<p>Essentially, Some Afr/Am student organizations were throwing a party in the quad yard with permission; however some students called the HUPD.
Bryan C. Barnhill II 08, president of the BMF, said that police officers asked the students whether they had a permit to be on the field, and left after students explained that they had gained permission.</p>
<p>Barnhill said that many of the participants had been wearing Harvard paraphernalia and the event had been approved by all the Quad House masters. He said the call to HUPD was disturbing because of the assumption that we didnt belong there."</p>
<p>Can i hear some opinions/thoughts.....Because I can see it both ways; as racist or as a misunderstanding.</p>
<p>Some perceived the calls were made because of the race of the participants on the Quad; others said they were in response to the volume of noise created by the gathering. Without knowing what the noise level was, there’s no way for a non-observer to have a valid opinion.</p>
<p>The HUPD has a (deserved or undeserved) reputation for racism. The Boston PD has been accused (with more proof) of racism as well. Part of it might be linked to the demographics of Boston…it’s a diverse city, but there’s a lot of racial and social stratification.</p>
<p>In the thread about the shooting, there is a link to a Boston Globe article, in which a student says that “they” brought their “little world here for an hour.” I wonder what people’s reactions to a comment like that might be.</p>
<p>^ are you looking for racist? I read that and interpreted it as “drug dealing/using individuals”, not a particular race.</p>
<p>As for the original thread, I read the article and noted many references to noise and people playing in a “roped off area”. Wouldn’t that warrant questioning the individuals?</p>
<p>I also read that quote as a “drug-dealing world” thing. What I don’t understand is why people read a mention of drug-dealing as a racial comment—isn’t THAT racist? </p>
<p>Also, Harvard students and police have been really careful about profiling—perhaps even over-careful. I live close to where the shooting occurred and have seen people in the vicinity throughout the year who do not “look” like other students here—not on racial grounds (I should add that they weren’t all of the same race), but because of clothes/tattoos, mannerisms, behavior, etc. I never said anything because I oppose profiling as a matter of principle. Now, though, I’m wondering if Justin Cosby might still be alive had we been more willing to ask a few questions (as are a number of others, including a few who saw the suspects on the day of the shooting…).</p>
<p>toadstool: Accusing people of “playing the race card” and dismissing their concerns out of hand also undercuts attempts to deal with racism. Here’s an editorial you might benefit from that came out after the incident in the Quad:</p>
<p>Do I think it’s “coincidence” that people saw a bunch of black people hanging out on the Quad, and - based upon nothing but looking at and hearing them - decided they didn’t “look like” Harvard students? And felt the need to <em>call the police</em> rather than approaching the people themselves and simply asking them to keep it down? No, sorry. I was at Harvard when this incident happened, and can attest that this wasn’t the first time non-black students saw black students and automatically jumped to thinking: “suspicious characters.”</p>
<p>So yes, there is racism at Harvard. It’s probably not something you encounter every day by any means, but it does exist. It’s also likely worse for black men than black women. But particularly since the Quad incident, students, the administration, and the Harvard Police Department have been working to improve the situation. And even without that, black students have great support systems of people who understand what they might be dealing with and of groups who will speak out against these types of occurrences, thanks to student organizations like the Black Students Association, Association of Black Harvard Women, Black Men’s Forum, and many more.</p>
<p>In the end, I do not believe the incident demonstrates racism at Harvard, persay, it simply demonstrates the sad state of inherent racism in Americans in general. With the exception of a few universities, this incident could have happened anywhere, not just Harvard. People saw black people partying in the quad and jumped to all the wrong conclusions. Also, it only takes one person to call the HUPD, right? Out of 5,000+ students, there’s bound to be someone who’s at least a little racist. He/she could have witnessed the activities taking place and decided that the peope didn’t belong there, even though they belonged there just as much as the next student. </p>
<p>I live in the Boston area, and I admit that there is some inherent racism that takes over when I am in the inner city. For example, if I am walking alone in a subway station and I see two, young, black guys walking behind me, I am a little extra cautious than if it were two elderly black men or white men. I know that this is “wrong” by politically correct standards, but it’s just an innate feeling. I believe there is a natural prejudice around young, black men which is wrong, but that won’t stop its existence. Now, I do not consider myself to be racist at all considering a good majority of my friends are black, Inidian, Asian, etc, but take my anecdote as you will. </p>
<p>I just believe this incident is a poor reflection upon the American people as a whole and just how far we truly have to go before equality is reached, not a reflection upon the students at Harvard.</p>
<p>Though I have no means of accessing racism at Harvard, or any other individual or group other than myself, I would like to argue against the point that “calling the police” had to be racist. I know that many feel that the right action would be to personally approach the group and air any grievances. That is not always the option that is most comfortable - regardless of the races involved. My husband and I happen to own a house in a basic neighborhood as well as a condo in another state. I have gotten the chance to be a part of, as well as an observer of, people resolving their issues. There are the neighbors that come out yelling when they don’t like what the neighbor has done, then there are the ones who do not want direct confrontation and call the police, the dog catcher, or the condo board for resolution. Not everyone is willing to do a face to face confrontation. Interestingly, both my home’s neighborhood and condo community are pretty homogeneous racially, so the decision to resolve a problem one way or the other would not be attributed to interracial interaction. There was only one interracial complaint and in it a very wealthy black doctor chose to have his lawyer contact his white next door neighbor because their dog was urinating on the doctor’s grass. Was the fact that the doctor chose to involve his lawyer and not have a face to face confrontation racist (BTW, both the doctor and the neighbor are very nice people so it was odd)? Of course it was not.</p>
<p>Dreamofivy commented about inherent racism. And I think it was a well stated point, but I would add that I find that I tend to discriminate (unfortunately) by physical appearance regardless of race. Similarly to Dreamsofivy, but also differently, I would be more concerned about having two white males in saggy pants and baseball caps walking behind me than two well groomed young black males.</p>
<p>Although it is beyond us to ascertain whether racism actually played a part in the decision to call the cops, it is imperative to remember that people deal with conflict in different ways. Just because you would be comfortable confronting the students in the quad doesn’t mean everybody would be. </p>
<p>Furthermore, one student calling the cops (even if it DID stem from racism) does not reflect the population of Harvard as a whole. I think the OP’s title “Racism at Harvard” is misleading. Maybe there WAS racism in this incident. But that in no way stamps Harvard as a “racist” institution. Harvard is a community with people from all over the world, from a multitude of backgrounds, and it should be expected that a small amount of students have racist/discriminatory ideals. That doesn’t mean the rest of the students at Harvard agree with them.</p>
<p>To once again echo Smoda, I agree that it is a person’s outward presentation (behavior, appearance) that stirs my “inherent racism” rather than skin color (I am a white girl.) Just two days ago, while standing in line at a fast food joint at night, there were two people behind me. One was a relatively young black adult, with average clothes. The other was a young white guy, in ridiculously baggy pants, an oversized coat with a fur hood, a sideways ball cap, and a glaring expression. I instinctively moved toward the black man.</p>
<p>To the OP: I remember seeing in another thread that you’re deciding between Harvard and UPenn. If this thread was started to help you make that decision, the short answer seems to be that yes, some racism does exist at Harvard just as it exists everywhere else in the world. I doubt it’s significantly any more or any less than at any comparable school, so please don’t let these incidents deter you if you think Harvard might otherwise be a good fit for you. There’s <em>so much</em> more to Harvard than this, and the hundreds of black students at the school generally love being there as much as any other students - if not more, thanks to the amazing black community that exists. (If that’s something you’re into, and you don’t have to be.)</p>
<p>Clothes characteristic of middle-class whites, I take it? Sounds like cultural racism, which attempts to explain and justify racist attitudes in cultural terms by referring to things like manners and behavior, language, and aesthetic values.</p>
<p>And I’m not trying to “justify” anything. I fully acknowlede that it’s pretty unfortunate… which is why, if you read the posts above mine, you will see posters refer to an “inherent” racism that we agree is sad but true. I merely pointed out that MY personal inherent racism (that I can’t really control even though I wish I could) is not against blacks or skin color, but against “cultural stereotypes,” if you will. </p>
<p>I don’t think there is anything wrong with my being honest. What I said about myself is NOT a good quality by any means, and I never acted for a moment as though it was.</p>
<p>^^^ Wow. It is true what they say about the sheltered Ivory Tower (or is it Ivy Tower?) mentality. If your psyche is so fragile that it gets bruised in the sheltered womb of mother Harvard, how will you ever function in a real world with real people in it? Some day you will grow up and realize that some people have chosen to dislike you simply because you are you. Not because of your clothes or your skin color or your religious beliefs. But just because you are irritatingly naive and so easily offended that it is safer to simply avoid talking to you. </p>
<p>Let this thread die rather than let the baiters use it to draw out a theoretical discussion about perceived slights.</p>
<p>^^ That was unnecessarily personal. I’m just a Canadian who believes in multiculturalism, substantive equality, and, more broadly, in the principles of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. No “baiting”, just honest discussion.</p>