A climate of campus racism

THE AIR hangs thick with tension at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) after fraternity-linked students caused outrage by hosting a racist "Compton Cookout" party in an upscale condominium near campus.

In their invitation to the February 15 party, the hosts requested that "ghetto chicks" wear "cheap clothes," "start fights" and "have a very limited vocabulary." On the menu: "40s, Kegs of Natty and dat Purple Drank...chicken, Kool-Aid and of course watermelon." In its opening lines, the invitation claims that the party is a way of "showing respect" to Black History Month.

The racism continued. Following protests by Black students across campus against the racist party, the editor of a campus publication called The Koala--which is already well-known for making fun of Muslims, Latinos and Asians--appeared on campus TV and called protesters "ungrateful n---ers."

At first, UCSD administrators claimed they couldn't do anything about the whole affair because the party was held off campus. But now, calls from state legislators are joining the demands of students and faculty for the administration to punish the racist students, and begin to take seriously the atmosphere of racism that Black students and others are forced to endure at UCSD.

Within hours of the Koala TV show being aired, the Black Student Union declared a "state of emergency" and organized a march on February 19, which led to an impromptu meeting with administrators.

Some 200 students, most of them Black, presented a list of 32 demands aimed at getting rid of the climate of racism and fear on campus. Administrators agreed to many of the demands right away, including the call that UCSD provide solid funding for the African American studies minor and ethnic studies programs.

During the meeting, attendees learned that earlier that morning, when students were searching for a copy of the racist videotape, they found a piece of cardboard in the student-run TV studio with the words "Compton lynching" written on it.

Afterward, several students expressed that they were glad to have their concerns heard, but weren't satisfied with the administration's response.

"I don't feel accepted, and I don't feel welcomed here at all," freshman Bijon Robinson told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "The whole lynching situation pretty much upset me. It is a possible threat. It was found in the Koala studio, where they called us niggers, and called us ungrateful, and ghetto and dumb. This is an unsafe environment."

UNFORTUNATELY, INCIDENTS like these aren't uncommon on U.S. college campuses. Right-wing student groups and fraternity organizations nationwide have held "affirmative action bake sales," where white students are charged more than minority students, and "south of the border" parties, in which entrants must crawl under barbed wire.

This is the climate in which the Koala commentator felt comfortable, after witnessing days of protests by his fellow students, using the N-word on air. Sadly, while the Black student body is nearly unanimously outraged, online campus discussion threads have been clogged with comments telling them, essentially, to "get over it."

Two percent--that's the starting point for understanding how things got so bad at UCSD. Only 2 percent of students--and 1 percent of professional faculty--are Black.

This was the inevitable result of Proposition 209, which passed in 1996, eliminating affirmative action in state institutions and causing Black and Latino enrollment to plummet. Budget cuts have also eaten into outreach and recruitment programs, as well as on-campus support. Then, to make matters worse, in September, the UC Regents raised tuition by 32 percent, a move that will squeeze working-class and students of color the hardest.

That tuition hike was met with protests across the UC system on September 24, including a walkout and march of 3,000 students at UCSD. Organizing has continued, with students and union members protesting and confronting the campus administration over the draconian cuts to jobs and services. Activists also look forward to the next statewide day of action on March 4.

Racist students are likely emboldened by the political offensive of the right wing, which is exacerbated by the Obama administration's and Democratic Party's inability to confront the racists or offer an alternative.

It's crucial that the budget cuts protest movement make clear its support for a return of affirmative action and for racial justice on California campuses. By incorporating these demands and building solidarity among students of all backgrounds, the movement can turn the tide on the racists and direct anger where it belongs--the politicians, regents and chancellors who have cultivated sewer politics for decades.