While I think the coverage, overall, has been very good, I do have some concerns. Primarily, I’m struck by the fact that the core of the reporting on this story has been done by two members of the Managing Board.
In solidarity, we are wrestling with the devastating reality that our blackness is persecuted, beaten and tortured. No longer will we go unheard. No longer will we accept complacency with the status quo. We will not allow for the University to continue to operate under the erroneous presumption that race is no longer an issue.
On social media platforms such as Yik Yak, students have posted comments blaming Martese for the arrest, saying his wounds were insignificant and even accusing Martese of enjoying a publicity stunt. These and countless other anonymous posts affirm that race is still a serious problem at U.Va.
The fairer way to describe the situation is that the community is influenced by cultural stereotypes of race. Racism involves dehumanization and discrimination against racial groups by labelling them as inferior, and thus it oppresses the abused groups. Racial stereotypes, on the other hand, are sets of beliefs about typical characteristics of certain groups and mental shortcuts that people employ to help reduce the cognitive efforts without the intent to dehumanize certain groups.
If we want something to change we need more than social media activism; we should pursue paths of action that will directly impact our governing institutions. In short, emailing, writing and calling state and federal legislators to advocate on behalf of concrete policy proposals is a far more direct, substantial and powerful way to enact real change. There are four realistic policy proposals that, if campaigned for and implemented into law, would achieve far more than nebulous dialogues.
The University’s lack of concern for its international community’s unique circumstances resurfaced in many other forms. I personally had to deal with a good deal of grief at the hands of the health system. Not all countries use health insurance to get treatment, and I think the University did an inadequate job informing students from foreign countries about exactly what our insurance is, what benefits it affords us, and how it works in the context of Medicare.
Whatever details may surface, a member of our community was hurt, and we have witnessed his pain in the harrowing images that have emerged from that event. He was hurt in a space where he is supposed to feel safe — a space he is supposed to call home. And that is where we should focus our conversation — right here, at home.
Not only can students discuss career opportunities — they can also delve deeper into topics both covered and not covered by the course syllabi. These guest speakers use their personal experiences to engage with students, linking course material to the professional working environment.
Corporations have no business controlling policymaking in the United States. From precedents set by the Citizens United case to the various tax breaks and benefits corporations receive from the federal government, it is clear our legislative and judicial systems — as a whole — have little desire to change the tremendous impact that money has on this nation’s political construct.
More students need to make efforts to bridge the gaps between communities of nationalities or cultural groups to increase dialogue and inclusivity on Grounds. In order to begin communicating across groups openly, the first step is understanding more about the international population.
I think my identity enquiry will be endless. I hope both uncomfortable and kind questions about my role as an international scholar and teacher in American institutions keep awaking my teaching and research reflections, stimulating dialogue between faculty, students and the community while touching people’s minds and spirits.
But for some reason, despite the dearth of serial murders and the rise of more modern fears, the Dursts of the world still hold America rapt with attention. This would be fine if we went about it in a methodical and thoughtful manner, but as coverage of Durst shows, we would rather see these stories crammed into the mold of our preexisting conceptions, to the detriment of the victims and broader awareness of mental health. By perpetuating the stereotype of the insane serial killer, we’re spreading misinformation about serial killers and about legitimate mental illness.
SPJP, by going as far as calling Israel an apartheid state, is supporting a manipulation of truth, weakening the entire legitimacy of its cause and deflecting attention away from the true problems in this highly nuanced Israeli-Palestinian issue. This cause instead appeals to the emotions of the issue rather than the facts and attacks the legitimacy of Israel as a state.
So the question becomes: Why isn’t the University doing more to address the substance abuse culture that exists here (as it does at most every college and university)? Are we still uncomfortable as a society to be open about it? Are we being haunted by a stigma that one would hope society has moved beyond?
What concerns me is that by putting certain articles in the feminist category and not featuring them elsewhere on websites, news outlets are limiting the number of readers those articles will get. Not everyone is going to see the label “feminist news” and feel compelled to click on it. Those sections will likely only draw readers who feel passionate about feminism.
The ensuing outrage against the six students who voted to remove the flag was misplaced for two reasons. First, as we at the University can attest to, the exercise of student self-governance is essential to the operation of a school, and UC Irvine’s student government clearly operates to some extent under a system of checks and balances. While an initial group of students voted on this policy, another group was able to veto it — similar to many functioning political systems.
Though founded on staunch secularism (Jefferson pointedly designed the Lawn with a library at the head, not a chapel) the regional influence of a predominantly Christian South has shaped matriculated students’ religious makeup since the University’s founding. While vibrant religious communities exist on Grounds, it is critical to note in what ways religious diversity at the University is lacking and what the University can do in terms of administrative facilitation to foster the inclusive atmosphere it aims to achieve.
It is presumptuous to assume that because a group of students is entirely “international,” they will necessarily have overlapping University experiences. International students, after all, come from nearly 150 different countries, and so the idea that they can all be adequately served with identical resources and living conditions is faulty. But in my experience, the IRC did not attempt to corral international students, literally or figuratively.
It may be rational for a fundamentalist Christian to outright condemn gay marriage so as to lead a morally consistent life, but such an attitude clearly wants for reason and should have zero sway on senate floor, or any floor for that matter. And yet, at present only seven Republican Congressman support gay marriage.
Framing climate change as a partisan issue creates unnecessary controversy over minimally substantive projects — such as an extension to Keystone XL — and makes environmental consciousness a political bellwether rather than a social imperative. Climate change is occurring: the Earth is experiencing universally rising temperatures, and human activity — namely, anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases — is the cause.
