straight thuggin' at the UofC
A couple of weeks ago, a group of students in one of the houses decided to throw party with the theme, "straight thuggin'." Apparently, they found it amusing to dress as "thugged out" as possible and otherwise have fun with "thug culture." A group of black students found about the party and went to investigate. They arrived after it was over, and one of the students involved in the party expressed regret, saying that they would have been the most ghetto people there. All of the students involved in the party were white.
That random group of black students happened to be composed of some of the most active voices on campus, including one Def Jam artist. They proceeded to raise a huge storm about the issue, eventually making national print and TV news (I read about it on MTV news online) about an event so normalized I don't know if I would have even thought to discuss so seriously. That's not because I don't think it's a serious issue, but because I would've never expected the amazing response from the faculty, not to mention the press and even the local and state government. The party, however small, somehow touched what's probably one of the most contentious issues among students and faculty: the racial climate on campus. At an all-campus meeting we had about the issue today, someone made the amazing suggestion that there be a core requirement on race. Which leads to my questions : Has anyone paid much attention to the racial climates of your various institutions? Have you encountered any attitudes you find at all noteworthy? Do you think that a required class on some issue of identity and oppression concerning our own present circumstances would be useful ?
That random group of black students happened to be composed of some of the most active voices on campus, including one Def Jam artist. They proceeded to raise a huge storm about the issue, eventually making national print and TV news (I read about it on MTV news online) about an event so normalized I don't know if I would have even thought to discuss so seriously. That's not because I don't think it's a serious issue, but because I would've never expected the amazing response from the faculty, not to mention the press and even the local and state government. The party, however small, somehow touched what's probably one of the most contentious issues among students and faculty: the racial climate on campus. At an all-campus meeting we had about the issue today, someone made the amazing suggestion that there be a core requirement on race. Which leads to my questions : Has anyone paid much attention to the racial climates of your various institutions? Have you encountered any attitudes you find at all noteworthy? Do you think that a required class on some issue of identity and oppression concerning our own present circumstances would be useful ?
posted by Nina at 8:58 PM
2 Comments:
It's easier to talk about required classes at Chicago where a) everyone's already used to them and b) the density of really good students is high enough to support serious discussion in such a class. That's not to say that there aren't truckloads of great students at other schools (say, Cornell), but it's a lot harder to do everybody-takes-this courses because there aren't enough intellectual leaders in any given class to keep it afloat.
One of the faculty guests in the house studies negriphilia in modern art. I hadn't heard about the UC incident, but maybe she has. It's all connected to why eminem sells so many records. The white/black masquerade, which, as Teddy might tell you, goes back to and before minstrelsy, plays with borders of sacred/profane and pure/contaminated (remember CUII seminar, esp. Mary Douglas (sp)?) in a way that is essential for preserving the dominance of those in power (the sacred/pure) by reminding them what is at stake.
Our other faculty guest is a U of C alum. He seems to think that the idle minds of Chicago's frustrated intellectuals blew this whole thing way out of proportion.
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