It Continues.....

Dean of students at Claremont McKenna resigns after protests over the treatment of students of color…

I think the president of the University of Delaware should resign for falling for a racial misunderstanding on that campus and creating ill will out of whole cloth.

Everyone should resign because students just don’t get enough special hugs.

I am waiting for the protests on the all female campuses over the fact there are no boys.

It’s interesting when students demand that someone else create a “safe space” for them.

In times past, it seems like people had to create their own “safe spaces”, and not without the expenditure of some sweat, just to start.

OP is determined to stir the pot with provocative threads (one of which is closed, thank goodness) that have a definite political agenda, as evidenced by the above.

@katliamom I am sorry you are uncomfortable by the news and a short commentary on a legitimate point regarding the hypersensitivity of many college students.

I will be more careful about such things.

But let me ask you, how would you react if the 5% of non-black students at Howard University demanded resignations over racial prejudice?

I think katliamom was referring to a post of TurnerT’s that was subsequently deleted, and had nothing resembling a legitimate point in it.

Just because OP starts a thread doesn’t mean he or she controls it. It’s legitimate news. There’s already a thread about this on the CMC forum, although I think it really belongs here. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/claremont-mckenna-college/1830442-claremont-mckenna-dean-resigns-after-students-protest-campus-racial-bias.html#latest

This is what happens when two important values collide–freedom of expression and inclusiveness. Working it out is messy, like legislation and sausages. Young people are passionate. They’ll work it out. It’s healthy and a learning experience.

Reminds me of the freedom to smoke versus the harm of second hand smoke.

If it was legitimate news, put a link in the OP. These types of vague threads are just clickbait and pointless.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-claremont-marches-20151112-story.html

The link from the LA Times.

Yes… the dean of students at Claremont referred to students of color and others asking for more diversity support as not fitting the Claremont mold in an email to some students in those groups. I’d say that is tone deaf at a minimum, and I can see why it makes those students feel isolated. Why am I not surprised that this is an issue at CMC, though? My Mudder says Mudd has more staff positions and support for their diverse populations than CMC – she sees no reason why CMC couldn’t do the same.

Also, Mudders got an email before Halloween specifically asking them to consider the impact of costumes depicting other cultures, with a list of questions to consider about a costume they are planning. I think that email would have been a good idea at CMC, too. The Mudders got it Oct 9, so it was well ahead of the issues in the news now.

I see the article doesn’t mention it, but the junior class president at CMC resigned this week over an inappropriate Halloween costume. Just clarifying the reference above.

If you really want to know what’s going on, the online student newspapers are a good place to start because they capture more of the local nuance and context than national reports. The CMC Forum (official student publication http://cmcforum.com/) and the Claremont Independent (conservative publication http://claremontindependent.com/) have lots of info.

Further insight on the email the Mudders got. It included a flyer that was actually created by Hampshire College. And the flier in turn says it is based on a similar initiative at Northwestern. So… some colleges are out in front of this in helping raise awareness among students. And some aren’t…

http://claremontindependent.com/we-dissent/

A student newspaper not afraid to be the voices of dissent. They berate the administrators for essentially beiing wussies.

Well… any student who comes to CC and asks whether it is going to be comfortable to be black/Latino/LGBT at Claremint is usually reassured that it will be fine. When it really isn’t… we will just link them to this Op Ed piece going forward, and suggest they apply to one of the other 5Cs instead. Which is really what a lot of CMCers want anyway… Then their “mold” of white, straight students is not threatened in any way. CMC wouldn’t look so dumb in this if the other 5Cs weren’t handling it so much better.

@intparent You cannot say that based on anything taken from this event.

I happen to think the students have a point. This WaPo article has some history in it that I think is more complete about the CMC events.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/11/13/swastika-at-bowie-state-as-threats-resignations-protests-spread-across-american-colleges/#

Students should have an expectation that diversity is accepted on a campus without defacing signs for their events, racial slurs, and vandalism of their meeting spaces. CMC could also provide the level of support that other 5Cs do – but they don’t.

Given the arrangement of the 5Cs, why doesn’t CMC use the already existing diversity staff?