<p>BlueDevil, this incident was certainly offensive to people both at Duke and elsewhere, and it will be interesting to see how Duke handles it. </p>
<p>Duke is not the only university to have had an offensive party or incident. Off the top of my head, I can think of the following that were discussed on CC:
[ul][<em>]the “south of the border” party at Santa Clara
[</em>]the “Compton cookout” at UCSD
[<em>]the Christmas jingle at Tufts
[</em>]the “conquistadors and Aztec hoes” party and Mexican lawn mowing at Chicago
[<em>]the Guantanamo Bay party at LSE
[</em>]the “Halloween in the 'hood” party at Johns Hopkins
[li]the “Conquistabros and Navajos” party at Harvard[/ul][/li]The list goes on and on. That these parties are common doesn’t mean they’re right, but it does mean that poor judgment is pretty common among young adults…and students at elite universities are not exempt. This is a result of the actions of a few people with poor judgment (from a frat with a long history of dubious behavior, it should be noted) and should be handled as such.</p>
<p>Yes there is a difference between the actions of a few people and widespread racism. However, just look at the facebook pages discussing the party.</p>
<p>There are a multitude of Duke students actually defending KSig. It’s no longer the actions of a few; it’s the mindset of many. That is why it is such a big issue. Also I never suggested that racism at Duke is somehow more rampant or prevalent than elsewhere. It’s absolutely irrelevant. No comparison to other schools is necessary. Just knowing that widespread racism at Duke exists is reason enough to launch a public discussion about it. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere - MLK.</p>
<p>Comedians do this kind of thing all the time. American society has become too politically correct.</p>
<p>Cloaking racism under the guise of comedy is no justification for racism. It is simply a rationalization of a moral wrong. Judging from your username, I would like to pose the following scenario. An officially sanctioned campus fraternity issues an invitation to a “black theme” party. The invitation uses black “ghetto” slang. For example," Yo, all my n###ers, get yo black @$$es over to section Friday night at 10PM. We’re gonna be cappin some h#es." Then, at the party, people are in blackface, dressed in ghetto rags, and carrying around buckets of chicken and watermelon as “comedy.” Do you really think that’s funny, Kenyanpride?</p>
<p>If Dave Chappelle can make fun of white people, and Russel Peters can make fun of everyone I don’t see why some college kids can’t do the same. We take ourselves too seriously nowadays. Now I’m not saying that these kids didn’t take it too far (I’m not well versed with the specifics). All I’m saying is that we should cultivate the ability to laugh at ourselves! It will hold us in good stead in the future.</p>
<p>Having said that (and I know I’m contradicting myself here) I am a staunch advocate of disbanding all of Duke’s fraternities. They are like cancerous tumors that befoul Duke’s pristine campus.
I also believe that it’s only a matter of time before Duke rids itself of this heinous plague. President Brodhead will have his way soon enough.</p>
<p>When we visited UChicago last spring, the campus newspaper reported on a fraternity that was in trouble for making its pledges cut the lawn and do gardening work while wearing sombreros and playing loud mariachi music.</p>
<p>I agree with warblers that young adults do offensive things everywhere. What is truly important is the response to offensive actions.</p>
<p>There’s so much overreaction- people throw white trash parties, dress up like leprechauns and drink on St Patricks Day, etc and nobody cares. People are overreacting to this just for te sake of protest- it’s stupid.</p>
<p>I’m not saying racism is right, Im saying America had become way too politically correct</p>
<p>My best friend goes to Duke (he’s asian) and he has told me many stories about both subtle racism and blatant racism against Asian Americans at Duke.</p>
<p>He’ll be graduating this summer and absolutely HATES his alma mater. I recommend you attend a different school if you aren’t caucasian.</p>
<p>^That’s utterly ridiculous. Don’t attend Duke if you’re Asian? Give me a break.</p>
<p>From my gf’s point of view, this is just a huge overreaction. Of course, this stuff is, based off of my view, wrong but it’s not something students can stop. Also, how is it that these people are going to protest for this? Did the Mexicans revolt because a bunch of people dressed up like a Mexican for Halloween? Or how the person mentioned above talked about St. Pats. This just gives a reason to protest. People would probably laugh at all these things if posted on a website or something like that.</p>
<p>Oh, while we’re on the topic of generalizing entire student bodies based on the harmless (though admittedly juvenile) actions of a few, I just wanted to warn any prospective hispanic students to avoid the University of Chicago like the plague. </p>
<p>I have a Hispanic friend there and he has experienced both overt and subtle racism. Also, take a look at this link.</p>
<p>[Two</a> fraternities under fire after bias claims – The Chicago Maroon](<a href=“Saul Bellow, dead at 89 – Chicago Maroon”>Saul Bellow, dead at 89 – Chicago Maroon)</p>
<p>In case it wasn’t completely clear, I was just pointing out how absurd it is to accuse a university of institutional racism based on anecdotal evidence.</p>
<p>I just saw this blowing up on MSNBC.</p>
<p>[Duke</a> students rally against anti-Asian frat party](<a href=“U.S. News: Latest Breaking Stories, Video, and Photos on American Politics, Economy, and Society | NBC News”>U.S. News: Latest Breaking Stories, Video, and Photos on American Politics, Economy, and Society | NBC News)</p>
<p>I was accepted by this honorable institution for a PhD program in one of the sciences last week. Even though the program is not my top choice (as I am leaning toward a similar program in another school), I am still considering heading to Duke in the fall for graduate work. As an Asian, I have to say I am less concerned about the incident itself. I am more interested in knowing the steps and actions that will be taken to prevent this from happening in the future.</p>
<p>I think it’s good that there is a lot of dialogue within Duke about this and it’s sorted out. It’s not good that there is too much discussion outside. But in the end if this does affect the decisions of some and they chose not to attend there will be plenty more willing to step in. If it bothers anyone, don’t go.</p>
<p>I heard about this just today and I think there are parts of the incident that crossed the line and other parts that were innocuous. As an Asian my thoughts were:</p>
<p>1) The Asian clothing I thought was OK. It was a party that had a theme designed around a particular set of cultures and the attendees wore costumes that contained unique aspects of the the clothing of those cultures. As long the clothing was not worn in an overly exaggerated style intended for mocking I’m fine with it. I could attend a scotch tasting party wearing a plaid kilt and not be construed as being racist or anti-Scottish. </p>
<p>2) The language of the email invite was absolutely inappropriate. The “Asian” accent is not a unique part of the Asian culture. It is a part of some people that they cannot control. Sending out email invitations with phrases such as “herro” and “chank you” is akin to me going up to someone with a lisp and saying “you don’t thpeak like a normal perthon and I think your voith thoundth really really funny!” or making faces at someone with Downs syndrome. Completely inappropriate. I don’t go up to guys wearing pastel-colored polos and greet them with “yo bro” and I would hope that no one greets me with “herro”.</p>
<p>Of course I realize there are people out there who are unaffected by this and there are people who think the whole thing is offensive and in poor taste and that is why there needs to be discussions about this. How we behave when interacting with others is a reflection of who we are and what we value and being insensitive to the feelings of others (no matter how “chill” you are) reflects badly on one’s character and failing to properly address this as a body reflects poor on the institution as a whole. </p>
<p>As for there being lots of dialogue within and outside of Duke I think they are necessary. This isn’t something that affects just Duke students. It affects Duke students, Duke alumni, and everyone who is affiliated with Duke and it affects those that we come in contact with whose perceptions of us may now be colored by their perceptions of the school as a whole. As a Duke graduate I am well aware that Duke can seem to exist in a microcosm disconnected from the outside world. That is why it is critically important that outside voices be heard that can ground internal discussions in reality and offer up insights that may not seem apparent to those that reside inside the Gothic Wonderland.</p>
<p>Exactly, the main issue here is not the style of clothing, but the blatant intention of the fraternity to make fun of a culture based on the wording of the email invite </p>
<p>The problem is that asians are seen as passive or pushovers by the media and this can get dangerous when met with ignorance. There is no reason to make fun of any immigrant group’s accent as it is not something they can control. </p>
<p>Those that make the toga comparison are only further conveying their ignorance. The clothing isn’t the issue but the mean-spirited attack on asian-americans and the portrayal the fraternity made via the email.</p>
<p>The Asians on campus were making clothing a huge issue with ll the Facebook photos they put up</p>
<p>The way I see it, there aren’t ever going to be any meaningful discussions on this campus or others about why people in America must cease this idiocy if everyone chalks this up to the antics of kids.
Bc guess what? These “kids” grow up to be equally bigoted, privileged adults who see nothing amiss in mocking minorities who already have enough bs to live through. How in god’s name are we to enter a post racial society if brats at ELITE institutions cannot behave themselves? What is this even?
So we’re too politically correct and those who speak up are sensitive?</p>