Show Me The Racism

By now we have all heard about the cries of racism at several universities across America. This latest wave started with an accusation at the University of Missouri where the student government president made the allegation that a white student yelled the n-word. Another allegation was made that a swastika using human feces was drawn somewhere on campus, although there was zero proof and no evidence to support that claim. With all the cameras that come standard on even the cheapest cell phones, surely there should be multiple photos proving this incident occurred, right? Well, there were none and this accusation should have been laughed right out of the administration’s office and off campus. But it wasn’t.

With an air of epidemic racism concocted on campus, a student by the name of Jonathan Butler, whose parents’ net income is around the $40 million-per-year range, then staged a hunger strike in protest of all this unproven racism. Backed by most of the Mizzou football team, a campus group which calls itself Concerned Student 1950 created a list of ridiculous demands including University President Tim Wolfe’s resignation. They then proceeded to take over the campus quad area and carve out a “safe space” reserved only for black students. Wolfe, presumably, was targeted because he hadn’t done anything about the perceived racism. But he shouldn’t have had to since there was no evidence of any.

At Claremont-McKenna College in Pomona, California, dean of students Mary Spellman resigned under pressure from a group of activists who had protested on issues of campus diversity. In one incident, Casey Garcelon had become so offended at a few students’ Halloween costumes and posted photos of them on a Facebook page. The photos showed some students wearing costumes deemed insensitive to the Mexican culture. It very well may be that only one person, Casey Garcelon, was offended, causing her to post the photos, resulting in others jumping onto a bandwagon of racial protests, which happens to be chic on college campuses as of late. However, being offensive is subjective. It’s possible that those donning the “offensive” costumes had no intention of being offensive at all. This is a lesson Garcelon should learn.

At Occidental College in Eagle Rock, California, students took over a part of a campus building and issued their own list of ridiculous demands such as President Jonathan Veitch’s immediate resignation and the removal of the Los Angeles Police Department from campus.

It begs the questions, why are students allowed to overrun the faculty and parts of campus? And since when do students get to make demands? Even more disgraceful is the fact that some professors joined forces with the students, as in the case at Mizzou. Many professors want desperately to be seen as relevant or liked that they are willing to compromise their careers by looking like foolish activists.

Students have a right to have their issues addressed and can present their cases to their respective administrations. The administrations can then 1) explain to the students what steps they will take to rectify the situation, or 2) agree to work together toward a solution, or 3.) explain to the students why their grievances make no sense and warn them that any civil disobedience by students will result in harsh penalties not favorable to them.

If students still decide to defy the administrations after such warnings, they can expect to be suspended or even expelled. Surely the organizers of the protests should be expelled. Students are at school to study, not to be offended. Certainly students can protest but there are limits and guidelines to follow.

The University of Missouri football players who took part in their protests should have had their privilege of playing on a football team revoked, as well as their scholarships.

Professors, on the other hand, who take part in protesting with unruly students, effectively shirking their own responsibilities to be in class teaching, should receive immediate discipline. They should be dismissed and it should be documented on their permanent records making it nearly impossible for them to ever teach again. The problem is that most liberal professors will probably hop on over to their next favorite liberal university where they will undoubtedly be welcomed with open arms.

University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe should have stood up to the protesters and refused to step down. Further, he should have admonished their unruly behavior. Dean Mary Spellman from Claremont-McKenna College had already apologized for the way she had communicated to a small group of students. She should have explained to the students that there is a right way and a wrong way to deal with diversity in the real world. She should not have stepped down. President Jonathan Veitch at Occidental College should have had the LAPD forcibly remove all the protestors who took part in the unlawful activity at that campus. He should have made an affirmation that he would not be intimidated and not comply to their asinine list of demands. He, too, should not have resigned.

Unfortunately, those administrators caved in to the demands of the students and allowed them to overrun their campuses and administrations. It was a show of extreme weakness on the part of those school officials. The students got their way and academia has suffered because of it. This is what has happened to many of America’s universities.

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Tom Folden is a conservative author, patriot and Editor-in-Chief of RightWingWriter.com, a website for conservative viewpoints. An original member of the Tea Party, he takes part in pro-America rallies when his time permits. He is also a singer/songwriter and recording artist. For interviews and/or appearances, please contact him at spencergroup@Hotmail.com.

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