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The information about the incident at CMC was not from Student Review or any other mainstream publication but pasted into this forum by arcadia from a right wing webzine. If you follow his link you will see this.
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<p>But here's what Arcadia actually posted, and it sure was confusing to me as a reader. Arcadia posted:</p>
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How do I know this? I read it all on studentsreview.</p>
<p>I'm now realizing that satire doesn't present itself well here, so I will try to make it obvious when I'm being sarcastic. My point was that you should be extremely careful when judging a school, person, organization, etc., based on what you read on the Internet. There's a lot of misinformation out there, and you should base your impressions on either first-hand knowledge or trusted second-hand sources. Does that mean there' s no place for other info you might gather from anonymous sources on the Internet? Of course not. But take it with a grain of salt. </p>
<p>Middlebury has one of the highest graduation rates of any college in the country, and is among the top 10 colleges or universities in the nation when it comes to alumni giving. Clearly the majority of people who attend and graduate from Middlebury are satisfied with their experience. These are (for the most part) smart, outgoing kids--not a bunch of bigots whose goal is to make minorities feel uncomfortable in what already is the whitest state in the country. </p>
<p>Also, for what it's worth, that clip I found on the prof at CMC was one of the top hits (actually, #4) when googling "Claremont McKenna AND racism." Check for yourself. I didn't have to dig too deep into the dark recesses of the Web to find it (which, in and of itself, is scary).</p>
<p>As for studentsreview, one of my favorite negative Middlebury entries is from the "4th-year female" who says "the chicks are not hot at all. If you go to Williams, you'll thank me." This guy must have forgotten that he registered his entry as a woman. They could eliminate the false postings by requiring a valid college email address (like facebook does). Almost all colleges will give alumni life-long college email addresses, so even alums could post.</p>
<p>A school needn't enroll "a bunch of bigots whose goal is to make minorities feel uncomfortable." A small group of insensitive individuals, even if lacking in evil intent, can make a campus in hospitable or uncomfortable (see mini's post #38 re: the KKK barbeque). And, even a single incident IS significant if it comes from and adcom or other employees for whom being the college's public face is an explicit job funciton.</p>
<p>Listen--I'm not saying that there isn't racism at Middlebury. It exists, as it does at EVERY other school in the country. It only takes one bad apple...</p>
<p>This important thread started in a very civilized and polite way. OP mentioned some racial incidents at a college, and asked if it was the exception or the norm. OP purposefully didn't mention the college because this isn't necessarily an issue affecting a single school. I jumped in when another poster assumed the school was Middlebury because an adcom there said something mean to her daughter (who has a learning disability). I'm still not exactly sure what was said, but my point all along has been that it was a pretty big leap to assume that Middlebury students are racist because her daughter had a bad interview (and her daughter isn’t a minority). That's all. Assuming the college in question was Middlebury was a rush to judgment.</p>
<p>What Arcadia isn't saying here is that I PMed him an apology, admitted that as a 57 year old Mom I may not be very web savvy and believed what I read on Student Review without guessing it could be from a hoaxer. I also forwarded him the information needed to take down the offending posts if they are indeed fakes.</p>
<p>I put my personal experience together with what I read on two different review type web sites and came to a very speculative conclusion. People on this thread were hoping to learn the name of the school so they could avoid it. I admit that I jumped to the wrong conclusion.</p>
<p>Colleges can opt out of Student Review. If Arcadia is convinced these claims are bogus and damaging he can contact the site administrator with the address I sent him and straighten this out, or contact the administration at Middlebury, alert them to the situation and ask them to opt out of Student Review.</p>
<p>If the posters on Student Review are slandering the college something should be done at the source. It's useless and unkind for Arcadia and I to try to discredit each other. After our visit to Middlebury I did immediately report our experience to the administration in a polite, non hysterical e-mail thinking it was an anomoly. I reported my experience on this thread more than two years later in response to a request for people to report if they had ever experienced discrimination on a college campus. I obviously wasn't running out and trying to trash Middlebury in a fit of anger. I felt that I had experienced discrimination and reported what happened and what I sunsequently found when I tried to see if this represented something real about the college. If anyone from Middlebury had followed up on my e-mail after the original incident, I probably would never have gone looking for additional information about the campus climate. My basic feeling at the time was "What the F---just happened?" it was so unexpected. At the time I assumed the Adcom we dealt with was having a horrible day and just took it out on the first likely people that crossed his path. It was only after I read the posts on Student Review that I thought it might be part of a pattern. I admit I added 2+2 and came up with 5. My bad.</p>
<p>I understand why the fact that those posts keep coming up as a question on College Confidential bothers Arcadia and why he feels the need to balance the picture. If they are false, a better solution would be to get them taken down. If they are valid then a thread where racism on college campuses is being discussed is a legitimate place to post a link to them. People on this thread are trying to gather information to help in their college search and the admissions offices, especially where they are trying to attract minority applicants, aren't going to advertise people's less than wonderful experiences.</p>
<p>Some kids are very tough and are perfectly ready to go into an environment where they know there are a few bad apples as Arcadia called them. Other kids are more sensitive and parents and GC need to steer them towards the most hospitable situation possible, even if that means turning down a more prestigious or elite instution. A girl from my daughter's school chose Spelman over NYU Tisch because she had just spent four years in a largely white preppy environment and wanted to have more of the "black experience." ( a full ride was also part of the equation) Others aren't as interested in feeling "at home" and just want the toughest academic challenge they can find for themselves.The point is people who are trying to make as important a decision as this one have a right to all the information they can find. </p>
<p>Arcadia-just get the posts taken down if they are false-at this point I am seriously trying to help you do this and I think I've gone further than you have in this effort because I'm in contact with Student Review trying to sort this out.</p>
<p>ErlindaP--I have no PMs from you. No joke. Apology accepted (although I'm not so sure it was necessary--your clarifying post said enough). </p>
<p>As for studentsreview, I'm not sure they would be able to verify if these posts were hoaxes or not. The only way to know for sure would be to see if they were written by people with middlebury.edu addresses. Studentsreview wants as many posts as possible on their site, so they really have no motivation to take them down. One of their biggest proponents is another college discussion board that is full of racist and sexist remarks--the admins of this board won't let me say what website that is (but many of you know). Suffice it to say that the other college discussion board links directly to studentsreview.com.</p>
<p>If you click this link there is a format to lodge a complaint at Student Review and have a site representative contact you. There is also an option to remove your institution from the entire site if you think it is unfairly getting a black eye. If that is the case-Go for it.</p>
<p>Here is what I found on the link-as much as would copy into the message form</p>
<p>StudentsReview has no more wish to present inaccurate or unreliable information than you have to see it presented.
If any of the contact information or online application links are incorrect, please use the profile utility to modify them. </p>
<h2>Does your University Object to the Data Presented? Please Fill out this form if you wish to have a StudentsReview representative contact you to discuss the data validity. </h2>
<p>Your Name :<br>
Your Email address :<br>
Your University :<br>
Does your University wish to be removed from the entire Survey and StudentsReview System?<br>
Your questions and comments. </p>
<p>I'm sure if the college wants off or to challenge thse posts someone from Middlebury needs to contact them, but there is a way to address this.</p>
<p>"scheduled a 'KKK' barbeque party (he was not referencing the Klan at all, but thought it was cute)"</p>
<p>Actually, mini, it was "K()'s Krazy Kookout," an annual event that had been held for many years; the department secretary one particular year shortened it to just the initials -- it was not intentionally offensive (although it proved to be insensitive). Needless to say, the event has changed.</p>
<p>"a faculty member threw a racial slur at another one during a department meeting"</p>
<p>The offending party did not address (or direct the word towards) the other member of the faculty, but rather used the word as a general noun in reference to a beef she had with a departmental issue. I believe she has since learned to choose her descriptors more carefully.</p>
<p>"the administration took no action" -- other than a community letter from the president and dean of students.</p>
<p>All fair enough. For what it's worth, after the Hitler Birthday episode, I sent a check to the college prez with a letter. I never received even an acknowledgment. They've lost my measly alumni contribution, but I don't think they care.</p>
<p>"KKK BBQ"? Cute? NOT!!! I do not think so. Have these kids and the secretary studied history? Very insensitive, indeed.</p>
<p>What amazes me is that these selective LACs spend so much time, money, and effort to create the so-called diversity and tolerance on their campuses, and still there are disgusting incidents with N-words, etc. May be having a racist bigot or two on campus also contributes to diversity? I understand that the system is not perfect, and there are kids with 4.0 GPAs and 2400 SATs who after admission do not perform academically, as well as kids who wrote essays on impotance of diversity to them and later on go and commit these ugly acts. May be kids can be kicked out of colleges not only for failing grades, but for failing the "diversity test"?</p>
<p>I think that's probably unfair. The majority of students coming out of public and private high schools these days have very little experience of real diversity. Schools are more segregated than they have been in 35 years, and even when the classrooms are diverse, the neighborhoods from which many of students come have become more segregated than ever. The students are for the most part not likely to be overtly racist, merely too-often insensitive.</p>
<p>Colleges that have such extraordinary resources can be such wonderful learning laboratories, but college administrations have to embrace the challenge.</p>
<p>"the teach-in related to the Hitler Birthday posters, didn't encourage the student body to attend, and waited two weeks before sending a letter (at a time the students were taking exams.)"</p>
<p>mini: Truth be told, it was a "town meeting" announced by the Jewish Association. The posters appeared April 20th; there was an initial community letter from Dean Roseman that evening, and a follow-up letter from Morty and Dean Roseman four days later (well before final exams, which began May 16th -- three weeks later).</p>
<p>"'KKK BBQ'? Cute? NOT!!! I do not think so. Have these kids and the secretary studied history?"</p>
<p>BunsenBurner: If you'll notice, the recurring annual event was advertised as "K()'s Krazy Kookout" -- not as a "KKK BBQ" (I corrected mini's mischaracterization in a subsequent post) -- and the department secretary (an adult, not a student) had, by way of abbreviation, typed the announcement as "KKK" (meaning "K()'s Krazy Kookout," which was a longstanding annual event). Please take the time to read before flying off the handle and jumping to conclusions.</p>
<p>mini: I had no response to my email to Dean Roseman, either -- but I'm still contributing a small amount each year to the Parents' Fund.</p>
<p>Even if unintended, the name of the annual event - - K's Krazy Kookout - -is a bit insensitive. Any fool (and certainly a college prof) can see that the abrev would be KKK On that basis alone s/he should have chosen another name for the event, instead of attempting to be cute w/ something so volatile. As for the secy - - again, any adult should have known better.</p>
<p>nyc - I felt the same way. I did not mean to attack onemoremom. Sorry if I offened you. When issues I feel stongly about are brought up, my burner lights up easily :)</p>