The Long Awaited Poster

Is this the poster that launched a torrent of emails? Yes. (It should go without saying that DJ Timbo's mustache and unibrow were drawn in by a student interested in free expression.)

Contrary to what Dean of Students Deb Woods has written, the only person whose image has been harmed is DJ Timbo, whose likeness is damaged.

Click on the image for a closer view.

The Forum Gets CMC President Brad Walters on Record

Brad Walters, CMC president, has a nice way of pointing out how petty Dean of Students Woods really is in his official statement. The text, found over at the Forum, is as follows:

I am deeply sorry to anyone who was inadvertently offended by the promotion of the White Party. ASCMC is a responsible and diverse organization that always aims to be sensitive to its constituents and community. The problem here was a failure of communication; the party’s theme was in no way related to race, but that was poorly communicated. For that, ASCMC offers the 5-College community a sincere apology.

Nevertheless, Dean Wood’s response was extreme, inappropriate, and unprofessional. Rather than speaking with us in an attempt to clarify the miscommunication, she publicized her own conception. She clearly has an outdated and myopic idea of what CMC is, and that led her to point a finger rather than initiate a conversation. The fact that she involved all of the students, staff, and faculty of her college was ineffective, pointless, and downright mean-spirited.

Presidents of Claremont Colleges Try To Save the World

I often chuckle at how college and university presidents feel as if they need to save the world.
From Pomona's President David Oxtoby's fear of climate change to Claremont McKenna's Pamela Gann's love of "social entrepreneurship," it is often instructive to see how those who are entrusted with our tuition dollars love spending them on fads and phony issues.

Oxtoby wants to tackle global climate change by passing tough college rules on emissions, even though he isn't convinced its the right approach. How colleges are contributing to the scourge of global warming is anyone's guess. One thing is for sure, it's going to cost Pomona students more money.

But the latest efforts to save the world come from CGU President Robert Klitgaard who wrote an article in today's The Chronicle of Higher Education entitled "Universities Have the Responsibility to Tackle the World's Toughest Problems."

I happen to agree with Klitgaard that corruption is a serious issue, but why should colleges be addressing it? Klitgaard has the answer right here:

Most important, universities should be willing to take on seemingly intractable problems. If we don't, who will? Who else will provide the hard analysis, the breakthrough thinking, and the long-run perspective? Not government, subject as it is to political agendas and election cycles. Not business, as shareholders will not tend to value CEOs who direct significant company resources to immigration, terrorism, or failing schools. Nongovernmental organizations have the ideals and often the vision, but they often lack the intellectual and financial resources to do it alone.

Does he forget that colleges are often unaccountable to their donors and that their research tends to skew to one side of the political spectrum? Maybe he is aware or maybe he just wants to establish himself as the go to guy on corruption.

A Line By Line Response to the Scripps Dean of Students

My response to each of her statements will be made in italics.

From: "Official Scripps Student List" <All-STUDENT-L@Lists.ScrippsCollege.Edu>
To: "Official Scripps Student List" <All-STUDENT-L@Lists.ScrippsCollege.Edu>
Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:27:04 -0800
Subject: Racist/Sexist Material on Campus

Sometime in the last few days, the CMC class of 2010 left racist and sexist party invitations with what appears to be a racist party theme on the dining room tables at Scripps College, Malott Commons.

First of all, the CMC class of 2010 didn't all go leaving allegedly racist and sexist party invitations. Saying that the class of 2010 went around and did this altogether is slander and is the same kind of group mentality that we ought to be avoiding.

These invitations were not stamped approved and we do not know if any CMC staff knew of them or approved of them.

The notion of approval for messages on a campus that is largely adult is insulting. What's more some of those messages, like those of VOX, are patently offensive to students with a pro-life or Christian view point. Of course, those students never complain or demand censorship because they understand the importance of free thought.

I will not describe the content of the invitations so as not to do any more harm or damage to women and African Americans than has already been done , as I suspect these invitations were deposited throughout one or more of The Colleges.

Failing to describe the contents of the invitations is a cop out. When you are unwilling to even address the content of what made some students so upset, you do violence to those of us who want to know what happened. How can we have a dialogue when you won't even address the substance and when you insist on tarring the Class of 2010 as racists and sexists?

Further, how dare you speak for all women or African American students? The presumption that all of them were somehow hurt by one flyer is deeply insulting. Not everyone has such ultrasensitivity. When earlier in the year we had a Black Party, you were also silent. How interesting how quickly you jump on somethings and not others.

While principles of free speech may protect these students' rights to advertise in this manner, free speech is best exercised with common sense, intelligence and sensitivity. I am saddened and dismayed , and angered, that students in the year 2008 would use this kind advertising to promote a party. It harms not only women and African Americans, but all of us here at the colleges and undermines our educational efforts.

Principles of free speech have nothing to do with students' rights. The First Amendment of the U.S. protects the right of free expression, even if it offends. No one asked you when free speech is best and I, for one, don't care what for your opinion of free speech.

You have a right to express yourself , but you have no right to speak for others, even though you are the Dean of Students at Scripps College. There is no harm here, which I suspect you know because you won't even address the content of that advertisement.

You harmed my right to equal information and to see the flier and make my own determination of whether or not it is sexist or racist. Your argument that it somehow affects education on the colleges is untrue. Students will continue attending classes, professors will continue teaching them, and the world will keep spinning.

I urge any other campus which received these invites to take a similar stand against racism and sexism and communicate their anger and dismay to the CMC Class of 2010 through appropriate ways- such as not attending the party, writing letters to the class leadership and/or student news papers, and refusing to tolerate this kind of treatment of members of our communities.

You are well within your right to be upset at the slightest of things, but I have a right to refuse to tolerate your treatment of the class of 2010. You are welcomed to boycott whatever party you want. I somehow doubt that the Dean of Students would have been attending anyways. I almost certainly doubt that Scrippsies will be boycotting the party in question.

The Scripps Dean of Students Staff, faculty members and members of the Diversity Coordinating Committee
( listed at http://www.scrippscollege.edu/about/diversity/index.php )
stand by to support members of our community, and support may be found at the
Office of Black Student Affairs and Chicano/Latino Student Affairs Center.

Ah, finally the real thing comes out. You just want a reason to continue justifying the existence of these racial centers. Why doesn't anyone else see that these centers continued existence undermines our peace of mind because they constantly must seek aggrieved parties

I have already communicated directly with the CMC Dean of Students so he is aware both of the invitations and the nature of them , and my strong feelings about the theme of this party and how people are depicted in the advertising for it.

In my view, the appropriate response for the CMC Dean of Students is to politely ignore the Dean of Students at Scripps College, particularly seeing as the Dean of Students of Scripps College isn't willing to tell her colleagues why these fliers are offensive.

From Scripps' Dean of Students: Response In Next Post

Scripps Dean of Students recently sent this email around and encouraged her Scrippsies to boycott the Claremont McKenna themed "White Party."

The email speaks for itself, but I'm going to be drafting a point by point response within the hour. Looks like another example of a tempest in a teapot by racial demagogues more interested in balkanizing the campus than in having principled opposition. I will be getting a copy of the flyer in a moment or two and will have my comments up and running.

From: "Official Scripps Student List" <All-STUDENT-L@Lists.ScrippsCollege.Edu>
To: "Official Scripps Student List" <All-STUDENT-L@Lists.ScrippsCollege.Edu>
Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:27:04 -0800
Subject: Racist/Sexist Material on Campus
Sometime in the last few days, the CMC class of 2010 left racist and sexist party invitations with what appears to be a racist party theme on the dining room tables at Scripps College, Malott Commons.

These invitations were not stamped approved and we do not know if any CMC staff knew of them or approved of them.

I will not describe the content of the invitations so as not to do any more harm or damage to women and African Americans than has already been done , as I suspect these invitations were deposited throughout one or more of The Colleges.


While principles of free speech may protect these students' rights to advertise in this manner, free speech is best exercised with common sense, intelligence and sensitivity. I am saddened and dismayed , and angered, that students in the year 2008 would use this kind advertising to promote a party. It harms not only women and African Americans, but all of us here at the colleges and undermines our educational efforts.

I urge any other campus which received these invites to take a similar stand against racism and sexism and communicate their anger and dismay to the CMC Class of 2010 through appropriate ways- such as not attending the party, writing letters to the class leadership and/or student news papers, and refusing to tolerate this kind of treatment of members of our communities.

The Scripps Dean of Students Staff, faculty members and members of the Diversity Coordinating Committee
( listed at http://www.scrippscollege.edu/about/diversity/index.php )
stand by to support members of our community, and support may be found at the
Office of Black Student Affairs and Chicano/Latino Student Affairs Center.

I have already communicated directly with the CMC Dean of Students so he is aware both of the invitations and the nature of them , and my strong feelings about the theme of this party and how people are depicted in the advertising for it.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Updates In The Claremont Conservative's Struggles

Friends,

There is just so much to blog about this past week and I have been so sick. In any event, I will delay no longer and give you the updates.

1. Yours truly passed his drug test to get a job blogging at RedBlueAmerica.com. I sincerely encourage you to check it out. The best part of the job is that I won't be forced to carry water coolers or do any of the other backbreaking labor that characterized my ill-fated job at the Rose Institute. For future freshmen I very much recommend against taking that job. There isn't a whole of thinking that goes into it.
   
2. Steve Grove, a fellow C.M.Cer and recent graduate, got a job with YouTube.com and has been named one of the "Twelve People to Watch in 2008" by Newsweek back in December. Grove, the political director of YouTube, was responsible for the travesty that was the CNN/YouTube debate, but I won't hold that against him. As long as the talking snowmen don't make a comeback, I won't be that critical. Of course Newsweek never mentions that he's from Claremont McKenna. *grunts disapprovingly and mutters something about the liberal media* But hey, his grandparents still love him.
   
3. The Obama movement has been in full force around the Claremont McKenna campus. (So too has the Ron Paul movement.) I've seen bunches of fliers in elevators and around campus. Here's one Claremont McKenna student who gives a ringing endorsement of Obama, "He's new and modern and breaking with the past," says José Villanueva, 21, a senior at Claremont McKenna College who was quoted in Time Magazine. Like the Time piece, our own Nick Warshaw also believes the youth vote will decide this election. I, for one, will believe it when I see it. That which is new and modern isn't necessarily better.
   

More updates to come in the next week or so, but just trying to keep you up to date.