University of Delaware and racism
I know a lot of you keep up with the news and politics and the rights we have as citizens of this country etc. I'm sure some of you (those of you who don't avoid Fox) may have heard about University of Delaware's "Forced diversity program" or whatever they're calling it. The article that started all the hype
I think this is crazy, and I think it's even crazier after speaking with my RA friend at UDel.
So, first of all, because this is so crazy, my friend was told not to talk about it, so he'll just be called my friend. From what I understand by what my friend says, this is all crap. Also, this has resulted in the abolition of RA one-on-ones and diversity programs and some crazy death threats mostly by white supremacists. Which are apparently still coming.
So, to begin: the words "[a] racist is one who is both privileged and socialized on the basis of race by a white supremacist (racist) system. The term applies to all white people (i.e., people of European descent) living in the United States, regardless of class, gender, religion, culture or sexuality.” are not from the University itself. A speaker came to the RA training to teach them more about racism. These are not the beliefs of the University. This is the belief of a guest lecturer. And yes, this was something the RAs had to attend, but they were not forced to agree, and this was not the University's definition. (The speaker's document. | The speaker's website)
Second: The awkward "When did you first discover your sexual identity" question is only asked in the community that is specifically focused on diversity. And this question is not like "When did you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour" as said here. This is because everyone has a sexual identity (be it gay, bi, questioning, non sexual, straight etc.) and it makes people realise that this is a question they are probably not faced with every day. This does not make these people adopt any ideology. This does not make people accept homosexuality or think they are a bad person for being straight. RAs are told to respect a person's comfort zone, and while yes, they are asked to assess the success of the interview, the success is not based on the person's views, rather the person's willingness to discuss their views.
Third: Some RAs are overzealous. This is not the fault of the school, nor does it reflect the view of every RA. Some RAs have used the words "mandatory" and "required" for attendance to diversity programs, this was not the policy of the university, and technically they were not even allowed to require attendance for those types of things (though they were to highly encourage them, they're also supposed to highly encourage academic and all other programs they provide).
I'm leaving my own opinions out of this as much as I can, even though I want to state them here, I just want you guys to know what I've been told by an RA from UDel not a conservative student who cared to speak on the issue (like what Fox asked for and got*
*Bill Rivers doesn't make very much sense on that video clip in terms of knowing English or speaking publicly, so I'm going to discount his report since he contradicts himself several times in explaining the marshmallow game (he says students take a marshmallow if a statement is true, such as being afraid to walk in the dark alone (more likely for female or racially/sexually harassed students) and then saying the white males have no marshmallows left in the end, or when he says a dialogue is encouraged in the end and then saying he has to stay mute)).
I'm leaving this post unlocked, if anyone wants to use this as reference or link it to other people, please do, from what's here, it looks like UDel is being judged pretty unfairly.
I think this is crazy, and I think it's even crazier after speaking with my RA friend at UDel.
So, first of all, because this is so crazy, my friend was told not to talk about it, so he'll just be called my friend. From what I understand by what my friend says, this is all crap. Also, this has resulted in the abolition of RA one-on-ones and diversity programs and some crazy death threats mostly by white supremacists. Which are apparently still coming.
So, to begin: the words "[a] racist is one who is both privileged and socialized on the basis of race by a white supremacist (racist) system. The term applies to all white people (i.e., people of European descent) living in the United States, regardless of class, gender, religion, culture or sexuality.” are not from the University itself. A speaker came to the RA training to teach them more about racism. These are not the beliefs of the University. This is the belief of a guest lecturer. And yes, this was something the RAs had to attend, but they were not forced to agree, and this was not the University's definition. (The speaker's document. | The speaker's website)
Second: The awkward "When did you first discover your sexual identity" question is only asked in the community that is specifically focused on diversity. And this question is not like "When did you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour" as said here. This is because everyone has a sexual identity (be it gay, bi, questioning, non sexual, straight etc.) and it makes people realise that this is a question they are probably not faced with every day. This does not make these people adopt any ideology. This does not make people accept homosexuality or think they are a bad person for being straight. RAs are told to respect a person's comfort zone, and while yes, they are asked to assess the success of the interview, the success is not based on the person's views, rather the person's willingness to discuss their views.
Third: Some RAs are overzealous. This is not the fault of the school, nor does it reflect the view of every RA. Some RAs have used the words "mandatory" and "required" for attendance to diversity programs, this was not the policy of the university, and technically they were not even allowed to require attendance for those types of things (though they were to highly encourage them, they're also supposed to highly encourage academic and all other programs they provide).
I'm leaving my own opinions out of this as much as I can, even though I want to state them here, I just want you guys to know what I've been told by an RA from UDel not a conservative student who cared to speak on the issue (like what Fox asked for and got*
*Bill Rivers doesn't make very much sense on that video clip in terms of knowing English or speaking publicly, so I'm going to discount his report since he contradicts himself several times in explaining the marshmallow game (he says students take a marshmallow if a statement is true, such as being afraid to walk in the dark alone (more likely for female or racially/sexually harassed students) and then saying the white males have no marshmallows left in the end, or when he says a dialogue is encouraged in the end and then saying he has to stay mute)).
I'm leaving this post unlocked, if anyone wants to use this as reference or link it to other people, please do, from what's here, it looks like UDel is being judged pretty unfairly.