Comments on: Another Racially Themed Party–”South of the Border”

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 15 May 2007 17:38:47 +0000

I love how the idiot on their website is asking for remorse for the students because they made a “mistake”. No being racist is not a mistake. This was an example of pure racism at the deepest level, and that school should be very harsh on the students to set an example. Getting caught was a mistake, however their participation is just an extension of their racist beliefs and feelings. If you don’t understand how offensive and purely racist these pictures were, and how they weren’t a “mistake”, then you are part of the problem!

By: JustMePoppinIn

JustMePoppinIn — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 23:09:27 +0000

By the way, Badtux, you might be well advised to distinguish between “exclusive private schools that are just private” (like SCU) and “exclusive private schools that attract the best and the brightest.” Because the exclusive private schools that attract the best and the brightest also have the endowments to make sure that anyone who gets in can afford to do so. Check out how Harvard, Princeton, et al are now giving grants instead of loans, and you pay basically nothing if you have a low family income. Those places will have a lot more diversity than just your average private university without that endowment. SCU doesn’t have the endowment to ensure that every poor Latino (etc) who’s qualified can afford to go there. Harvard, Princeton, et al does.

By: JustMePoppinIn

JustMePoppinIn — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 23:05:58 +0000

On what planet is Santa Clara University “the best and the brightest”? It’s nowhere near the top in any USNews or similar rankings (not that those rankings are perfect, just saying). It’s private, Catholic and liberal arts. But it’s not Stanford or anything.

By: BadTux

BadTux — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 19:05:02 +0000

The sad thing is that, contrary to the “undergrads are dummies”, these are the “best and the brightest”. Santa Clara University is an exclusive private Catholic liberal arts institution, not Cow College Party U where students major in drunkenness and minor in ralphing. But then, George W. Bush attended exclusive private schools too, and you see how sensitive it made him to the feelings of others, so maybe the whole point of these exclusive universities is to insulate the rich white preppy types from those unseemly “brown people” so they don’t, like, have to actually SEE any racism (because if you never see the unseemly mud people, you don’t have to think about them, right?).

- Badtux the Disgusted Penguin

By: plunky

plunky — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 17:04:08 +0000

Sure Dianne, but don’t you think this is getting a bit out of control? Next week’s blog post might be “Guy picks nose” or “Random student makes racist joke — captured on cell phone”. BFD. These people have always existed.

By: Dianne

Dianne — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 16:13:20 +0000

plunky: IMHO, it’s more the attitude that it demonstrates than the party per se that’s the problem. As you say, it’s a private party, they’re legally entitled to use any theme they like. However, the fact that they think that this sort of thing is amusing shows a deep level of racism. I wouldn’t argue, and I doubt that Rachel or anyone else posting her would argue, that such parties should be illegal. But they are immoral and we have the right to express disgust.

By: plunky

plunky — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 14:50:54 +0000

I don’t think all this scrutiny is a good thing. Private party, who cares? Before the internet, no one would have known, or cared.

By: RonF

RonF — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 05:28:45 +0000

Would the women at the party have chosen to dress the way that they did if they had done an Arrupe placement in a community where immigrants work long hours at custodial jobs just to pay the bills? Maybe not.

Hell, just look around. At some point in your college career you’re going to spend some time in campus buildings either early or late. Look who’s cleaning up, who’s on the maintenance staff, the lab techs. Open your eyes and think.

By: Dianne

Dianne — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 04:37:37 +0000

Speaking of college students doing stupid, disgusting, racist things, have you seen this?

By: pheeno

pheeno — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 04:27:55 +0000

“These are college students. At some point? It’s your responsibility to find out about these things. There are all sorts of gender/racial issues classes, anthropology classes to break your cultural bias (or at least point them out), sociology…general education polices for undergrad education (that I’m familiar with) requires at least one of these for graduation. (Santa Clara’s core curriculum) There are even these things called books. ”

Can I get an Amen?

By: Susan

Susan — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 01:50:12 +0000

Undergraduates are dummies.

Break out the war headlines.

By: Carnadosa

Carnadosa — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 00:26:03 +0000

Unfortunately, many students are not getting an appropriate education on racism and its destructive effects from their primary school, their secondary schools, or their families.

These are college students. At some point? It’s your responsibility to find out about these things. There are all sorts of gender/racial issues classes, anthropology classes to break your cultural bias (or at least point them out), sociology…general education polices for undergrad education (that I’m familiar with) requires at least one of these for graduation. (Santa Clara’s core curriculum) There are even these things called books.

I am an upper middle class white girl from a Nice Suburban Nieghborhood with the subtler, harder to spot racial/ethnic/gender attitudes. It’s not like someone spoon fed me realities about such attitudes. I took the time to find out and now spend most of any family party cringing in the corner as people get progressively drunker and less “pc” but that’s the price you pay I guess.

It’s like anything else, if you’re going to hold an opinion on it you should know the background info. I’m not going to give you a free pass because you’re young or lazy or busy or whatever. College students can hardly cry lack of resources.

I understand that family and culture and education and economics play a role but I don’t feel required to forgive or excuse trashy, hateful, hurtful acts especially in anyone old enough to know better.

By: Rachel S.

Rachel S. — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 23:33:27 +0000

Suzanne, they blurred out the faces, but you can click on the link to the school paper. They put the pictures on the right side.

Apparently, many of the young women in the pictures were on the volleyball team.

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 22:52:25 +0000

Rachel, can you find a place where the photos are out? I have a relative who attends this college and I’d like to see if she was involved …

By: RonF

RonF — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 21:56:33 +0000

Unfortunately, many students are not getting an appropriate education on racism and its destructive effects from their primary school, their secondary schools, or their families.

Bottom line - my emphasis. And, frankly, conditioning at home makes what’s taught at school, or church, or Scouting an uphill battle. Trust me; I’ve had kids come into my Troop with some amazing attitudes, and I have a hard time telling them different.

By: RonF

RonF — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 21:54:25 +0000

Idiots. The partygoers, that is.

The editors blurred the faces out of the pictures, with an “interesting” justification at the bottom of the article.

I’m curious as to what the law is regarding this kind of thing. Presuming that they were not walking down the street or otherwise in a public forum but were on private property, would they need permission from the people in the pictures to print them with their faces unobscured? I don’t know.