Opinion
The Muffled Megaphone
Fink Again
April 3, 2007 - 12:00amI’d like to get one thing straight here: activism, for the sake of activism, has never been something I’ve advocated. It’s true that in the last year, the editorial pages of The Sun — largely under my direction — have decried a lack of engagement at Cornell. And there is a certain sense of apathy on The Hill that is really indisputable; in four years, the only cause to truly unify this campus was the outcry against the creation of the Facebook News Feed.
But twice in the last week, I’ve been impressed by the level of energy devoted to particular issues at Cornell. The first was not your classic, midday Ho Plaza oak-tag-and-marker demonstration with 50 or so onlookers. Rather, the rallying cries came from inside Barton Hall, went on for 12 hours and involved 2,500 active participants. Relay for Life 2007 was one of the most impressive displays of enthusiasm and passion directed toward any problem that’s gone on at Cornell in a while.
To be sure, the issue was also a safe one to advocate. No one is going to argue that defeating cancer is an untimely or irrelevant cause. Relay is a-political; it’s the kind of affair where you might expect to see the editor of Turn Left crack a Red Bull with the president of the Cornell Republicans and enjoy a lap. Moreover, it addresses a topic that affects everyone: nobody is immune to cancer. (Certainly, post Spring Break, most students can think of a few experiences that might increase their overall risk.)
Relay for Life was an example of activism well done; a less successful attempt to incite community-wide engagement occurred yesterday on Ho Plaza. Cornell Alliance for Immigrant Rights, the International Socialist Organization, Cornell Organization for Labor Action and other campus groups held a protest against racially themed fraternity parties, specifically citing two on the Cornell campus. Racist parties are an important issue to tackle, but the mechanism these groups used to address the problem severely diminished the weight of their message.
Racially offensive fraternity party themes are not a new concept at C.U. In March 2004, for example, Zeta Beta Tau fraternity faced bias charges for a “Ghetto Fab” mixer. According to the Interfraternity Council, the chapter was under judicial investigation for having enacted “apparent disrespectful stereotypes regarding people of color.”
Similarly, a “ghetto fabulous” party at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas caused a stir when it produced pictures of white men in shirts reading, “I love chicken,” and a girl dressed in a red-and-white checkered apron posing as Aunt Jemima, according to The Stanford Daily. In fact, racially themed parties are heating up the national climate on college campuses all across the country. In the fall, Johns Hopkins suspended a fraternity after a racially themed Halloween party, and fraternities at the University of Connecticut and Texas A&M are facing comparable challenges after parties at their schools. Given the events elsewhere, it was insensitive when, in recent weeks, Sigma Alpha Epsilon hosted a “Border Patrol” themed party, and Lambda Chi Alpha held its “South of the Border” night. That said, brothers in SAE and party attendees say that they did not hand out fake visas, as was suggested in the pamphlets distributed at the protest. And protesters also seem to have gotten the Lambda Chi facts wrong: invitations to South of the Border did not encourage partygoers to wear “sombreros, ponchos and Mexican mustaches,” as rally organizers claimed.
Potential for factual inaccuracies may have arisen from the fact that most of the organizers did not attend either one of the parties in question. When one of the speakers at the rally was asked why she felt so strongly on the issue, she cited an example from a different fraternity party, not being protested. She described a group of fraternity brothers clothed in what was supposed to be traditional Mexican garb. They were drunkenly attempting to assemble a mariachi band. Because nothing these boys were wearing was actually associated with mariachi music, she perceived the incident as an act of racism.
She’s right — in this case, the fraternity brothers were wearing outfits whose cultural significance they did not appreciate. Not only did they not understand what they were wearing, but they behaved in a way that appeared to mock, rather than celebrate, Mexican culture. When asked which fraternity hosted such antics, however, the protester made an off-the-cuff remark, “I don’t bother to learn Greek letters.”
Therein lies the problem with today’s demonstration: the organizers were inadvertently engaging in the same stereotypical behavior that they were condemning. Criticisms broadcast from the podium had a tendency to lump all fraternity parties together, like tying the failed mariachi performers to the West Campus pledge parties named in the event’s press release.
The protest also had a tendency to lump the opinions of all members of certain ethnic groups together, undermining the diversity of said chapters at the same time. Who is one protester to speak for all Mexicans at Cornell, especially when many of those students will individually voice that they were not offended by the nights’ events?
Pictures of “racist party attendees” pasted to the stand were ripped from Facebook; organizers did not bother to check who the individuals captured were. Ironically, one of the event’s poster girls for racism is a minority student, herself. Morgan Bellows ’08, pictured next to the KKK, is Native American student actively involved in several minority groups.
The pictures, along with the muddled message and the poor research that characterized yesterday’s rally muffled any message emanating from the megaphone. It wasn’t activism for the sake of activism, but with its level of efficacy, it might as well have been.
Erica Fink is the Sun’s former Editor in Chief. She can be contacted at ebf6@cornell.edu. Fink Again appears Tuesdays.
re at the border
Thousands have died at the border. I don't find anything funny about that. We should support those who are willing to stand up against racism.
Several objections
1. The original facebook invitation to the LCA party did, indeed, ask students to load into a van and present a 'green card' or Cornell ID. They also appealed to the aforementioned cartoon-ish stereotype of Mexican culture in specifying attire for the party. When they received word of a potential protest, the event description was promptly changed to an apology. Do you think we'd just make this up?
2. Are you trying to suggest that all minorities are automatically immune from the same pervasive racist ideas? Also, we made an attempt to protect the identities of Cornell students involved in such events, so this wouldn't turn into "so and so is racist" but instead call attention to a broader issue. No one who is aware of the extent of the racism at Cornell would need to know the particulars of every racist event in order to feel the need to say something about it.
3. "lumping all fraternity parties together." Many of the speakers spoke of the systematic, institutionalized racism at Cornell University and other campuses. You seem to be suggesting that the protesters should have made an example out of a particular fraternity. We expressly did not want to do this, as it would be buying into the idea that the university can simply address a few "bad apples" and racism will no longer be a problem.
4. "Who is one protester to speak for all Mexicans ..."
No one made this claim. Also, passersby were encouraged to speak out during the rally. This doesn't make any sense anyway. Are you speaking for all white people when you take a political stance in public? You certainly aren't speaking for me. It is irresponsible to downplay the legitimate anger over themed parties in the Cornell community.
Either you weren't listening, or you want to help make sure no one else does.
Are you serious?
Relay for life...where people donate money and then participants run in circles to pretend like they're doing something is real activism in your eyes? I'm sure you'll find that many of the racists called out in the protest you attack were actually in the Relay for Life. "Factual inaccuracies may have occurred" because protesters weren't at the parties? Are you serious? Only those racists who actually participate in the parties or apologists, such as yourself, are allowed to be critical? Maybe if the rest of us were drinking, running around in circles, and writing horrible columns we could understand what activism is a little better.
You accuse the anti-racist protesters of not doing research -- have you ever done any research on the history of activism in this country or the world? It involves groups rising up against oppression in opposition - not the oppressors working it out amongst themselves. PLEASE stop appending your name to endorsements or criticisms of activism.
Bang-up job providing a DEFENSE for these parties and then citing a failure to appreciate the "diversity" that the sororities and fraternities represent. Your accusation of stereotypical behavior by protesters is such an equivocation, it's hard for me to even believe you have a position on this paper...wait, it's totally believable given exactly the sentiments about this paper which have arisen over the past year, under your direction.
I can't believe you seriously wrote a column praising an event which largely serves as a way for Greeks to get their philanthropy hours (by running in circles) while attacking a group of students who stood up against pervasive institutionalized racism on this campus, without any reward, free turkey sandwiches, entertainment, philanthropy hours, or excuse to write a moronic column the next week. Apparently for you, activism means precisely its opposite - attack those who want change.
In response to "Are You Serious?"
There is a great deal more to Relay For Life than "running around in circles," and your failure to recognize the true meaning and importance of this event is appalling and ignorant.
Cornell/Ithaca College’s Relay raised over $203,000 for the American Cancer Society; this money goes to research to find a cure and so much more. ACS funds awareness/educational programs that help people understand and avoid cancer risks, as well as advocacy efforts which encourage legislation in support of the fight against cancer. Additionally, Relay money also supplements programs like Hope Lodge (free or reduced-cost housing for families of patients who have to travel for treatment) and Look Good, Feel Better (support programs for women who suffer appearance-related side effects due to chemotherapy, mastectomies, and other effects of cancer). The purpose of Relay is not only to raise funds, but to celebrate those who have overcome the disease as well as honor the memory of those lost, not to “run in circles to pretend like they’re doing something.”
To suggest that Relay is nothing more than a frivolous excuse for Greek organizations to earn service hours is a complete falsehood. While fraternities and sororities make up a significant portion of the participants, so do service organizations, academic groups, residence halls, performance groups, religious organizations, and cultural societies. The fight against cancer transcends issues of race, culture and creed. To criticize Relay because alleged “racists” supposedly participate is an absurd and unfounded argument. Your disagreement with the columnist’s “attack” on Monday’s rally is your business; however, to lash out in ignorance at a philanthropic event like Relay For Life is a blatant and (bogus) case of the pot calling the kettle black.
weahhhhhhh! Millions of
weahhhhhhh! Millions of Americans die of cancer but fraternities are making fun of criminals who are in this country illegally. weaahhhh!
So white dudes are emulating African Americans and Latinos. Isn't imitation the highest form of flattery? Can't this be thought of as black and hispanic culture rubbing off on these youths? Is that not a good thing, the whole melding of cultures phenomenon? And can't anyone take a joke anymore? Have we really become this sensitive and peevish?
This piece barely addressed
This piece barely addressed the issue of the fraternity racism, and instead attacked the protesters. It's simple - they had a Mexican-themed party, and people dressed up as Mexican stereotypes, and everyone there was okay with it. How is that not racist? You can argue that some level of racism is okay if you want to (as JR's comment above does), but trying to shift the argument to "well, the protesters are just as bad" shows how weak your position is.
You are misinformed.
You have no idea what you're talking about and I'm only responding to your post so other people don't get misinformed.
"people dressed up as Mexican stereotypes, and everyone there was okay with it"
That's just blatantly false. There wasn't a single person dressed as a sterotypical Mexican, nobody was mocking Mexican culture, and nobody at the party was making light of Mexican immigration struggles. Those are facts. The Mexican theme consisted only of decorations with red, white, and green, Mexican flags, and Mexican beers.
The whole controversy over the party started because of the Facebook event invitation for the party which contained an insensitive joke about a stereotypical Mexican image and crossing the border. It was quickly taken down and replaced with an apology. The joke may have been offensive, but it was still a joke and as such, it was never meant to be taken seriously. At no point was the South of the Border party supposed to be one in which people came dressed as stereotypical Mexicans.
Get your facts straight. See the comments for the "Students Protest Fraternity Parties" article for a better discussion about this situation.