Racism Revealed at UCSD

Written by: Ccep J. Dew, West Coast Editor

 

“Dear UCSD, Are you ready to take the necessary steps toward building a diverse and inclusive climate, where your students can feel valued and safe or are you waiting for crosses to burn on your front lawn? Sincerely, A man who would like to have children someday and send them to your fine institution…” –R. Francisco

 

I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but there has recently been a string of racial incidents that have taken place on the campus of/or in connection to the campus of UC San Diego in La Jolla. Some students here are afraid to walk the campus alone and the community is in an uproar. You can hop on Google to find out more about:

 

-- The “Compton Cookout”: an off-campus event is promoted on Facebook and has been considered “a mockery of Black History Month” by encouraging participants to dress and act in stereotypical, degrading racial ways (weaves, chains, wife beaters, kool-aide, watermelon, etc.)…

-- The Koala: writers from the alternative newspaper appear on a student-run TV station and use “freedom of speech” as an eXcuse to spew derogatory terms including the “N” word. In response to the “Compton Cookout”, The Koala has this to say: “The Koala would like to condemn the organizers of the Compton Cookout.  If history has shown us anything, you need more black people at your party to have enough black-on-black violence to actually justify the  name ‘Compton.’  Shame on you.  SHAME.” This publication is known for pushing the envelope and describes itself as “a student-run humor publication at the University of California, San Diego.”

-- Geisel Library: prior to a planned protest on campus, a noose is found hanging in one of the university’s libraries. A mystery student allegedly comes forward and is supposedly suspended, but no name or description is given. The anonymous young lady, who describes herself as “a minority student who sympathizes with the students that have been affected by the recent issues on campus”, releases a statement eXplaining that she and some friends were playing jump rope with a rope that she found, a friend tied it into a noose, she carried it into the library, hung it by her desk, and forgot all about it when she left. This allegedly took place on a Tuesday and the noose was reportedly found on Thursday night/Friday morning…

 

“Noose at UCSD... Racism is not a joke... This is very disheartening and disappointing. I can’t believe they let it
get this far. Something must be done...” –V. Samouhi

 

After discussing these events with my mother, who lives on the East Coast and wasn’t aware of the issues, she commented that had a Black person put a KKK hood or a swastika up, they would be blasted all over the numerous media outlets and persecuted. Sadly, later that day I found out that a KKK-style pillow had been found resting on the statue of Theodore Geisel in the same library where the noose had been found. Consider this incident #4. (And it was later reported that a swastika had been carved into the front door of the Jewish Student Center at UC Davis.)

 

Up until now, the head administration hadn’t appeared to be doing much about the incidents and the media has been watering down concerns, which go from these racial incidents to the fact that the university may be seeking to privatize AND raise tuition, thus further lowering the estimated 1.3% Black student population on the campus.

 

I have been unable to attend the numerous meetings and protests that have taking place, but I have had eXchanges with several individuals who have. Photos, videos, comments, and articles that are being circulated reveal how students, as well as community and faculty members, have taken action.

 

In a March 1st blog, Educator, Artist, and UCSD Alum Viet Mai had this to say: “This recent series of racial incidents are only snap shots of systematic oppression. Stereotypes lead to negative perceptions from every perspective […] As an alum and one who works with youth, I don't advocate for UCSD the same way a proud Bruin or Trojan would to his son. I used to have the mentality and give advice along the lines of ‘get in, get out.’ But I had that privilege...the ability to ignore the racial climate and just ‘get in, get out’...I was in the majority group. I realize and understand now, that the minority groups, especially the 1.3% Black students, can't just be ‘normal’ students. They are constantly being gawked at, turned away from social functions, asked to explain how they feel about racism, asked about their hair...[stupid shit]. The under-represented students in San Diego...and now apparently other campuses across the nation are also being put in a position to be Civil Rights Leaders […] I encourage you to still consider UCSD for Grad School...consider the brilliance you can bring to the campus and community at large. Consider the tornado that talks when you whisper words to one ear. Every Day, Every Moment...Choose Wisely […] Follow the Movement and MOVE WITH IT!”

 

“This issue is bigger than UCSD…” –GC

 

It doesn’t stop with UCSD. Signs of discrimination are popping up at other campuses, as well:

-- UC Riverside: a community poster is vandalized with hate speech…

-- UC Davis: the LBGT Resource Center is vandalized with hate speech… Jewish Student Center is vandalized with a swastika carving…

-- CSU San Marcos: bathroom stall is vandalized with hate speech…

-- Missouri University: Black Cultural Center entrance is littered with cotton balls…

 

“[…] I'm reminded of the signs that used to be up in certain towns around where I grew up in Texas. One specifically said, ‘Nigger, don't let the sun go down on you.’ UCSD, don't you know silence is consent? So, why is everyone except you saying something?” –M. Paul

 

Statements of support have been issued by numerous individuals and groups both on and off campus, in and out of state, including the Kamalayan Kollective (“a political, people-centered, feminist organization” of “Filipina/o students”), the Muslim Student Association, the San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (SAME), “UC community members of Asian decent”, the “faculty of African descent” and UC Berkeley’s Asian Pacific Islander Education and Languages NOW! (APIEL NOW!). People from all across the country are speaking out and offering support for the many individuals who continue to join together to change the racial atmosphere on the UCSD campus.

 

It appears that the primary group taking a stand is the Black Student Union, who issued a “State Of Emergency: The UCSD Black Student Union Address” to UC San Diego Chancellor Marye Anne Fox, Vice Chancellors Penny Rue, Paul Drake, and Gary Matthews, Associate Vice Chancellors Ed Spriggs ad Gary Ratcliff, and Chief Diversity Officers Dr. Sandra Daley and Glynda Davis. The document informed the administration of the concerns of not only the African American population on campus, but also the “Native American and Indigenous” and the “Chicano/a Latino/a” population. The address states: “We will hold the University accountable to its mission statement that; ‘UC San Diego embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion as essential ingredients of academic excellence in higher education.’ We would like to stress that none of the following demands are new. We will not be ignored anymore.”

 

“Today was a good day. The fight has just begun. The tyrants of UCSD must be quivering in fear that we will not
go lightly. That they will be met with fight as they resist the decay of their fallible foundation…” –T. Mugambee

 

There were 19 demands given in all.

 

The administration was given until Thursday, March 4th to make a decision. According to a recent statement issued by the BSU: “On Thursday, March 4, BSU signed an agreement with Chancellor Marye Anne Fox. In that agreement, the administration offered to take up each of our 19 demands and convert them into ‘common goals.’ We are cautiously optimistic. We are optimistic because we know that this is an historic moment. For decades, UCSD has been told that for many students the campus is not the utopia it pretends to be. Now is the time for the change to begin. We are cautious because we understand that promises on a piece of paper, even one signed by the Chancellor, may not become reality or may become a misshapen distortion of what was intended. Promises can disappear never to be seen again into a bureaucracy that knows only its old ways. This week a delegation from the Office of the UC President will arrive on campus to discuss implementation of the agreement. Forces from off campus are moving to disrupt the progress that has been made but we will not be distracted. And so we ask that you remain vigilant and we ask for your continued support. What will UCSD look like in 20 or 30 years? None of us knows. But what we do know is that our generation has the responsibility to push the process of democratic educational change forward.”

 

This is a step in the right direction for the improvement of the environment at UCSD. The community has risen up to say, “Enough is enough,” and taken the necessary, organized actions (such as quiet walk-outs, teach-outs, meetings, and protests of solidarity) to make a difference. But, this is only the beginning and there are many other campuses that are finding themselves faced with the same issues.

 

“If you have ever listened to anything I said... please use this moment to act! The students at UCSD need the community to STAND UP and STAND UNITED with them... DO SOMETHING!” –C. Wilson

 

The fight for racial-educational equality is not over and it is up to us to speak up and fight for what we believe in…

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