Academic Senate to determine if one was feasible. Meanwhile, demonstrators moved into Fox’s office to host an impromptu sit-in.
At approximately 2 p.m., the chancellor said she saw no reason for a shutdown, causing protesters to occupy her office until 5 p.m.

At 5:30 p.m., members of the BSU emerged from their meeting with Fox to announce that she had not adequately met their demands.

“They handed us over a bullshit-ass document,” BSU Vice Chair Fnann Keflezighi said to the crowd after the meeting. “Basically, it said everything that we already knew, no concrete things on how they’re going to implement anything. They’re dumber than we thought they were — dumber than I thought they were.”

According to the 11-page document responding to the BSU’s original demands, the university will begin taking steps to create a permanent task force to increase diversity awareness on campus and fill the vacant program-coordinator position for the African-American Studies Minor. (The full text of this document can be found online at www.battlehate.ucsd.edu/docs/implementation_of_demands.pdf.)

Despite escalating racial tensions on campus, many demonstrators expressed the belief that the incident has created greater solidarity within the UCSD community.

“I came to the protest because I’m part of this community and this coalition,” Muir College senior Indiana Rogers said. “These are people that I know, and people that are being disgraced.”

In addition, members of the Newman Center Catholic Community at UCSD planned to spread roses in Geisel Library at the site where the noose had been hung to show support for the BSU.

“We wanted to put something loving there instead of something so hateful,” said Anita Bradford, a graduate student in the history department. “We wanted to show our support.”

The BSU plans to mobilize again on March 1 at 10 a.m. on Library Walk, where they will continue to pressure the administration to adhere to their demands.
Additional reporting by Regina Ip.
Readers can contact Angela Chen at [email protected].

[Nikki Stone1]

149. UCSD Guardian: "The noose was in the library for two days without anybody reporting it."

http://www.ucsdguardian.org/opinion/editorials/look-up-you’re-part-of-the-problem/

Look Up: You’re Part of the Problem
Posted on 01 March 2010
By Editorial Board

Zachary Watson/Guardian
It’s hard to believe the “Compton Cookout” was only two weeks ago today. Two emotionally charged rallies and teach-ins later — snowballed by idiot moves from the Koala and an anonymous girl with a rope — racial tensions on campus have reached epic proportions.

When you Google “UCSD” and the first predictive text that comes up is “UCSD noose,” you know you’ve got a problem.
Interestingly enough, if each of the three racist incidents is considered in isolation, it becomes clear that a couple ignorant/unfeeling individuals with too much time on their hands have managed to set our campus up in flames.
Elliot Van Nostrand and his bros copied some Urban Dictionary definitions and tied them to Black History Month — a bad joke that was not theirs to make, of course, but one they somehow had little idea would appall the students it targeted. Koala Editor in Chief Kris Gregorian was undoubtedly more aware of the dagger he was throwing on Student-Run Television, but his clan has a long history of exploiting the right to hate speech, and it was only timing that gave one self-important idealogue this power to do real harm. (In addition, the cardboard scrap reading “Compton lynching” later found in the studio is known to have been written as a joke prompt by a nonstudent standerby. Stupid.) Most recently, the female student who came forward for leaving a noose in Geisel Library claims it was out of clueless negligence; so whether or not she’s just playing dumb, the girl doesn’t seem to be out to get anybody.

Unfortunately, intent does not change the severity of effect — especially when the face ratio of non-black aggressors to the victims of their “joke” (who lack the luxury of finding it funny, or access to anything near as hurtful in the weapon cabinet of history with which to fight back) is 100 to one. Add a followup shitstorm of Internet commentary and gleeful side-picking, and it’s apparent why the “toxic environment” at UCSD has become so slimy.

As we can see, the danger is much larger than this motley crew of fire-starters. There may not be visible protests against the campus-diversifying demands of the Black Student Union, but a thunderous sentiment can be heard across Facebook threads and cafeteria whispers: The 20,000 students not marching in solidarity with the BSU are jumping to the defensive conclusion that black students’ demands are too dramatic, or that this is a simple issue of free speech, and all those hurt by racial comments don’t have the right to not be offended.

No, the malicious gut feeling currently permeating UCSD cannot be blamed on three isolated flareups of ignorance, but on the blank stares they have unveiled and spiteful murmurs they have uncorked. Anyone who still thinks there is no racism at this school, after witnessing the righteous reaction of the general populous to the pain of the targeted few, with no concept of the inequality from birth between races in our country, should indeed be dragged kicking and screaming into the general-education requirements the BSU has proposed.

When a cornerstone of American society like the black population, whose presence at this university means exponentially more than its sparse percentage, feels so threatened as to not be able to enter their own library, it becomes all of our problem.

Let’s prioritize here. Yes, A.S. President Utsav Gupta breached the trust of all student publications on campus — not to mention the content-neutral principles of the First Amendment — by pulling media-org funding in the name of cutting off the Koala. And believe us, he will get what’s coming to him. But it’s important to separate that issue from the social justice the BSU is requesting; they are not asking for anyone else to be silenced, and wouldn’t have that jurisdiction anyway. They are only asking for outreach and retention, so they can exist on campus with the critical strength that would give them a fighting chance to resist — or at least not feel crushed or attacked — when slurs conjuring the violent oppression of their ancestors are thrown around in the name of freedom.

With the exception of a few hundred students willing to trek out in support of the BSU at 8 a.m. — or at least become more educated on the topic — the student body has responded with apathy. The noose was in the library for two days without anybody reporting it. And in many cases, apathy has even grown fangs. How is it necessary to start a group called “UCSD Students Outraged That People Are Outraged About the Compton Cookout” or “UCSD Students Against the Demands of the UCSD BSU”? Just because someone got it together before you to demand what they deserve from the university, you don’t have to degrade one of the most necessary fights in our history — the civil-rights movement, which is not over by any means — by rattling off some uninformed babble about basing treatment on academic merits, not the color of one’s skin. If we existed in isolation of history, if we had all started in wigs with feather pens, there might be less of a need for this moment of solidarity. Just because our ancestors messed up the possibility of self-sustaining social justice doesn’t mean we’re free from the responsibility to recognize their shortcomings and do all we can to right that wrong.

Predictably, Chancellor Marye Anne Fox mostly avoided solid fiscal solutions to the BSU’s bold list of demands in her Friday-afternoon address. But if the amount of drive they have shown so far is any indication, they will not stop until every proposed task force has made at least one step toward strengthening their chances of survival on this campus. It may seem dramatic, but without the most extreme and comprehensive request to stabilize the black population on campus and educate the rest, toxic environments like this will remain possible, and extremists like the Koala will exist as a tool of marginalization instead of ridiculousness.

I know you didn’t personally limit black opportunity in this country, but when you fail to recognize there is a problem, you become a part of it. So instead of wasting your time cutting down a people who have never received anything but the short end of the stick, let’s show a little love and admiration.

[Nikki Stone1]

150. LA TIMES: Editorial: Beyond a 'Compton Cookout'

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-ucsd2-2010mar02,0,4102439.story


Beyond a 'Compton Cookout'
UC San Diego's racial problems are not limited to one incident. And other UC campuses show troubling signs of intolerance.


March 1, 2010 | 4:27 p.m.


Now we know the truth. The infamous "Compton Cookout" at UC San Diego, where members of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity invited guests to celebrate Black History Month dressed as their favorite ghetto stereotypes, was not an isolated incident. Nor can it be chalked up to standard-issue frat behavior, in which a degree of misogyny, bigotry and drunken insensitivity is often shrugged off as normal college hijinks.

Days after the cookout, the editor of the Koala, a campus publication known for mocking Muslims, Latinos and Asians, appeared on the university's student-run TV station to defend the event. While on the air, he referred to offended black classmates as "ungrateful niggers." The following day, a sign with the words "Compton Lynching" was found at the TV station. And on Thursday, a noose was hung in the Geisel Library.

At parties, on air, in public -- anything goes, it seems. It turns out the problem wasn't just a singlepartybut an all-too-permissive culture in which some UCSD students apparently feel free to express racial malice with a breezy, unconcerned openness.

On Monday, the university announced a plan to address the growing racial tensions. It includes making greater efforts to recruit minority faculty, forming a commission to address the campus climate, ensuring ongoing funding for the chancellor's diversity office, creating an African American Resource Center and establishing quarterly meetings between the administration and members of the Black Student Union. Many of these recommendations are not new. They were put forward by the Black Student Union as far back as 2006, when students warned they were becoming increasingly uncomfortable, alienated and even fearful on campus.

Better late than never. But there is a reason students at other UC campuses are also holding sit-ins, demanding accountability from their chancellors and calling emergency meetings in solidarity with UCSD students. In interviews with The Times, minority student leaders up and down the state said the racial atmosphere on their campuses is little better. 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.

In 1996, many posited that racial tensions would increase after passage of that year's Proposition 209, which barred California's public universities from considering race and other factors in admissions; indeed, the number of black and Latino students quickly plummeted, and it seems, in retrospect, that the skeptics may have been right. If more chancellors sit down with their students in the coming weeks, they may be surprised to learn of the "Compton Cookouts" in their own backyards.

[Nikki Stone1]

151. Curbed LA: UC San Diego Frat Kids Make Asses of Themselves

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2010/02/ucsan_diego_students_insult_compton_all_africanamericans.php

[Nikki Stone1]

153. KKK mask found near Dr Seuss statue, Geisel Library

Source: Ricardo Dominguez, Associate Professor UCSD (email)

UCSD: KKK mask found near Dr Seuss statue, Geisel Library
The mask was found late last night and is in the custody of the Police.

No link yet.


Not sure what this is. Will add details as they come in. I assume they mean hood, not mask?

[Nikki Stone1]

152. Huffington Post: UC San Diego: Racial Tensions Boil Over

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/26/uc-san-diego-racial-tensi_n_478612.html

[Nikki Stone1]

154. New Poll at UCSD Guardian: Do you think racism is a problem on campus?

Poll
Do you think racism is a problem on campus?
No (61%, 73 Votes)
Yes (35%, 42 Votes)
I don't know (4%, 4 Votes)
Total Voters: 119

http://www.ucsdguardian.org/

[Nikki Stone1]

155. Well, you knew this was coming: BSU Members Could Have Planted Noose (UCSD Guardian LTTE)

http://www.ucsdguardian.org/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/bsu-members-could-have-planted-noose/

BSU Members Could Have Planted Noose
Posted on 01 March 2010
By a reader
Dear Editor,
I know you’ve received numerous e-mails and calls about the recent discovery of the noose, and also word on future noose hangings. I know the racial tensions at UCSD are running very high right now, but I refuse to believe that this overt racism exists at UCSD, and I’m challenging the existing thought paradigm that the Black Student Union is being marginalized. Its voice is being heard — and excuse me if I’m wrong — but the noose found in Geisel Library on Thursday night “validates” BSU feelings of being threatened and gives it a bigger voice. So I wouldn’t rule out the intentional planting of the noose to provoke and escalate the issue in BSU’s favor.

This is more than a case of playing devil’s advocate; I heard (in passing) members of BSU talking about a noose in the library after last nights A.S. open forum meeting, which ended at 10 p.m. According to news reports, the noose was found midnight of the same night. How did they know about it before it happened, and why didn’t BSU mention this at the meeting if they knew about the noose in advance? I’m not making an unsubstantiated claim here — I even saw the same person in the original noose photo who was talking about it at the meeting.

—Mindy Kim
UCSD alumna, 2008

[shanti]

157. on a related note...

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/03/2579662/more-swastikas-found-on-uc-davis.html

Three swastikas were found spray painted on the UC Davis campus this morning, said university police chief Annette Spicuzza.

One was on the Centennial Walkway, on the south side of Memorial Union. Another was on the Social Science and Humanities building, and the third was on a UC Davis sign on A Street near Young Hall.

Police have already cleaned up the graffiti, Spicuzza said.

The incident comes a week after two other inflammatory events on the UC Davis campus: A swastika was carved into the dormitory door of a Jewish student and the campus center for lesbian and gay students was vandalized with offensive graffiti.

*snip*

[Nikki Stone1]

159. WTF? Swastikas??

This is nuts!

[Hekate]

161. TY Nikki. It's exhausting trying to read through all this material, but your persistence ...

... is much appreciated.

As a Californian and an American, this is saddening. We've come so far -- and we have so far to go.

Hekate

[Nikki Stone1]

162. Thanks, Hekate. My friends down there are sending me updates, and articles like this one:

http://www.colorlines.com/article.php?ID=248

The Rise of the Ghetto-Fabulous Party
By C. Richard. King and David Leonard
Sept/Oct 2007

In January, students at Clemson University in South Carolina and a number of other institutions of higher learning opted to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day with what were called “ghetto-fabulous” parties at which white students dressed in blackface, drank 40s, wore fake teeth grills, flashed gang signs and, in some cases, padded their posteriors to conform to their stereotypes of the Black female body. A month later, white students at Santa Clara University in California threw a “Latino-themed” party, where young women feigned pregnancy, the young men played at being cholo and everyone reveled in the symbols and spectacle they associate with Mexican Americans.

Although not a new phenomenon, it seems that over the last year “ghetto,” “gangsta,” “south of the border” and “taco and tequila” parties have become college chic and cool. Parties at more than a dozen colleges and universities received national coverage in the past year, with countless others going unnoticed save for the pictures posted to sundry websites. It is tempting to interpret such events as clichéd racist expressions. They are, after all, contemporary minstrel theaters that allow middle- and upper-class white Americans to cross moral and social boundaries by racial crossdressing. But such easy explanations keep us from fully appreciating the circumstances on today’s college campus that make minstrel parties pleasing and powerful for so many......


(It's long but really worth the read.)

[Nikki Stone1]

163. Former Koala Editors: We Will Win This Fight

Former Koala Editors: We Will Win This Fight

http://www.ucsdguardian.org/opinion/former-koala-editors-we-will-win-this-fight/
Posted on 04 March 2010

Tags: MEDIA ORGS, THE KOALA

By Erik Kapernick, Bryan Barton, Brad Kohlenberg, Nicholle Pierro and David Gregory
Erik Kapernick-Koala Editor, 2003
Bryan Barton-Koala Editor, 2003-04
Brad Kohlenberg-Koala Editor, 2005-07
David Gregory-Koala Editor, 2007-08
Nicholle Pierro-Koala Editor, 2008- 2009


An open letter to the Associated Students Council and the UCSD administration from the Koala Editor Alumni Association (K.E.A.A.):
You are going to lose.

We are going to beat you again.

It is just a matter of how badly we will beat you, and how much time it will take.

You have two options in your attempt to shut us down:

1) You can make the temporary funding freeze permanent.

2) You can attempt to rewrite the funding rules in such a way that will allow the other 32 student media orgs to receive funding and refuse funding to the Koala.

If you choose to go with option one and cut off all funds to all student media orgs, this would be appealed until all on-campus appeals are exhausted. Now, we realize that you will drag your feet on this and try to play games, but eventually, you will have to say that there are no more UCSD appeals. At which point we will go to real court, in the real world, with real laws. In a country where the First Amendment is what our civilization was founded on, and the “principles of community” hold less weight then a marsupial pouch. It will become clear that your intent for cutting funding was because of the content of one org. You’ll probably lose in court, and perhaps get an injunction against you that will forever guarantee Koala funding.

But for the sake of argument, lets say that you win, and manage to cut off all media orgs’ funds. They will all die. Except for one …

The one that has been around for 28 years. The one that has a self-sustaining sister publication at SDSU. The one with the most dedicated staff. The one with the most committed alumni.

Ironically, your attempt to silence the Koala will destroy every newspaper except the Koala.


Let’s say you go with option two and, using your bureaucratic wizardry, you manage to write up some rules that include funding for every media org but the Koala. How you will be able to do that, we don’t know. As the only objective difference between the Koala from the other media orgs is that the Koala is twice as popular as the second most popular media org, with a readership of 66 percent of the campus (based on a 2001 A.S. election survey). You may think that the Koala not being able to get a professor to sign on as an adviser would differentiate us … but you would be wrong.

But for the sake of argument, let’s say that for once, we are not able to beat you at your own game, and we get defunded. This would be appealed until all on-campus appeals are exhausted. Now, we realize that you will drag your feet on this and try to play games, but eventually, you will have to say that there are no more UCSD appeals. At which point we will go to real court, in the real world, with real laws. In a country where the First Amendment is what our civilization was founded on, and the “principles of community” hold less weight then an AIDS patient. In this scenario, you don’t just lose, you get crushed and humiliated by Foundation for Individual Rights and Education, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Student Press Law Center and of course … us.

You might even have to pay us for the pain and suffering you caused! Wouldn’t that be rich!


It’s like we are in the TV show “Lost”: We are Jacob, and you are the Man in Black. We are mortal enemies, but always play by certain rules. By cutting our funding, you just broke the rules.

We are currently working on contingent plans that are so out-of-the-box, your conformist minds won’t be able to comprehend them — even as we start to roll them out. We have by no means pulled all the strings in making your lives miserable.

Administration:
How about a Koala feature called “State Assemblyman of the Month”? How would you like to take calls from Sacramento asking why a UCSD newspaper has a picture of the Speaker with a *&^% in his mouth?

Associated Students:

Do you know that you are considered “public figures” on this campus? Do you know what that allows us to do to you? No, you don’t, because us watching you debate First Amendment rights is like Socrates watching a debate on “Jersey Shore.”
We consistently beat you in your games with the rules that you wrote.
You have been trying to shut us down for 28 years and you have failed for 28 years. There is no reason to think it will be any different this year. We are smarter then you. We are slicker then you. We are quicker then you. We are defiantly funnier then you. And believe it or not, a large percentage (if not a majority) of the student population supports us.
Look, you guys are in a lose-LOSE BIG situation here. Just bite the bullet; apologize to us and tell us privately that our funding will be restored after everything blows over. This way, you still lose, but just not as badly.
Share and Enjoy:

« Mar. 04, 2010Under Frozen Funds, Divided We Stand »
26 Responses to “Former Koala Editors: We Will Win This Fight”
OtherSchool says:
March 4, 2010 at 10:42 am
As an alumnus from a university on the east coast, I am horrified at this letter. We have our own, extremely conservative, student-run publication on campus. They have done some offensive things in the past, but they have never put out a letter as atrocious as this.

The writers of this letter do not seem to recognize the importance of mutual respect for the other people in your community and sound utterly immature and ridiculous. The taunting tone and counterproductive message you send are an embarrassment to UCSD and to the editors who have signed their names onto this document.

While I think defending your right to free speech and to funding as a college publication is perfectly fine, I am truly disgusted as the way you have crafted this letter.

Steve York says:
March 4, 2010 at 10:56 am
For the record my name does not appear on this letter and for very good reasons; Grammar Cop Man’s head is going to explode if he sees this.

Michael says:
March 4, 2010 at 10:56 am
Mutual respect should always be encouraged, but can never be mandated in a context where the First Amendment applies.

Besides, in terms of the outcome, the authors are exactly right. AS has no hope of winning this encounter. The only question is whether the university wants to spend tens of thousands of dollars (easily) to hear a federal judge lecture them on free speech and smack them down.

Inez says:
March 4, 2010 at 11:14 am
@ OtherSchool:

Please don’t call the Koala conservative. They are most definitely not. You’ll hear protests from both sides, the Koala and conservatives. Neither wants to be identified with the other, because they have completely different, and, on many points, totally opposing ideologies.

Thanks.

Person says:
March 4, 2010 at 11:21 am
Looks like nobody before 2003 wanted to contribute to this letter. Isn’t 2003 also the year that Lost started? I would say the Koala is more like Miles, the Asian guy on the show who doesn’t really serve much of a purpose except to occasionally ridicule the feature cast of Lost and communicate with ghosts. He is one of the less attractive characters, but not as bad as Hurley. Bryan Barton is like Horace.

Lisa Seiler says:
March 4, 2010 at 11:51 am
Lisa,

I’m sure you were a hot piece of ass back in the day, but are you really
so daft as to not notice that you just made fun of US for who WE ARE?

Man, I’m glad UCSD has come a long way since the olden days of silly
rhetoric. Were you too busy sucking cocks to recognize that we live in
an entirely different world where the kind of OMG IT’S RACISM metrics
don’t apply? I guess you don’t.

All the best,
Kris Gregorian
Editor-in-Queef
The MOTHERFUCKING Koala

p.s. You’ll be glad to know I’ve personally put my penis in numerous
SigKaps and they’re definitely the tightest at UCSD. Good job! You
must be proud.

Lisa Seiler wrote:
>
>
> I am one of the charter members of Sigma Kappa Sorority and an alumna
> of the Class of 1979, Third College presently know as Thurgood
> Marshall. I am ashamed to have even brought the Greek system to UCSD
> after all of these recent racial tensions. We fought so hard back in
> the 1970’s to pave the way for equality for all, regardless of
> religion, race and gender. And to what avail? So that this present
> generation of spoiled students could destroy the strong foundation we
> built for you?
>
> Get your heads out the sand and stand up and fight for what is right.
> At this point of our history, NO ONE should be made fun of or
> demeaned for who they are. Focus on making the world a better place,
> that’s what we did and we’re proud of it.
>
> Lisa DeLucchi Seiler
> Class of 1979

nice touch says:
March 4, 2010 at 11:55 am
The was a nice touch.

otherperson says:
March 4, 2010 at 11:55 am
“based on a 2001 A.S. election survey”

that survey is kind of old. a decade is a long time.

Justice says:
March 4, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Seriously, this is the best response that a group with their own published ‘paper’ can come up with? Beyond the events that your ‘work’ (and I use that term with a very large amount of sarcasm) caused and the rightful indignation/hurt that should then be felt from your remarks, sits the truth this letter shows:

You are piss-ants. You speak large and loftily, hiding behind what is simple effluvia. I won’t speak toward the larger situation. I will only state the obvious, that your position is tenuous and you are missing the wider scope… you are guaranteed the right to publish stupidity, but the University does not need to fund that.

In closing, if you are going to make a retort on an untenable position at least come off as having greater than a fourth-grade reading level.

Person says:
March 4, 2010 at 12:07 pm
I wouldn’t be surprised to know if the Koala is still the most popular newspaper on campus. People tend to enjoy the easiest jokes that one can make. If you look at back issues, the jokes have remained the same, but the the events and people made fun of have changed. UCSD students eat it up. But it’s like trying to tell someone that Family Guy is a retarded show. You can’t convince someone that something they enjoy is not funny when it’s plainly funny to them.

Michael says:
March 4, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Justice,

Legally, their position is not only tenable, but manifestly correct. The delivery was childish, but the law is clearly on their side.

i dont have a name says:
March 4, 2010 at 1:48 pm
The U.S. Supreme Court stated the general rule regarding protected speech in Texas v. Johnson (109 S.Ct. at 2544), when it held: “The government may not prohibit the verbal or nonverbal expression of an idea merely because society finds the idea offensive or disagreeable.” Federal courts have consistently followed this. Said Virginia federal district judge Claude Hilton: “The First Amendment does not recognize exceptions for bigotry, racism, and religious intolerance or ideas or matters some may deem trivial, vulgar or profane.”

Justice says:
March 4, 2010 at 1:48 pm
I think you’re missing the point of what I’m suggesting. The law is indeed on their side. If the University, or for that matter anyone, silenced them that would indeed be against the law (the letter and intent of). That does not mean that there is any legal obligation of the University to financially support them.

Indeed, if you look at the first page of the AS constitution:

The Council shall have the power to:
(a) control all ASUCSD funds and appropriate those funds as they see fit…

And further, if you want to get a bit more broad and say that isn’t exactly what they meant:

§1.1. Structure, Powers, and Responsibilities of the Office
(a) President
(1) If a situation arises that is not provided for in the rules of the Associated Students, the President has broad authority to make any decision that is consistent with the spirit of the rules.

So again, just so we’re clear the law (US law) is on the side of their ability to print, regardless of the worth of the content. The A.S. ‘law’, which is the people letting them have money, is not (unless you’re able to find some evidence I am overlooking).

Bryan Barton says:
March 4, 2010 at 2:10 pm
@ Inez
Thank you for clearing that up! The Koala is not a Right wing or Left wing political organization. (It’s members often hold very different political views.)
However, it is frequently involved with UCSD politics.
Interesting article about the difference between national politics and UCSD politics:
http://www.ucsdguardian.org/focus/ucsdsvariedpoliticalspectrum/

@ Person
Horace… what the hell?!? Can’t I at least be a main character? Miles on the other hand; is important… he talks to dead people for crying out loud! I am sure this will come into play again before the end of LOST.

@ nice touch
Could not decide whether it should have been: muhahaha or bwahahaha.

@ other person
Yes, that survey is pretty old. But it was the only official tally of readership of UCSD’s newspapers. After they saw the results, they chose not to do it again.

@ Justice
Give us a break! This our first step up the big league of the Guardian.
About the university not needing to fund the Koala… the courts will decide that, not you or I. The letter was just us saying how we strongly predict the courts will rule.
Also, since we write at a fourth grade level how do you expect us to know what “effluvia” means?

Michael says:
March 4, 2010 at 2:16 pm
No. The Supreme Court has addressed this issue. In Board of Regents of the U. of Wisconsin v. Southworth (Decided in 2000), a unanimous court said that if student groups are funded through student fees, funding decisions and policies must be content-neutral. That is, they cannot be based on the organization’s opinion on any political or social issue. That means that if the government can’t punish you for saying it, then the University can’t de-fund you for saying it.

RB says:
March 4, 2010 at 2:17 pm
I can’t stop laughing at how the writing in this article sounds like an 8th grader bickering.

“You are going to lose.

We are going to beat you again.

It is just a matter of how badly we will beat you, and how much time it will take.”

LMAO

Bryan Barton says:
March 4, 2010 at 2:26 pm
@ RB

Looking back at it, you do make a good point!

The Koala has never been accused of being mature.
But for this article in particular we wanted to be as simple and clear as possible.

Besides we only got the education that UCSD gave us right:-)

Michael says:
March 4, 2010 at 2:30 pm
And if the school enacts a new policy that finds a way to exclude Koala on some technicality, a Federal Judge will see that they are trying an end run around the First Amendment, and will

1) rebuke them harshly for trying to subvert the First Amendment,

2) grant the Koala’s request for a permanent injunction,

3) award the Koala attorney costs,

and 4) possibly assess exemplary damages.

That’s after the school spends several tens of thousands of dollars on its own attorneys (at least). The University has no hope of winning. Southworth is binding precedent and it’s directly on point.

Justice says:
March 4, 2010 at 2:48 pm
@Michael: I’m fairly certain that is incorrect. While it speaks to the idea of viewpoint neutrality, the basic statement of the ruling simply says that the university can charge the fee to students, even if they don’t like where the money is going. This would of course be pointed toward the idea that you cannot sacrifice or abridge the view/speech of a group by the will of the minority or majority (referring to viewpoint, not race here). The viewpoint neutrality portion of the ruling shows me no wording which would suggest that it is a REQUIREMENT of an AS organization to fund whoever comes calling.

Justice says:
March 4, 2010 at 2:56 pm
One other point to mention would be that an easy out in regards to the situation (because yes, certainly the ruling can and perhaps will be argued in court for this whole situation)… would be for the AS to continue to not fund any organization (going back to the AS constitution). The Koala could then continue to complain about not receiving funding from the school until the end of time, but it would be impossible to prove then that the removal of funding was directed at them. This would be regardless of if it indeed is a directed measure.

Michael says:
March 4, 2010 at 3:01 pm
They don’t have to give money to everyone who asks, obviously. Of course there can be criteria according to which funding (which is a limited resource) is awarded. But whatever criteria are used must be content neutral. If the University decides, based on content, to change the rules with the purpose of denying funding to a particular group, then then no matter what reason they claim for their action, the real reason was the content of the viewpoint. If the University’s purpose in acting was to silence a publication for engaging in speech protected by the first amendment, then it is unconstitutional.

If the Koala can prove that the motivation for the change in rules was the content of its expression, then the action is unconstitutional. Given Ustav Gupta’s public statements, they can prove that easily.

Michael says:
March 4, 2010 at 3:34 pm
From Southworth:

“When a university requires its students to pay fees to support the extracurricular speech of other students, all in the interest of open discussion, it may not prefer some viewpoints to others.”

This means that the Koala’s offensive speech may not be the basis of a decision to deny or withdraw funding. Social and political commentary fall under the term “viewpoint,” as do satire and comedy (however tasteless or poorly executed). None of these can be the basis of funding decisions, including a decision to change the rules for the sole purpose of denying funding to the Koala.

Michael says:
March 4, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Making the current funding freeze permanent might work, because in that case the university isn’t creating a forum, and you can’t require viewpoint neutral funding policies if there isn’t funding.

But then again I wonder if only de-funding media orgs is good enough. I mean, they fund other student groups that haven’t been de-funded, and those groups have lots of opinions about lots of things. AS may have to stop funding any student groups of any kind in order to avoid breaching a duty to viewpoint neutrality. Maybe not. Either way, they’d be throwing out the baby with the bathwater and greatly limiting the free exchange of ideas. I wouldn’t want to go to a school that willingly chose to shut down so much expression just so one offensive jerk could be silenced.

i dont have a name says:
March 4, 2010 at 3:59 pm
@Koala dudes. I love your shit, as long as you keep writing it, i will be reading it!

This bitch is reading Koala at a CHURCH! You got to put it into your next issue:


Michael says:
March 4, 2010 at 4:03 pm
Last one, I promise. From Rosenburger v. University of Virginia:

“deologically driven attempts to suppress a particular point of view are presumptively unconstitutional in funding, as in other contexts”

Justice says:
March 4, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Michael, I am still of the personal opinion that it’s not violating the intent and wording of the judgment to just stop funding an org ‘as they see fit’, much like how in California, work is ‘at will’. Going further would be the point at which lawyers from both sides get involved, etc.

Regardless, the point I made earlier about simply removing funding to all organizations, is completely valid legally speaking (verified this with the company lawyer who was going to go into education law… an aside, but anyway). Basically, everyone seems to want the Koala shut down, it’s an easy out for the school should they chose to take it. I’m not judging the ‘correctness’ of doing so one way or the other.

And… spent too much time on this, moving on now!

[Nikki Stone1]

164. KOALA gets its funding back.. :(

Remember KOALA? The "satire paper" whose editor referred to the Black Student Association as "ungrateful n*****s"? Well, that paper got its funds back. The Government-Speech model, that would have prevented KOALA's funding, failed.

Funds Restored to Student Press

http://www.ucsdguardian.org/news/funds-restored-to-student-press/

The three-week media freeze — ordered by A.S. President Utsav Gupta on Feb. 19 — was lifted at Wednesday’s A.S. council meeting, after the council voted 5-13-5 to fail a last-minute amendment that proposed a government speech model. The model would have allowed the council to fund — through advertisements — only the media organizations they deemed to uphold the UCSD Principles of Community.

According to the A.S. Standing Rules, a funding freeze is automatically lifted by Wednesday of Week 10 if the council doesn’t pass legislation that counters that rule. By default, council returned to funding media organizations with the same system as before.

Gupta froze all media funds after a racial slur was aired on an episode of Koala TV, preventing campus media publications from accessing their Winter and Spring Quarter funds. He then chartered a committee to discuss new media guidelines that prevent funding hate speech....

Koala Editor in Chief Kris Gregorian said he opposes the government-speech model because it forces publications to abide by the Principles of Community or lose funding....