A blog about an email about a comment

Discrimination at the University of Alabama? No never. I hope this will stir up some discussion and interest about what has happened on our campus and the way it was handled. In the event that you aren't aware. Here's a bit of context for you.

Check it here

Here is the editorial I wrote for the newspaper regarding the email response President Witt sent out about the "racial slur" that occurred Friday night. Enjoy.


"Witt Squanders Opportunity to Promote Pluralism":

On Saturday afternoon, as most students are now aware, Dr. Witt emailed the student body in an attempt to address “a racial slur” that was “offensive to our community, and especially upsetting to African Americans”.

President Witt goes on to issue a 63 word response that could only be summed up as short sighted and reactionary. At surface level this response looks “very, very nice” and “Noble”, but for students who actually look deeper into what is being said, it is actually quite offensive and exclusionary.

To explain this further I’ll use the ever so famous “Tip of my hat, Wag of my finger approach” made famous by the always brilliant Stephen Colbert.

A tip of my hat to you, President Witt, for attempting to act nobly by whisking in to take up the cause of a student facing discrimination. You even went as far as underlining the words “In strongest Possible terms” to show that you meant it in the strongest possible terms. And I agree, racism, discrimination and hate speech in any form should not be tolerated at this University or in any setting.

But a wag of my finger to President Witt and his press secretary who allowed him to send such an email without thinking of the larger issue to which this incident speaks. As I said before, any speech or action of this sort is deplorable and should not be tolerated. But by singling out one instance and addressing it alone, Dr. Witt further disenfranchised so many students who feel discrimination every day on this campus. Discrimination occurs every moment against {racially, socially, religious, gender, sexual preference}, etc. diverse groups and yet this is the only isolated instance that gets addressed.


Unlike most Barn Burning editorials, I would actually like to offer a solution for President Whitt and his public relations staff. Instead of isolating one fragment of the student body, address the larger issue as a whole. Address the fact that as colleagues at the University of Alabama we should be promoting a spirit of pluralism. The key to stopping discrimination is by embracing the characteristics that make us different, not running from them.

I’ll leave you with this request: THINK! As simplistic and cliché as it sounds, if students as well as faculty and administrators would stop and think about the issues they are presented with instead of acting out of impulse, we would receive a lot less half-“Witt”ed apologies.