you call that a prank?

Last Friday, a group of students noticed a white truck parked in our university parking lot with a swastika painted in the middle of a confederate flag. Of course, they were outraged and contacted our Campus Safety. The driver of the car was detained and questioned. The story is that he & his friends had been pranking each other over the past two weeks and that was the end result. Then, this student was too lazy to wash his car that week, and had been driving his car on campus all week until it was reported on Friday.

It took our students FIVE DAYS to report two of the most insensitive and hateful symbols in our society. I don't doubt that when students saw they car, they didn't agree with it. However, not until Friday did someone care enough to take the effort to report it. That deeply saddens me. How have we become so concerned with our own time that we cannot stop to stand against something that so hateful and wrong?

Then the next Wednesday, I picked up our student newspaper The Clause to find this article. With a title like "Prank taken too far?" the paper, probably unintentionally, seemed to dismiss the act as a prank. The rest of the article when on to describe what a nice guy this student was and that he didn't mean to do. Just because he's a "nice" guy and didn't mean to offend anyone, doesn't make it okay. Below is my letter to the editor:

Thank you for acknowledging the racist actions that took place last week on our campus in “Prank Taken Too Far?”(11/12). I know “hot topics” are risky for student journalists to tackle. And in order for our student body to start addressing racism on our campus, we need to begin to openly discuss the brokenness in our community. Our administrators’ honest and specific letter was a start. And your article had the potential to be another great step. However, the failure to present both sides was a step back.

Since the Clause is a communitarian paper, I think it was appropriate to give Andrew Salazar a chance to share his side. However, the article failed to present the “other” voice. Your staff writer did not interview those (who I hope are the entire student body) who were offended by Salazar’s truck. There should be no doubt in the eyes of the students, that this act, regardless of original intent, is seen as unacceptable. Never are the confederate flag or the swastika symbols that should be excused in the name of a prank. Whether or not it was your intention, the absence of such thoughts speaks loudly. Your oversight has deeply hurt the student body and I hope you will take that hurt to heart.

As a former Clause editor, I understand the nature of a student press and all the complexities that go into producing a paper. There are a dozen explanations for why they reported the story like they did. However, in light of the sensitive state of our campus, their oversights have only added to the hurt and frustration so prevalent on our campus.

But the bigger picture is not simply the insensitivities of the student newspaper. It's the system our school, and most of our society, operates under. It's a system that allows these actions to be labeled a "prank" because they never meant to be hurtful. This system failes to recongize that racism in the 21st century does not look like segratation, lynchings & other blatant acts as it did in the 60s. Racism today looks like stereoptypes, social segregation & asking a member of a minory race to speak for her/his entire race.

Until we begin to acknowledge that racism still exists today, in ways that maybe don't stand out to those in the majority culture--those who, whether they want to not, benefit from the system--then we have little hope at become a just society.

And for those of us who claim to be Christians, I think APU president Jon Wallace has some wise words. "We can talk about faith and empathy, but sometimes we must just do justice... we live in accountability to each other and to God—that we act with justice, mercy, humility, and love of another kind with each other and with our neighbors."

from the outside

Our presidential election has captured the attention of the world. And Obama’s victory has captured their hearts. And no better time then now.

Below is an excerpt from a post-election email from my dear South African friend. I think this letter is pretty telling:

"Obama's election was really cool. It lifted the morale of this 
country. People from different walks of life, including the most 
conservative South Africans were talking about it ... the US 
elections came at a time where we are going through a very 
interesting time in our politics … I think the world will be a little safer with Obama. The Iranians who Bush labeled as 'axis of evil' have 
welcomed Obama's election, Hugo Chaves was also raving about Obama's 
election, the Pope was one of the first people to congratulate him, 
the German chancellor was pretty excited about Obama's election, she 
said she knows that the relationship between the EU and the US will 
not be as fragile as its been under Bush and our very own Nelson 
Mandela said Obama's election was an inspiration and he believes 
he'll go on and become a good president.


 Anyway, the excitement is still evident here. This weekend was a voter registration weekend and a lot of people registered. The whole 
nation is saying, "Yes, I can!”

Currently, in one of my classes, I’m studying the recent history of U.S. relations in the Middle East and I’m realizing the grave implications of the negative reputation we’ve established in the last 60 years. Our cultural ignorance, inconsiderate national interest, and manipulative politics has put the American people in harm’s way—not to mention the livelihood of our global allies, as well.

When it comes to international relationships, we must approach the world holistically and creatively. We must make the effort to understand the cultures we engage with. And above all, we must value humanity—all humanity. We must grant dignity to all we come in contact with. And that’s where I believe our future president will excel.

The time is now to reshape our image—from the inside and, maybe more importantly, from the outside.

race in the Race

Did it really happen? Did America finally elect an African-American president? Are we really not going to be governed by an old white male? How comforting. It’s about time.

The polls are showing that race was not a defining factor in the election. And clearly, that is true. But what about for those where race was the defining factor?

What about the skinheads from Tennessee who planned to kill 88 African Americans and eventually our new president? What about those text messages I got telling all white people to report to the cotton fields in the morning, courtesy of President Obama? What about my peers who mourn that we have elected a “terrorist” as our president? What about the student at my university who flew a confederate flag with a swastika in the middle?

Race is still a factor. So how we do continue as a nation united? I’m afraid I don’t have any answers. But I do know we certainly can’t pat ourselves on the back and pretend that now all racism has been eliminated from America. We still have a long way to go.

a new hope

Whether you voted red or blue, tonight is a proud moment in U.S. history. As I watched President-elect Barack Obama give his acceptance speech, I knew this was a night to remember. For decades to come, this speech will be replayed in classrooms across the world.

I spent part of the night discussing the victory with my politically invested friends. But the best part of the night was spent with those friends, who would, for the first time, have a president that looked like them. And I realized the election of Barack Obama wasn’t as much about the change in policies in America but rather about the change in spirit of America.

Hope is a powerful thing. It’s stronger than any welfare system. It’s more productive than any assembly-line worker. It’s far more trustworthy than any politician. And once lost, it’s a hard thing to get back. But tonight, I saw hope restored. And with a new hope, I see America restored to its people.

your VOTE affects the world