GA State College White Student Union

[StealthMode]

Ha! We (my young adult ministry) just discussed this last week though we were talking about incidents from high school BSUs. How ironic that this pops up this week.

Is it fair that it's not PC to have a White Student Union? No. We will leave it there and not discuss the historical context that makes people leery of lots of Caucasians getting together to celebrate their White pride. Was that what you were looking for?

[DrPhil]

I agree with amIblue? about badgeguy.

Originally Posted by StealthMode

Is it fair that it's not PC to have a White Student Union?

It isn't about fair and PC. It is about the fact that the majority doesn't need reminders that they are the majority. White people are everywhere. White people do not forget their presence and neither do nonwhites. That doesn't mean that white people do not fall on hard times but these hard times are rarely a direct or indirect result of "whiteness."

That is also why there is no Heterosexual Student Union. Most organizations are either directly or indirectly based on heterosexuality. Do heterosexuals need another reminder that they are the power majority around the world? Do heterosexuals need another reminder that their sexuality and interactions are not monitored and controlled as the LGBT community? Nope. And we can apply that same logic to any other power dominant group.

[StealthMode]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

It is about the fact that the majority doesn't need reminders that they are the majority.

I was referring to the fairness of the situation if White students were the minority, as the young man quoted in the article said:

"If we are already minorities on campus and are soon to be minorities in this country why wouldn't we have the right to advocate for ourselves and have a club just like every other minority?" Sharp, 18, said."

He seems to be have figured out that he can pull the minority card by adding all the other ethnicity percentages together to intentionally outnumber his own group but I was trying to pretend I didn't notice.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by StealthMode

I was referring to the fairness of the situation if White students were the minority, as the young man quoted in the article said:

He seems to be have figured out that he can pull the minority card by adding all the other ethnicity percentages together to intentionally outnumber his own group but I was trying to pretend I didn't notice.

Soror, thanks for clarifying.

You already know that white people who are the minority on campus can just leave campus from time to time to be reminded that they are relatively empowered whites. There is no shortage of reminders once they leave campus. On some campuses in which whites are the population minority, whites remain the power majority. You don't have to be the population majority to be the power majority---South Africa, anyone? That doesn't mean that things will always be in white people's favor and that whites will never struggle. It just means there are more buffers to being told "no" or falling on hard times.

I have seen HBCUs bend over backwards to have an abundance of white faculty and white students. These schools can make more money and increase their ranking if they are "historically" Black but not predominantly Black in terms of its most successful and money making programs, including graduate programs. PWIs that focus on diversity are typically not doing so to increase the school's competitiveness, academic ranking, and finances. The only exception is when attracting certain East Indian and certain Asian populations.

And I wish people (not you) would stop saying whites will ever be a minority (power-wise or population-wise) in this country. That is not true but it works for good dramatics and to scare whites against "brown immigration" and into "white pronatalism". Hispanic is an ethnic category that includes white Hispanics. Whites can find solace in the fact that there is no shortage of non-English and English speaking whites from around the world. As for Spanish speakers, there are plenty of whites from South America, the Caribbean, and Spain to buffer those "scary non-English speakers that are sending the U.S.A to hell." An example is one of my Cuban friends hates it when I say "Afro-Cubana/o" because it is technically redundant. I say "Afro-Cubana/o" because there are plenty of people from these countries who consider themselves white (even if they call it something other than "white").

[AnchorAlum]

Originally Posted by StealthMode

Ha! We (my young adult ministry) just discussed this last week though we were talking about incidents from high school BSUs. How ironic that this pops up this week.

Is it fair that it's not PC to have a White Student Union? No. We will leave it there and not discuss the historical context that makes people leery of lots of Caucasians getting together to celebrate their White pride. Was that what you were looking for?

White pride? I have pride that I'm a human being who doesn't believe in skin color making one iota of difference about who you are, what opportunities you should have, or how I judge you, period.

I hear the whole Black History Month, why don't WE have a White History Month, etc. etc.

When I was growing up, do you think there was a single blessed mention of anyone's color in our history books?

Example, I didn't know Crispus Attucks was a black free man until college. I had mixed feelings about it. One of the most prominent feelings was a conflict between well, he was a hero, and color shouldn't matter one way or the other, but then I was becoming aware of the fact that we were held back from learning that black people had serious roles in this country that we weren't supposed to know about?

So, I can understand why we have a Black History Month.

As to BSU's, the one at Florida State started when I was an undergrad. Black students had just begun attending FSU in increasing numbers and we had a unique situation because FAMU was just several blocks away. I know that some of the black students at FSU had torn feelings of not being sure how they'd assimilate - versus the far easier road for them at FAMU. When you're just sticking your toe in the water, it helps if someone just like you is standing with you, doing the same thing.

Today, FSU grants more degrees to black students than any other Florida university. So, I think it's worked out very well.