[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

Really? You would have thought that an email asking you to be thoughtful about your Halloween costume was the university's attempt to control you?

Yes.

Originally Posted by 33girl

If my RA said "hai no blackface" that would be a suggestion.

But an email from deans and administrators, yes, I would feel I was being ordered not to do this and resistance would affect my schooling.

Exactly. They don't have to say "there will be consequences." They are in positions of authority and when they speak, they are understood to speak for the university. It is not a stretch for a student to assume that the university would be displeased if he or she ignored the email, and that that displeasure might lead to consequences of some sort.

I get that there were students who allegedly complained to Christakis, and she was responding, in part, to that. I really believe that it is her duty, as a professor, an authority figure, and a white person, to help dismantle systems of oppression, and validating those students' complaints does just the opposite.

Well, that depends on what the complaints are and whether she was actually validating complaints that were a cover, consciously or unconsciously, for racism. If the complaints were about, say, university administrators using their authority in what was perceived as inappropriate ways, is validating those complaints really opposed to dismantling systems of oppression?

I read her email as saying that this is an issue that's worth having dialogue about, and that there are a variety of perspectives that can make that dialogue more meaningful and productive. Like others, I might not agree with all that she said. Meaningful dialogue allows for an opportunity for others with different perspectives to challenge what she said.

I'll put it this way from a parent's perspective: I understand when the schools my kids attend have rules and expectations designed to minimize racism and its effects on campus, and I sympathize completely with that goal. But I am much happier when, instead of relying on directives and statements from administrators, those schools find ways for students to learn how to talk about these issues, listen to others, consider a variety of perspectives and approaches (and implications), and work things out together.