Identity politics dominate higher education: Administrators, students and faculty obsessively categorize themselves and each other by race. A metastasizing diversity bureaucracy denounces meritocratic standards as discriminatory, enforces quotas, and teaches students and faculty alike to think of themselves as perpetual victims. If a black professor doesn't get tenure, he's a victim of discrimination; a white professor is presumed to be unqualified. Students quickly learn that they will be rewarded for playing the victim.
White students who manage to enroll at major universities despite the discriminatory admissions policies are accruing massive debt, while their black classmates enjoy minority-only scholarships, cultural centers, student organizations, tutors, mentors, internship programs, and job fairs. Then they have to sit in class and listen to a left-wing professor, or their fellow students, pontificate about "white privilege."
If the protesting students truly desired equitable treatment for all, they would demand the dismantling of the racial spoils system that permeates every aspect of higher education. Since minority students benefit greatly from that egregiously unjust system, they aren't likely to leave the cult of victimhood any time soon.
25
And we scratch our heads asking why was Trump elected. This Country is doomed.
31
Re-education camps for people deemed unacceptable. - where have i heard that phrase before ? That right my history books !!!
9
Most first years at SU in the 1963-64 school year, including me, were treated to welcoming talks by volunteer sophomore "Goons" at dormitory floor meetings. Two Resident Advisers (most were graduate students given free housing in return for looking after our well being) presided at floor meetings. At our floor meeting, after giving us an uplifting booster style introduction to the school, the Goons warned us about areas near the campus that they said were sometimes unsafe, such as Thornden Park. One wise guy freshmen asked "Why? Is that where the Goons hang out." Then the more spirited, quick witted Goon immediately replied "No, but it rhymes with goons." Neither RA responded - not a peep. So much for showing us what a great place SU was going to be. I regret being a naive country boy who just sat there and dropped my jaw instead of standing up and yelling. Nobody else stood up either, including the one black kid on the floor, the son of a little known but highly respected civil rights champion.
And even now school reputation seems more important to many of the powers that be than truth.
Suos Cultores Scientia Coronat? Sure, why not
7
This article suggests that all racism and anti-Semitism at SU comes from the right.
In fact, Jewish students there and elsewhere are persecuted due of their support for Israel. This anti-Semitism comes from both the right AND the left and yes, from some of the very people of color who are protesting racism. See below from an SU Jewish student:
https://www.algemeiner.com/2018/03/20/mindless-antisemitism-at-syracuse-university/
"Last month, I was passing through the lobby of my dorm when a jarring poster, prominently placed on the wall, stopped me in my tracks. Emblazoned for all to see was an all too familiar image: the Star of David being crossed out."
"When I confronted the staff [who had posted the image], they explained that they posted it, along with other signs to honor Black History Month — noting that it had been placed next to a photograph of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr."
"I ... asked how on earth it could be connected to Black History Month. After all, as I pointed out, Martin Luther King was a strong advocate of Israel — and an outspoken voice against antisemitism."
"The staff member then attempted to explain that the poster was meant to advocate for Palestinian rights. Sadly, there is an obvious double standard here. Why? Because it’s OK to cross out the Jewish star, but if the poster was of any Palestinian symbol being crossed out, the campus would be engulfed in protest and screaming students."
30
Sounds like something that would happen at CUNY.
6
@Faye I agree—that anti-semitism comes from both the left and right. But, I didn’t come away from reading the article that "all racism and anti-Semitism at SU comes from the right.” What I came away with is that since
Trump has been in the Whitehouse, as @Connecticut Yankee so eloquently said "I believe that any latent bigotry has been freed from its hiding place by the current occupant of the White House.” Trump and his Senate enablers have validated hate, one doesn’t have to stretch the facts to see the correlation. Hate isn’t limited to one party.
9
"The protests drew widespread support, including from the Syracuse College Republicans, who declared, 'This campus needs reform." I guess it should come as a surprise nowadays when Republicans denounce "racist and anti-Semitic incidents?"
10
Wow...
Coates’ oped about the cancellation of Kaepernick continues to resonate. People in the NY Times comments seem to be more upset at the way an author uses descriptors regarding race, than they are at the rise of hate speech and hate crimes on university campuses.
Many Americans seem to truly believe that it is a bigger crime to accuse someone of being racist than it is for someone to actually be a racist. And they use hundreds of false equivalencies and other logical fallacies to not only justify their own prejudices but attempt to paint victims of racially motivated violence as the real villains.
And that mentality is on full display as I read the comments that other readers have left. This country has a very, very bleak future.
27
@Austin Ouellette
"Many Americans seem to truly believe that it is a bigger crime to accuse someone of being racist than it is for someone to actually be a racist."
When being openly anti-Semetic or an anti-Asian racist doesn't disqualify one from being called an "anti-racist activist" then taking this to task it warrented.
6
Can someone please articulate the value of fraternities on college campuses? They seem to add nothing positive to the college. They are a venue for drunkeness and are often implicated in racial incidents and sexual harassment/crimes. Why are they tolerated by are "enlightened" colleges in the 21st century?
185
@Bittersweet How's this for value: Several, close 40+ year life long friendships dating back to the 70's. You cannot place a price on that and I've noticed these type of relationships lacking with my other acquaintances who were not members of fraternities. The only harassment we engaged in was jokingly amongst each other. Definitely wouldn't pass today's PC litmus test but we were a diverse group and it was all good natured and just made us tighter. I am thankful that I attended college when minds were more open; students were more self reliant and not so hyper sensitive.
- a proud frat boy.
16
@Bittersweet They have no value outside of being a key marketing tool for the school. Frat seeking students (mostly rich and white) come to college ready to "throw down" and hope that maybe some career stuff will happen as well. They main asset they bring to the school is money. At the university I attend, Syracuse University, I hear that frats have been causing some problems.
22
@Bittersweet. Frat life never had much appeal for me personally, but neither does Modern Dance. Yet I appreciate that others enjoy both and don't see why they should be eliminated.
9
As an SU alum, Class of '56, I am so sorry to learn of these dreadful events happening. But, I believe that any latent bigotry has been freed from its hiding place by the current occupant of the White House.
75
What weak kids.
7
@Jelly
How so?
4
I am an alum, Class of '53!! I am honestly shocked and disturbed by these stories of repeated incidents of ugly bias perpretrated against minorities. In my day, Syracuse was a welcoming place for all - but not quite for African Americans and Africans. Nonetheless I had black friends both American born and African. I was opposed to fraternity/sorority culture but enjoyed life educationally, culturally and socially as an independent. I never encounted bias against women from the administration. Indeed I was admitted to law school when women were systematically kept out. I met my veteran/student husband there, and even was co-chair in a campus protest against the execution of Willie McGee, now a footnote of civil rights history. This is a big blemish on a school that stood out as a place where you could aspire to and achieve whatever you dreamed of. This story has been very painful to read and it should inspire the administration to put an end to such behavior by ferreting out the perpetrators whether students or outsideres, expel the students and have all criminally charged. Zero tolerance!
11
There's lots of racism out there. No kidding. You can't wipe it out at any university. The idea of acceding to student demands is ridiculous. What the heck is happening to the supposedly great U.S. universities, where protesting about foolish things comes before education. China laughs at us.
14
Perceived racism towards some groups seems to cause massive outrage while racism towards others is often defended if it's done in the name of the Palestinian cause or done by someone of a demographic that more sympathy is shown towards. The irony is if what is often denounced as racism towards one demographic (Africans, Muslims) is defended towards others (Asians, Jews). If someone reacts very different towards abuse of different demographic then you are racist, not anti-racist. In my experience this double standard is a systemic norm.
24
It' so obnoxious to call fraternities "Greek life." The only thing Greek about them is three letters juxtaposed at random.
Greece has a deep, rich, profound culture. There's nothing deep, rich, or profound about fraternities.
I wish people would stop using this inane, and in this context insulting, term.
21
Sounds to me as if the chancellor, Kent Syverud, has spent much of an adult lifetime trying to make things better by evening out the playing field for all. Probably that was why the Syracuse board hired him for his present job.
So sure, throw Syverud under the bus and get rid of the board members while you're at it.
5
What a damaging plague humans ended up being huh?
1
My daughter is a student at SU, and so we have been discussing this a lot at home.
Yes, those who spewed hateful comments at minorities should be expelled from the university. While their behavior may not be criminal, it should violate the code of standards of any university. These people should not be exempt from consequences for their actions.
However, I don't understand why all fraternities are being punished because members of a single fraternity misbehaved. If there is an overall connection between Greek life and racist or anti-semitic incidents, let's see the evidence for it. If not, then let's not justify collective punishment.
It is difficult to see how students being punished for something they had no involvement in will lead to healing.
20
@Sparky
"If there is an overall connection between Greek life and racist or anti-semitic incidents,..."
Alas, there is. It goes along with the excessive drinking and the anything goes hazing mentality. It is also not new.
13
@Sparky
"If there is an overall connection between Greek life and racist or anti-semitic incidents, let's see the evidence for it. If not, then let's not justify collective punishment."
Have you been hiding under a rock for decades?
Fraternities have been one of the major breeding grounds for all sorts of bigotry since they were founded.
I don't have the time and patience to look these details up. But perhaps your daughter can teach to how to find these things that are pretty much under your nose.
14
@ILPS9000 By all means, let's stereotype and generalize against groups we don't like while we abhor when others do it to groups we support.
If there is specific evidence about racist, anti-semitic or homophobic incidents involving fraternities currently at Syracuse (besides the one that we already know about) then let's see it.
If not, then let's agree that punishing people for misbehavior they have not engaged in is simply wrong.
10
Incidents like this that occur on college and university campuses should always first be considered false flag operations to "raise awareness" and "start a discussion" until the actual perpetrators are caught and their intentions are shown to be racist. It already looks like the "Manifesto" incident was a hoax, and the fact that the university isn't releasing the names of the suspects suggests they are more likely to be members of the Black Student Union or some similar organization than a fraternity or a white supremacist group in the local area (if such a group even exists).
17
@J
Syracuse Alumni here (79-84) and Black. There are no false flags here. Racism and Anti Semitism were scrawled on every bathroom wall, carved into every wooden cubicle. Funds for Syracuse’s Black Students Union were always threatened to be cut, confrontations were always loud.
Like a virus maybe hate never goes away, but it can be confronted. Thank God this young generation isn’t taking things lying down.
23
Given the anti-Semitism, I guess Jews aren't as "white" as many would have you believe. But we're not of color. So what are we?? Oh, we're J...
16
So who exactly qualifies as a “person of color”? Is it Blacks and Hispanics, but not East Asians as they are not sufficiently oppressed? The whole generalization imbued in this term is honestly offensive and racist in and of itself. Be more specific, and stop trying to lump people together for the sole purpose of increasing the salience of left wing narratives.
30
@Jon
Great question. I was always under the impression that white was a color too.
3
Ban fraternities from Syracuse (and all other campuses) and these incidents will disappear. Frats are the last bastion of awfulness on campuses.
14
We should not permit behavior that is racist, anti-semitic, mysoginist, or similarly intolerant towards other groups.
But at the same time, we should not overdo our reactions. Sometimes, excessive reaction has the opposite effect to what it intends, and may even encourage more bad behavior.
I fear that our culture of victimization has, in many cases, gone too far. The demands for resignation of all senior officials at Syracuse seem inappropriate.
We live in an age where a single inadvertent and unintended misstatement or slip of the tongue can destroy a career, even the career of a good person.
I'm not advocating that we accept hurtful behavior on campuses, or elsewhere. But sometimes is pays to simply be the adults in the room.
28
“Adults in the Room”? What exactly are you talking about? Are you saying that the mature thing to do is to do nothing? That’s what we’ve being doing for centuries.
2
Talk about a tempest in a tea cup..... I think these students are looking to create disunity through their protests because they think it will bring them power. There is now a perceived virtue in "activism" and these students are being taught to riot every time they view a perceived slight against them. This is the actualization of weakness.
37
Maybe (just maybe) the day will yet come when the US is a civilized nation. Until then "hateful" can rightfully be one of our descriptors.
2
What rot.
The United States, a nation of immigrants clamoring to get in, then and now, goes through bad patches; but we have produced great authors, musicians, philosophers, scientists, humanitarians.
Our young men and women have sacrificed their young lives for great causes, then and now.
It's fashionable to say we stink as a country.
4
Your subtitle "a protest by students of color"
Only "students of color" protested??? Not true.
12
Yeah there are plenty of idiots with a lot of white guilt that also demonstrated
4
To the authors: thiis is a nice piece of work. However some basic concepts seem truly horrible to me. You say Mr. Syverud has a "mixed race family". If I'm not wrong, his family (including himself) belongs to the human race. I truly believe that in the US, all this nitpicking about race was what underpins (in part) racism. I lived there as a child in the 1950's, when racism was quite rampant, first in Washington DC and then in El Paso (TX) for a total of 6 years. In Washington it was easy, you were either "white" or "black". Neighborhoods were de facto segregated, but I didn't see much overt racism (not so in the South, it was quite explicit there). In el Paso you were either a "gringo" or "mexican", but nearly half of my high school mates came from Ciudad Juárez and we got along well. Since we were from Chile, it was not easy to pigeonhole. We're quite fair skinned, so I guess in El Paso I was more or less a "gringo". But as the years have gone on there's this mad pigeonholing of persons. I'm certain it contributes to racism (though racism exists everywhere). I never thought if my schoolmates were white, yellow, black, anglo, jewish or whatever. We were simply persons sharing the same space. At the time there were anti-misceganation laws in Texas (a white couple could't adopt a baby because she was 1/8 or 1/16 black). This is crazy. A good first step is to get over pigeonholing. Not enough, but necessary. Thank you
8
75K to attend SU? Seriously!? Would love to see the curriculum. Percentage of real college level courses vs the now too prevalent hobby courses many schools offer for students too mentally weak to apply themselves.....
Students wanting to curate courses? Out of control.
10
@Wilmington EDTsion
The curriculum is easily accessible on line. Of course that might entail doing some research before you post.
OK boomer (& I'm one too!)
1
Good Lord do I hate the expression "(fill in the blank) of color".
23
I wonder where the order came from that the residents hall staff wanted to keep in the supposed "family"? It is great that the SU President is a civil rights lawyer and that he has a biracial family. He vacillated and took no action to squash the hate spewed at racial and religious minorities until these students took direct action. As a multiracial student, I would've joined in the action against the longtime SU inaction. I have been targeted as a student and Whites would tell me to get over it. Enough is enough!
10
@RTH Bolin, Jr.
This can be answered easily with a quote based on one from the film "Chinatown"...
Forget it, RTH, it's Syracuse...
The demands are always for more diversity and tolerance training and education along with special resources dedicated to people of color, women, etc. It doesn’t work...at least the way it’s currently done. If anything, it makes things worse. Having training where you tell a bunch of white people, and usually just the men, that they are privileged and unconsciously racist, and that their cultural past was just a series of affronts to the rest of the world doesn’t make them more tolerant. It just makes them resentful and makes them lash out.
107
@Jon F I definitely agree. I feel like some of the people that host these "education seminars" tend to forget that people don't like listening to people insulting them and blaming them.
31
@Jon F
So how should we treat racists - just hold their hand and murmur soothing words?
21
@Jon F
Demanding that other people take "diversity and tolerance training and education" is passive aggression and virtue signaling. There is little actual interest in defusing racial tension when all the faults are projected onto the other side.
15
Syracuse should only grant student demand No. 1, which demands “Different punishments for different levels of involvement, including expulsion, for every student involved with the hate crime committed in Day Hall, and say other incidents of racism that have occurred since, that are found to violate the student code of conduct.”
According to the article, “the authorities have said that they have identified students involved in some of the incidents, but they have not publicized their names.” If the students are not juveniles, they should be arrested and charged with hate crimes’ newspapers should report their names just as they do names of person arrested for off-campus crime.
According to the linked Anti-Defamation League, survey, there have been 161 “extremist propaganda” incidents on college campuses this year. There are 4,298 college campuses.
College campuses are not hotbeds of racism.
23
@William Case
There are no crimes here. They may be violations of SU rules, but be very careful with using the term "hate crime" when the underlying behavior may not be criminal.
15
@Wondering
Posting racial slurs can be prosecuted as a hate crime. Protestors don’t want the students responsible arrested and punished, They might solve the problem. They want to blame all white students of racial injustice. Blaming all members of a race for the action of a few of its members is at the heart of racism.
9
I am a Syracuse grad and my two sons went there as well (one is still there). I can tell you that, based on my experience and what my sons tell me, most of the students at Syracuse are respectful of other people and are there to accomplish a few important things: getting a degree and being a college student at the top of the list.
Yes, they say, there are a few bad apples at SU. But the bulk of the students are good kids, going about their business and respecting others.
As for the frats, same story, I am told. Most are good kids, with a few jerks ruining it for everyone. My son belongs to a frat and they have several brothers who are people of color. Why not more, I asked?: "Because they don't rush our house," was the answer.
10
@SM I remember before the ADA became law there were people around who said that ramps were not necessary. No one who would need one ever tried to enter such-and-such a place. Guess what? Why would they? They knew they were not welcome.
When people know they are welcome, they will rush your son’s house.
22
@SM Are you white or minority? In the article, the Republicans on Campus got a wake-up call and were disturbed. One of the conservative student leaders said he was unaware until this incident blew up.
2
I know many people will be astonished by this, but I actually managed to get two degrees without belonging to a frat!!! Did I have friends in college - why yes! Did I go out with my friends and have a few beers - why yes! Did we have a good time - why yes! Did I do some things that were immature - why yes! Am I still in contact with some college friends 50 years later - why yes! Did we scream insults at people and write disgusting comments on walls - why NO!!
47
That behavior is not exclusive to people in a fraternity you realize
2
Everyone should be asking this question, which should be obvious. These intolerant kids get their attitudes from their upbringing of course. I personally have experienced anti semitism in the work sphere in central NY, and a large up tick in it recently. Significantly in the engineering world. The best money has always been in companies doing defense work. Rich kids acting in this racist manner? I don't have to draw a picture, because the racists are, on the walls, and in the hiring practices for many decades. In my father's day, they were called "the fair haired boys". Enforce equality quotas when hiring at the defence contractors. Things will change only then.
12
I graduated SU in the late 80's. Antisemitism was rampant! Especially against young Jewish women. JAP (Jewish American Princess) was carved into every library table.
Racism, harassment, hate speech-- apparently it's part of the culture and has been for a while.
I hope there will be a lot of students transferring OUT of Syracuse. Low enrollment is the only thing that will get attention, and maybe (maybe) a little action.
Syracuse is overpriced anyway.
15
Did anyone at SU in the late 80s feel "unsafe" because JAP was carved into library tables?
5
Fraternities and sororities do nothing of use and lots of evil.
9
Last time I checked...it's not illegal to be a 'racist'... even on campus. A fellow CUSE ALUM (A. SORKIN) said it best in his screenplay for the film 'The American President'; "America is advanced citizenship....You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours....You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Now show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms."
26
@JS Last time I checked it's illegal to vandalize private property. It is illegal to assault people. I don't know anybody that agrees with the use of racial epithets in a public forum, though I'm not sure this is illegal. How do I know this? Because there aren't nearly as many complaints of any of the racial slurs used against different Caucasian ethnic groups on Syracuse's campus because the dominant Caucasian culture has established the rules for what is acceptable.
13
@JS
Verbally assaulting a woman walking thru campus is not free speech; it’s criminal. Defacing University property is criminal. We should have learned from the example of Germany in the 1920s and 1930 of what can happen when racist and anti-Jewish “free speech” becomes institutionalized. Syracuse University’s ignoring the problem led to (some) people believing this meant tacit support. A logical supposition. Now the University administration is paying the price for inaction.
65
@Kenarmy
Define how verbal assault is criminal? It may be against SU's speech code, which may be grounds for dismissal, but it's a real leap to say they such behavior is criminal.
6
Sorry, SU council on Greek life, but some version of "everybody's doing it" is not a defense.
15
@Nancy Keefe Rhodes
But when the organisation is mostly made up of well-off white male students whose ultimate goals are just to continue their family lines rife with racism, sexism, and other bigotry, all with the goal of becoming the masters of the universe, and actually have real power to oppress others, what else can they say?
And these things are especially endemic to schools like SU where sports, another domain of male bigots and racism is the school's most important product.
1
@Nancy Keefe Rhodes. I am not personally a fan of Greek life, but can you explain why punishing every fraternity because members of a single fraternity misbehaved is justice in action?
5
@Sparky
Well, for one thing, frats tend to stick together, and one of the things they do is when one frat has an incident of this nature, others stick up for them. That is, after they have helped cover up these things in the first place.
Frats, for the most part, are a bastion of the the rich rich white power structure that had been stealing from Americans for over a century.
If these would-be (and many will-be) robber barons decide to stick together then they should all hang together.
1
Perhaps this is brutal, but if the university knows the names of perpetrators, why aren’t their names publicized and prosecuted? These young adults should be publicly shamed for spreading racist hate. How else will minorities feel like we have their back when we really kind of don’t- protecting racists is just wrong.
Oh, people will say that these are young kids and their lives will be ruined. Please. We don’t even blink when a black 20 year old is incarcerated for a little weed but everyone has a hear attack when these disgusting racists are called out?
33
Some vandalism and bad manners---nothing to get hysterical about and not worthy of national news.
Some people have chips on their shoulders and are eager for any excuse to become the center of attention and fantasize about "racism". Ignore them.
30
Racism is abhorrent and kids deserve the opportunity to learn in peace. That being said, I'm hard pressed to see why these students are "demanding" resignations. The administration can't proactively stop immature brats from making nazi signs in the snow, and this type of "resign or we riot" mentality does little to adress genuine issues.
38
@Katrina
It's basic carrot/stick tactics. But there's no carrot this time.
No matter what the situation, people react differently when there is a tangible consequence. In this case, while the administration cannot control every person on campus, there are things they can do to stop things happening. This group had a whole list.
Probably going to care more if it means you get fired in a way that pretty much assures you will not be hired in the same capacity any time soon.
Normalization is the goal of all groups. Normalizing different races (yeah, I know) is the goal here. There was progress (in the group's mind) ultimately agreed to, in the form of more non-white faces in positions of authority. Coupled with extra patrols that make graffiti or beatings riskier.
In the meantime, a whole lot of white kids who honestly didn't know there was a problem now know there's a problem. MLK's biggest hurdle, as he saw it, was exactly this.
It may be a silly demand, but it definitely did address genuine issues. Probably accidentally. I mean, they did say that they were surprised anyone else supported them. But whatever. I'll take penicillin when necessary, too.
What paucity of soul demands that some people demean Others, simply based on the color of their skin? Where do these small-minded, mean-spirited peeps come from? It's incomprehensible to me.
7
Why do people have this expectation that universities have complete control over everything that goes on in their campus? If somebody wrote racist stuff in a public bathroom a couple blocks from your house, nobody would expect the mayor to resign. These people's demands are always more police and more bureaucracy, always suspiciously geared towards generating the kinds of jobs that would be likely to employ the kinds of people who do these protests 5-10 years down the line. American universities are among the safest environments that have ever existed in world history, and are also much safer than most places in America. I'm sure Syracuse University campus is much safer than most of the city of Syracuse. If people are comparing this to hell and feel that being asked why their English is so good when they're an international student is a form of oppression, their views do not deserve to be taken seriously.
55
@MK
These people's demands are always more police and more bureaucracy, always suspiciously geared towards generating the kinds of jobs that would be likely to employ the kinds of people who do these protests 5-10 years down the line
Amen to that.
4
A college professor should know that a Nigerian person who grew up in London will have good English. It's the ignorance of the faculty that's part of the problem. And no one mentioned oppression except you.
8
@MK
Yeah, so, my grandmother thought that because Matthew Shepard was murdered so long ago, and was it really because he was gay and not just annoying, we're totally fine on gay rights. Or as I like to call them, equal rights.
You think it's odd that we celebrate the day our country finalized a letter declaring war instead of the day the fighting stopped? Words are important.
But so are violent actions. Which a lot of people seemed to glide on by in this article. But whatevs. As a Jewish woman who has never been hit by a man, I should thank my lucky stars and shut my mouth.
3
According to the linked article, the incident in Arizona occurred at the University of Arizona (Tucson), not ASU (Tempe).
How long has this been going on? CCTV...They're on every corner in NYC....they can't figure out how to use them? Look somebody knows who's the moron behind all this nonsense. It will be found out. Anyone up to this sort of thing is too stupid to stay hidden long.
It's not a problem that is isolated to SU. Racism is and always has been widespread in the US. The current political environment has made it more acceptable to voice racist views. Our institutions should stand up to any instances of it and foster acceptance of others any way they can.
28
trumps America finding traction at the University will not succeed because "boots on the ground" students are much more intelligent and courageous than he ever was. By the way, has anyone seen trumps college transcripts?
16
@Robert Perez I heard they are in the vault with President Obama's.
8
@Susan
Brilliant. I think the transcript of Hillary’s Goldman Sachs speech and her thesis is there as well.
4
@Susan Seems interesting you questioned the education of the only black president. Meanwhile, Trump is the only president who had exhibited lack of education about how the country and the world in general operates.
5
As a 68 year old woman, I can say life goes by quickly.
The students that are caught up in hate, are cheating themselves and of course hurting others.
For what it is worth, I have found being open to the world, being flexible and embracing change are a good path for me.
You cannot truly be happy and hate at the same time. You are in for a sad, little life.
19
I’m a white student at Syracuse and participant in these protests.
Before the protests had started, I believed heavily in the college “snowflake” narrative, but since hearing the experiences of my friends and fellow students, it became clear to me that they simply wanted to feel safe and respected on campus as any other student would.
Coming from a high school that's 90% white, hearing their complaints was eye opening. These students are all trying to do the right thing and further their professional career yet still have to worry about kids on their floor regularly coming home drunk and hurling racial slurs at them. The protests weren’t “against racism,” they were against lack of transparency from the administration and lack of will to enforce its supposed anti-racist ideals. The school knows the risk it runs (angering white students) if it takes a hard line against racism.
As a white student, Syracuse was sold to me as a party school, and many white students take full intoxicated advantage of this. We have white frat houses blasting music and playing beer pong on main campus. Reality is different for students of color. They find themselves over policed by school security even at small get-togethers, and partying is never part of the recruitment pitch for them, instead the school tries to tell them how “progressive” they are. Progressiveness is useless if its empty, these students are right to want anti-racism in practice.
76
@Roman Doyle I think you touch on an important point. The role of heavy drinking.
I just finished sending my kids thorough Claremont McKenna and Harvard. One was an RA in her dorm, and her tales of nightly struggles with very out-of-control drunk students opened my eyes to the fact that the campus drinking culture has changed for the worse. It's at the root of a lot of regrettable and/or inappropriate sexual behavior, and I suspect its a root cause in these incidents at SU too.
12
@Roman Doyle. I have a daughter at Syracuse and I don't remember the part of the school tour where they sold it as a great place to party.
Any school can be 4 years of parties and binge drinking. But any school can also be 4 years of study, learning and personal, social and intellectual growth. College, like life, is exactly what you make of it.
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@Sparky
Well, again, you seem to miss the point.
There are schools in this country that are well-known for being party schools, and most people have an idea which ones those are.
And hey, SU is very much on this list, just as many other schools whose most important thing is to enrich themselves from their profits from sports.
And one thing that goes together with sports schools is excessive drinking. Period.
Having said that, I will say that SU does have some good schools, and perhaps your daughter is in one. But even so, I'll bet she's seen a lot of this excessive drinking all about her, even is she does not partake in alcohol at all. You literally cannot miss it around SU, especially on weekend nights, of other nights after a big game.
9
Never heard that this had taken place. I fully sympathize with the students who have seen or heard things that were racial or ethnically meant to demean or intimidate - totally unacceptable behavior. I do caution the readers that there has likely been a piling-on aspect to this - in other words claims of bad behavior multiply not just because everyone says "me-too" but because people want to be able to say "me-too". I find it hard to believe that Syracuse is a national bastion of inappropriate behavior.
There is also something ugly for those of us old enough or read enough to remember how the Cultural Revolutionaries used to abuse their head masters and professors, forcing them to sign statements of wrong and failure.
7
@Chris
"I find it hard to believe that Syracuse is a national bastion of inappropriate behavior."
As you should. Not sure why you immediately went to made-up town instead of the more accurate wow-it's-bad-and-we-have-work-to-do-town, but OK. I'm sure that's not indicative of any problem in the US at all.
2
Having lived in Syracuse from 2010 until 2018 I can tell you that the region is deeply racist and the city is segregated with large pockets of extreme poverty. The surrounding suburbs are mostly prosperous and white. The University lower level staff is poorly paid and the employees mostly come from the region. Many reflect the attitudes that prevail in the area. These employees come into contact with the students on a daily basis. Many of them are decent and caring of the students. Others need to be fired or trained properly.
7
It’s also worth noting that Syracuse itself is a deeply, deeply segregated city. The Atlantic did an article in 2015 about the decades of racist planning decisions and circumstances that led, at that time, to Syracuse having the highest concentrations of black and Latino poverty in the nation. Now I think it’s number 3. Having grown up there, I can say it is a deeply racist city. When I go back, I am always jarred by the casually racist language of my white relatives, as well as neighbors and random people I encounter. It’s shot through daily life there to an extent that I don’t see other places that I go. For reference, here’s that article: theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/11/syracuse-slums/416892/
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This article reminds me of Bill Maher’s remark that these permanent protesters suffer from mental hemophilia. There certainly is also a lack of self confidence.
6
Having lived in Syracuse from 2010 until 2018 I can tell you that the region is deeply racist and the city is segregated with large pockets of extreme poverty. The surrounding suburbs are mostly prosperous and white. The University lower level staff is poorly paid and the employees mostly come from the region. Many reflect the attitudes that prevail in the area.
4
I took my daughter to Syracuse in April for a college tour. Having visited Syracuse in my youth and having been accepted there to two different schools, I knew immediately something had changed. During the walking tour, as we entered one of the main halls, I noticed a number of large posters on the wall stating, "From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free! "
As a Jewish person, I was appalled and infuriated. I wasted no time in tearing both posters off the wall, folding them into my pocket, and kept my eyes peeled for more. I simply couldn't believe that Syracuse university, once a bastion of liberal thought, would allow such blatant anti-Israel dogma, and not only that, would stamp "Approved"on these messages of hate. What is the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea? It's Israel. The posters are saying in no uncertain terms, death to the state of Israel.
Needless to say, my daughter did not choose Syracuse and in fact I forbid her to even apply. In addition Syracuse tuition room and board is the highest in the nation at $75,000 per year. What a sad plummet this once respectable institution has taken.
34
@Martin X, a statement of Palestine's right to exist as a free entity certainly does not equate to saying "death to Israel". Have you heard of the two-state idea? And tearing down posters with statements you disagree with may not be behavior befitting a "bastion of liberal thought".
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@A Reader
Dont bother. This is the same person who would see an 18th century map of the Levant as offensive because it doesnt recognize Israel.
3
@Martin X Beyond your confession of destroying public property, you misstate that Syracuse is the most expensive school in the nation. This is simply false. It's tuition is roughly the same as most other private schools, but its housing costs are somewhat lower than schools in major metropolitan areas like Boston, NY or LA.
3
It's been six days since the President suggested that some of the problems were hoaxes. Is there anything to this? Is there any evidence or counterevidence?
2
Administration’s tolerance to racism is akin to agreeing to racism. These in the administration office should resign or be fired.
2
On the first day of my "Research Methods" class in graduate school, the professor cautioned us not to confuse coincidence with causality. That said, the number of racist and anti-Semitic incidents at Syracuse, my alma mater, and across the country have spiked and have coincided with the emergence of Trump and his hateful spewings in 2016. Is the connection causal as well? Can't say. I'll wait for the research. But neither I nor millions of others would be surprised.
15
NYT article: "...[minority] students descended on Syracuse’s new $50 million campus center for a sit-in under the slogan #NotAgainSU..." Most College students today have so many Perks. As an early 70's SU BSEE graduate, we never had a [Student] Campus Center. It wasn't till the (I think) the late 70's-early 80's till SU had the Schine Center.
AAR SU and other Schools joined the College "Arms Race". Lavish Housing, Food Court-like Dining, Celebrity Professors, etc. Less emphasis on Academics and Personal Responsibility. We (as a whole) reap the world we create. Previously it was Andy Warhol's "15 minutes" of Fame. Now it is 15 (or more) "Likes" on Facebook, Twitter, etc. It is so easy to be a "Disruptor", these Days. Whether these Incidents are just passing rantings. Or the tip of an Iceberg? It remains TBD. I support chancellor Syverud in his efforts.
6
I find attitude of many of the posting to be highly disturbing: a rush to judgment concerning the students' needs, and much evidence that what is happening in Syracuse is not an isolated event but based upon attitudes wide spread in our society.
8
As a former SU student (graduated in 2015), I experienced many racist incidents on campus during my time there. I witnessed at least 5 white students that I knew use the n-word in a derogatory way. This was deeply disturbing. In one particular instance that stands out, a group of white men in a car yelled a racial slur at my black friend on a campus street. I was outraged and called the campus police to report that there was a group driving around and harassing people. The phone operator basically said there was nothing they could do about it. I was livid but my friend wanted to move on so I let it go. What the students today are protesting is more than the instances from the past year. It's also not just the instances that the University claims to know about. I agree that this is not just a Syracuse problem, but the University certainly has the financial resources to have better action plans (they spent a whole year boasting about their 1 Billion dollar endowment a few years back) and should be working harder to integrate the SU community and create a safer space for students and the larger Syracuse community.
16
SU is symptomatic of what is wrong at so many schools. I attended SU in the 70's after the football boycott. That incident held back interest in the school for years on the part of African American students. Since then, the emphasis (as it is at so many schools) became profit over quality. So research is reduced, professional schools are vaulted over liberal arts, and the orientation of the school moved farther away from inclusion. That has led to recruitment from a larger base but one that has lost its character. SU no longer draws primarily from the NY metropolitan area so it no longer reflects the values of liberalism and inclusion that characterized the city in the 70s. So we shouldn't be surprised that long standing tensions and problems weren't dealt with. They don't make money and sadly, making money has become SU's priority.
3
There are reasons why the character of an institution is what it is. In the case of SU, student recruitment, academic experience, and administrative promotion have steered the institution away from sources of intellectual curiosity and scholarly focus. SU carried out an audit roughly 15 years ago that revealed that research doesn’t pay. Quite a predicament for a member of the AAU—the organization of the top sixty-plus North American research universities. SU’s strategy was to de-emphasize research—it became "the student-centered research university" rather than the real thing—and to put resources instead behind any program that sounded like job-training. Recruitment promised four years of indulgence in who you already are rather than taking up the intellectual challenges that make you something more than what you already are. The research faculty was weeded out and replaced by ‘Teaching Professors’ and ‘Professors of Practice’, severing the connection between instruction and cutting-edge research.
Now SU is no longer in the AAU. The administrative focus is on keeping costs down. Change happens when a donor shows up with money or—reluctantly—when a crisis erupts, as it has now. There are still pockets of faculty excellence, some strong programs and departments, and a small number of serious students. Otherwise, SU’s recruitment promise of innovating its way around rigorous academic challenges will continue to attract a few students who take advantage of anything and anyone.
34
I got my undergrad from SU nearly 20 years ago. Same problems now that I saw then. It's a social class problem based on the wealth many students come from (or don't come from). Always has been. I came to campus from a real working class family. The segmentation the students created based on who had money and who didn't—it cost a lot in the late 90s, too, but some regular folks slipped in—almost overwhelmed me. Complete culture shock. I found a closed off fraternity system and a general lack of a college-like atmosphere of fun that I encountered whenever I visited friends at other universities. SU isn't the only school with "rich kids," but it's one that's not dealt with integrating everyone together. They don't want to put off current and potential donors.
39
@PJ It's ridiculous to suggest this situation is somehow unique to Syracuse when it is endemic at many private universities from Yale to USC.
I worked my way through a public university, but happily, my kids don't have to. And the parents of those "rich kids" whom you so glibly disparage pay full tuition meaning that many working class kids and others can go for significantly reduced tuition.
I have two degrees from S.U., both in the mid-60s. What is happening there reflects what is happening throughout the U.S. It is not right and, by no means, acceptable. But why should the buck stop with the Chancellor and his leadership team? Like others in their age cohort, the students will have short term gratification. But the most lasting change will come with individual commitment and occur incrementally.
8
The writer didn’t give the stats on the number of indigenous Americans at SU.
No one should have to put up with racism. Find the culprits and enablers and expel them. Get rid of the fear/sorority houses, too.
8
@Jill Do you know something about those stats that makes them particularly bad (or good)? Or is this a generalized complaint? Muslim students, Jewish students, and any more specific groupings were also left out.
3
This isn’t Syracuse’s problem. This mindset starts in the completely segregated communities where these students go to high school. I am a teacher in a 99% white suburban town. One of my students referred to the few non-white kids in town as “yeah, we got some of them”.
They have been raised by parents who will do whatever it takes not to have their kids mix with non-white people - literally whatever it takes. And then, they will fork over $300k to Syracuse where their little Blakes and Olivias will have to - gasp - attend classes and live with black people.
Blake and Olivia have unconsciously rebelled by listening to rap from the ghetto, but that has not at all prepared them for the rage they will see from the “other” students at college.
56
@Ophnell Cumberbatch indeed. But it is a problem they could never actually address, short of accepting students from different zip codes who could not pay the astronomical tuition.
1
@Walker It became a Syracuse problem when they handled the incidents of racism nonchalantly, and a staff member told the students they shouldn't speak about what happened. This is a failure of leadership.
86
This is a very ugly incident, but not for the reasons the author, and the activists, probably think.
We've heard very little about the perpetrators. Who are they? How many are there? I saw that four had been suspended. We know very little about the cause, and it could be the work of a very tiny number of people who are utterly non-representative.
And for this, we get massive protests. Calls for the firing of accomplished leaders--that are actually taken seriously? Calls to further infuse the curriculum with left-speak, to have a racial (and probably ideological) test for faculty hiring?
We should be very concerned about how quickly, and with how little basis, leadership capitulated at Syracuse.
119
The protests are about the lack of a clear, cogent, swift response on the part of the administration (as pretty clearly stated in the article). Hence the calls for resignations. Only four perpetrators?: find them and discipline them appropriately in a transparent manner that sends an incontrovertible signal that the actions will not be tolerated by the university.
39
The buck has to stop somewhere and it is with leadership handling these incidents.
17
@Marie
But what constitutes an acceptable "clear, cogent, swift response"? How is the university to track anonymous graffiti? A Chinese-style survailance state on campus?
12
"The news spread quickly anyway, touching off two weeks of protests that electrified Syracuse and turned it into a resonant symbol of the alienation that many students of color feel at elite universities."
Syracuse University is considered the number one party school in the country, an unusual distinction for a school to be described as "elite." At genuinely elite schools, like Yale, from which many US leaders are drawn, there is no doubt widespread alienation, but it isn't at all evident that this is a function of race or ethnicity.
17
@Middleman MD There are plenty of incidents of racial discrimination on genuinely elite campuses--recently at Yale.
2
@Middleman MD as an SU graduate and a Yale faculty spouse I can promise you that Yale has these same exact problems and with intolerance on both sides. An incident where the police were called when a student of color fell asleep studying in a campus lounge. But also look up what happened at Yale when a college Master advised students to wear whatever costumes they wanted on Halloween. And by the way after that incident the term “master” that dated from the Medieval University era is no longer used. The students aren’t wrong to ask for changes but their demands for administration resignations go too far.
4
@Middleman MD
Uh, there is nothing elite about SU.
It's most important product is sports teams, and very little else.
And is it any wonder that their frats are therefore rife with racists?
3
The descriptor "of color" seems useful to the press, but less to put forth facts than to promote narratives.
For example, Rashida Tlaib is billed as a woman of color, yet for inexplicable reasons, Darryl Issa, John Sununu, Jeanine Pirro and former US senator George Mitchell are not.
63
@Middleman MD : "Of color" is used to describe different groups, even latinos, when it's *convenient* to include them in one's argument.
Thus "of color" has been used to describe all ethnicities (except white), or only African Americans. It's not an accurate or specific term.
7
@Middleman MD Can they reasonably pass for white? Do people who truly look like them get shadowed in clothing stores, get pulled over for borderline reasons? I look at it going the other way, too. Looking at you, Megan Markle.
2
@Middleman MD
The term "white Jews" is often used but never "white Muslims" or "white Arabs". The only time "white Hispanic" was used was in relative to George Zimmerman.
Linda Sarsour referred to herself in a video from around 2015 as being "a common white girl" before donning the headscarf. Now she regularly wags her finger at the wrongs of white women to people of color. Obviously seeing herself as the latter, despite the long history of Arab Muslim abuse of black Africans.
11
“Caleb Obiagwu, a senior who was born in Nigeria and raised in London, said he was stunned when a white professor asked him how it was that he spoke English so well.”
Is this not allowed anymore? It seems like the professor was just curious where the international student got his English from. I ask kids all the time regardless of race, and nobody’s been offended.
141
@Johnny Rocket Guess what? It is perfectly fine to ask some students about their English language facility. But note, there are some people will be offended when you ask that question of them -- and rightly so. It is required of us all to try as best as possible to not offend. That means we can say and act with some, but not with all -- and even then not for all purposes or for whatever reason. Cultural senistivities vary with gender, race, and nationality. And it is not at all too onerous to assume personal responsibility to figure that out.
17
@Riley Temple
"It is required of us all to try as best as possible to not offend."
Life in a world where even our casual and good natured conversations require a pre-screening based on the hypothetical sensitivites of someone else sounds exhausting and miserable.
100
@Johnny Rocket I find it hard to believe an American college professor couldn't recognize a British accent. What the professor was saying was his stereotype of what a black man should sound like didn't match the accent and speech of Mr. Obiagwu. It's a sophisticated way of giving voice to his racial bias. The kid was surprised but wasn't fooled by the professor's shenanigans.
28
I find these "protests" and the cries of "indignation" to be hollow after seeing the abundance of the use of the same racial slurs being used in memes, songs and the personal vernacular of those complaining about it on a daily basis.
122
@Randy L.
You assume the protesting students listen to and approve these lyrics because they are of the same ethnic group? Appalling.
12
Would you say a homophobe calling someone queer is the same as an LGBTQ person using the same word?
2
@Randy L.
I find them extortionistic and dishonest considering their high tolerance for anti-Semitism and anti-Asian racism when it's coming from other demographics.
18
I'm Asian American and graduated from SU in 1982. And sorry to say nothing has changed since my years there as there was always tension between whites and non white students, along with a pretentious atmosphere due to the high cost for attending this school.
38
I will never forget my experience as a first year law student at SU College of Law. Students were assigned study carrels in the law library and mine was unfortunately placed amongst a group of white law students who regularly and loudly complained in very ugly demeaning terms about how there were too many black and brown men and women admitted in our class and how that was supposedly ruining the reputation of the school in the eyes of potential law firm employers and derailing the careers of these racist punks. A number of my white classmates were openly hostile towards non-whites and there were several racist incidents on campus. Luckily, I was able to transfer to another school after first year escaping this unenlightened cesspool.
7