2008 Woodie Awards
Editorial
Racism issues remain unresolved
Issue date: 2/23/06 Section: Opinions
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Racism issues remain unresolved
Racial issues have continually made headlines in The Middlebury Campus in the past several years. Three years ago Campus opinions pages were filled with debates over affirmative action. A "Cowboys and Indians" themed party in the fall of 2004 also sparked controversy. A crime alert e-mail that referred to a suspect as having "nappy hair" raised eyebrows in September 2005. Though O'Neil Walker eventually withdrew accusations of racial discrimination in the College's Judicial Process, The Village Voice published a scathing, and ultimately unfounded, criticism of the College entitled "Busted for Blackness at Middlebury."
Many of these recent accusations of discrimination at the College in the past few years have not amounted to much, and some in hindsight even seem blown out of proportion. Ironically, the most recent issue - one that seems to warrant the most attention - has received almost none in the month following its occurrence.
Though little information has come to light, College administrators confirm that a white student directed racial epithets at a black student on the evening of Friday, Jan. 27. Reports are conflicting, but it seems evident that the verbal conflict escalated into a physical encounter in which blows were exchanged.
After hearing about the incident, the African American Alliance called an emergency meeting. College administrators followed up by organizing a meeting with the same students, but have not issued a formal statement to the broader community or formulated an open discussion in response to the incident. The issue deserves consideration by the College community, and the student body should not be excluded from such dialogue. For discussions to have any chance of succeeding, they must bridge racial lines and include distinct groups. The deliberative dialogue program, which encourages a non-adversarial approach to complex societal issues, was widely publicized in the beginning of the school year and its inclusion as part of the first-year orientation program was deemed a success. A similar approach could be highly effective, and attract more interest, when organized in response to an issue such as that which occurred on Jan. 27.
Racial issues have continually made headlines in The Middlebury Campus in the past several years. Three years ago Campus opinions pages were filled with debates over affirmative action. A "Cowboys and Indians" themed party in the fall of 2004 also sparked controversy. A crime alert e-mail that referred to a suspect as having "nappy hair" raised eyebrows in September 2005. Though O'Neil Walker eventually withdrew accusations of racial discrimination in the College's Judicial Process, The Village Voice published a scathing, and ultimately unfounded, criticism of the College entitled "Busted for Blackness at Middlebury."
Many of these recent accusations of discrimination at the College in the past few years have not amounted to much, and some in hindsight even seem blown out of proportion. Ironically, the most recent issue - one that seems to warrant the most attention - has received almost none in the month following its occurrence.
Though little information has come to light, College administrators confirm that a white student directed racial epithets at a black student on the evening of Friday, Jan. 27. Reports are conflicting, but it seems evident that the verbal conflict escalated into a physical encounter in which blows were exchanged.
After hearing about the incident, the African American Alliance called an emergency meeting. College administrators followed up by organizing a meeting with the same students, but have not issued a formal statement to the broader community or formulated an open discussion in response to the incident. The issue deserves consideration by the College community, and the student body should not be excluded from such dialogue. For discussions to have any chance of succeeding, they must bridge racial lines and include distinct groups. The deliberative dialogue program, which encourages a non-adversarial approach to complex societal issues, was widely publicized in the beginning of the school year and its inclusion as part of the first-year orientation program was deemed a success. A similar approach could be highly effective, and attract more interest, when organized in response to an issue such as that which occurred on Jan. 27.