<p>^ ^ ^ Tarhunt, I wasn't finished writing what I meant. I had only written down my initial reaction, which is that it /was/ racist. Upon further consideration, I saw that it was a failed attempt at satire. That's what I still believe now. And I understand how others may read it as blatant racism.</p>
<p>How do you think this will affect the yield of Black students for the class of 2011? What is the climate really like for Black undergraduates at Tufts?</p>
<p>This seems to be hateful speech intended to demean black people. If I were a student at Tufts, I would demand that my student fees not support this organization.</p>
<p>I asked my good friend, a black senior at Tufts to answer how she feels the climate is for black students at Tufts (as per Mizo's question). This is what she wrote back in an e-mail:</p>
<p>
[quote]
I feel that the climate for black students at Tufts is similar to the climate for black students at any prestigious university where blacks are a minority. What I've observed at Tufts I have either observed or been told about by other black friends who study at Harvard, Penn, Cornell, Amherst, Middlebury, etc. The only place where the climate could be considerably better is at a school like Spelman, Howard -- the historically black colleges. I feel safe here. The black community at Tufts is close-knit but not so much that we fulfill that sociology cliché "Why do all the black kids sit together in the cafeteria?" I have friends of all ethnicities, races, and socio-economic backgrounds. That being said, I am active in the Africana Center and in other black cultural groups. But I, like most of my black friends, are also active in student organizations that are not geared towards black culture specifically. The Primary Source failed to make good satire, and I can see why some of my black friends read it as racist. I hope that black prospective students aren't thrown by this -- Tufts is a great place. Tufts is a very open, welcoming environment; I have been taken out of my comfort zone in very positive ways, as do most people who come here. College is a learning experience for most of us who've grown up in environments that are not socio-economically/racially diverse. I have had an excellent academic and social experience here. I don't regret coming here at all and my black friends who may have some reservations about Tufts are not due to their being a racial minority. My only friend whodoesn't like Tufts that much says it's because there's no big athletic scene, which she misses from her upbringing in the South.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I totally agree with Tarhunt and College Grad. My daughter says that she has been upset with the Primary Source since she arrived at Tufts. She says they claim to be satirical, but it is only a coverup for racism and homophobia.
They may have the right to free speech, but the money that we pay for tuition doesn't have to go to support this organization. Thanks Lolabelle for posting your friend's comment. My daughter also has several very good friends who are black. People have asked previously if there was racial segregation at Tufts. From my observation, I would have to say no. It's too bad that less than 10 students on campus can create this kind of negativity.</p>
<p>Someone in another thread said they were worried that if Tufts cut funding for the Primary Source then there would be no conservative voice on campus.
I would think that most conservatives wouldn't want to be associated with that publication. There was a rally on the Tufts campus this afternoon in support of Tufts' African-American students. I'm sure a lot of students attended.</p>
<p>The primary source represents many views of conservatives across the right spectra. I doubt they were are a single intellectual entity, though it certainly seems that great influence comes from select individuals. As a liberal/moderate, I used to like reading the issues - they used to be really good too!</p>
<p>The Source's excuse that it's just about affirmative action is absurd, and frankly I'm disappointed in you, lolabelle, for believing that. They had a meting before hand to discuss it, they knew precisely the full extent of what they were publishing and how it would be interpereted. </p>
<p>The carol targeted specifically black students and only black students. And that is racism and nothing else. </p>
<p>It was not a failled attempt at satire that was taken the wrong way. It was calculated and planned to be inflamitory and hurtful. They relate it vaugly to affirmative action in a way that doesn't even begin to excuse it. Furthermore, it was not a mistake of any sort and their apology hold ABSOLUTELY NO WEIGHT WHATSOEVER. At least Kramer can say he was overexcited and said something he didn't mean to say. The Source planned, discussed, and considered the carol, and then printed it, so to speak, in cold blood.</p>
<p>The carol was not a failed attempt at satire. It was a racist attack masquerading as a mistake. And it is absolutely inexcusable.</p>
<p>I believe that it specifically mentioned only black students at Tufts because of the big news this semester that yield of accepted black applicants to the Class of 2010 was lower than it ever has been before. The Admissions Office announced proactive measures to get that yield back up for the applicants to the Class of 2011. Therefore the Source decided to mention only black students; if the yield for Hispanic students had decreased dramatically, they would've aimed it at Hispanic students; if both had decreased, they would've aimed it at both. And so on. If they had this meeting you're speaking of (and how do you know what happened at this meeting?) then I would agree with you.</p>
<p>I admit I don't have solid evidence that the meeting happened for sure... I guess it could just be a rumor, but I have friends that were on the source, who haven't denied it. </p>
<p>In any case, the editors knew full well what they were publishing.</p>
<p>They're nincompoops.</p>
<p>Yeah, as a conservative I'm deeply offended by the Primary Source almost without fail every time I read it. I just cannot believe they got in trouble JUST NOW for this racist stuff...darn near every publications has something racist in it. If they're not targeting African Americans they're targetting Arabs. How big of them.</p>
<p>What's funny is I said this same thing to ariesthena awhile back and she called me crazy. I just keep getting righter and righter don't I</p>
<p>I know facebook groups aren't usually the best places for ideas, but somebody posted a great one on the discussion board for a group that wants to "boycott" the Primary Source (which is a silly idea on so many levels, the first of which being that you do not have to pay for a PR. Anyway)
Cutting funding is such an extreme action, so I agree with someone who says we should require accountability from the Primary Source. As you may or may not have noticed, there is no actual "author" of the Christmas carols. As long as there is no name attached to certain articles (or whatever you'd call them), people writing for the magazine feel like they can post virtually anything without being held accountable for it. So make them attach their names to everything they write.
A simple solution that may be surprisingly effective.</p>
<p>Yeah, censorship is certainly not the answer. The thing is The Daily tends to post stuff that's just as equally offensive and repugnant only alot of it gets overlooked because of the liberal nature of the campus. The Daily's backing of Senator Kerry's comments on the military or the assertion that Republican opposition to UN Day was on par with Nazism are great examples of this.</p>
<p>The thing is there are some psychos in Tufts Republicans, I should know I used to be a member, but there is such a deep resentment among some of them for the disrespectful nature of alot of liberals on campus that this article might perhaps have been tailored solely towards offending the radical, headband liberals on campus. Could be.</p>
<p>I can't stand the Primary Source most of the time but issues like this tend to get blown out of proportion since race is such a ticklish subject here at Tufts.</p>
<p>I actually know who wrote the carol. Let's say his name is "Ben" - my friends and I have been calling him "Creepy Ben" since freshman year, when we found out that he had taken a semester off the year before we got there, was returning as a "freshman", and IMed every single freshman girl that would be living in his dorm over the summer before we got there. He engaged in general horrifying behavior once we got there too. When we found out he wrote it, we were like "wow...not surprised, actually."</p>
<p>Edit: lol, but I had a point. There are VERY few people like Creepy Ben. He definitely does not represent the majority view of the campus.</p>
<p>RBAY, I can see what you mean about some people being closeminded liberals. I'm a moderate and try to keep an open mind :)</p>
<p>"IMed every single freshman girl that would be living in his dorm over the summer before we got there"</p>
<p>LMAO, sounds like something I'd do. How the heck did he get the IM names for an entire building though?</p>
<p>how else? facebook. The whole debacle within the Tufts Republicans scares me :/ Oh well. yay diversity (of thought)!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.despair.com/compromise.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.despair.com/compromise.html</a></p>
<p>nah, we didn't have facebook back then. it was through Connections2009.</p>
<p>i swear to god, he's creepy. I'm not making this up: last year, as a joke, my friend Matt and I would make funny signs about each other and put them up on the wall in the lounge outside our rooms. One of the ones I made for him said he was a sex offender and if sighted, SSARA should be called. Well, this year I was walking by that same lounge and saw on that same wall a sign about someone being a sex offender. I couldn't believe the coincidence - except it turned out to be a SERIOUS sign about CREEPY "BEN"!</p>