Things Are Ghetto Fabulous At U Of Texas Law School

[MrsSpringsteen]

They didn't think it would offend their minority classmates Maybe when you're the majority somewhere by that large of a margin, you become even more insensitive to how your actions could possibly offend. You'd think when a MLK statue was egged a couple of years ago, that students might be more aware. I guess not.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A group of first-year law students at the University of Texas at Austin has been chided by the dean for participating in a "Ghetto Fabulous"-themed costume party and posting pictures from it online.

The party is the latest racially insensitive incident to emerge from the university, which has struggled for years to boost minority enrollment and make students of color feel welcome.

"Among the many ways to happily party in Austin, this particular one was singularly heedless and odious," Dean Larry Sager said in an e-mail Friday to the law school's student body.

Nick Transier, a first-year student who attended the party in September and posted pictures on his Web site, said nobody meant to offend anyone of any race.

"We had no intention by any measure to choose a group or class of people and make fun of them," said Transier, 26, of Houston.

But the photos — in which partygoers carried 40-ounce bottles of malt liquor and wore Afro wigs, necklaces with large medallions and name tags bearing traditionally black and Hispanic names — upset some black law students, said Sophia Lecky, president of the Thurgood Marshall Legal Society.

"I just thought overall that it was kind of insensitive, that it was mocking a group of people or a class of people in just a real stereotypical or negative way," said Lecky, whose group aims to improve the academic and social climate for black UT law students.

Sager met with about 18 students who were at the party and said he is convinced they didn't think their actions would offend classmates. No disciplinary action was planned.

Transier said he and other partygoers have apologized to members of the Thurgood Marshall Legal Society.

About 70 of UT's roughly 1,300 law students are black, according to preliminary enrollment figures. There are about 800 white students, 225 Hispanic students, 75 Asian students, 55 foreign students and 75 whose ethnicities were unknown.

Former UT President Larry Faulkner ordered sweeping changes in curriculum and culture in 2004 after a series of incidents that included the egging of the Martin Luther King Jr. statue and fraternity parties where blacks were portrayed in Jim Crow racial stereotypes.

 

[BrownEyedBoy]

Whatever. People need to stop being so insecure.

I´ve heard of "cowboy" parties with people wearing shirts and hats and handkerchiefs and no one is "offended".

 

[mattgerth]

Sounds like a scene out of an MTV rap video.......surely nobody is offended by that!

 

[BVS]

Whatever. People need to stop being so insecure.

I´ve heard of "cowboy" parties with people wearing shirts and hats and handkerchiefs and no one is "offended".

Was anyone making a stereotype of a race at this "cowboy" party? You really need to work on your analogies...

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

When was the last time cowboys were discriminated against, was there any famous cowboy who led the fight for cowboy rights whose statue was egged?

Where there ever cowboy only drinking fountains and lunch counters? Were they forced to sit in the back of the bus? Lynched because they were cowboys? When all that happens, I'll see the comparison.

Women used to be treated like that in law schools too, and it took forever for women to even be admitted to law schools. I suppose there would be no problem with a costume party that mocked women either. Aren't lawyers/lawyers in training supposed to hold and uphold higher ideals than that? Haha, I guess. At least in this case.

People are trying to succeed in schools without being mocked and treated as if they're inferior-that's hardly comparable to a rap video or a cowboy costume.

 

[randhail]

This is hardly a unique event. The college I attended had these same style Ghetto parties along with Pimps and Ho's, and white trash - redneck parties. No one got offended by those parties. In addition, no one was forcing people to go to this party, but then again someones always out to ruin the fun these days.

 

[BVS]

This is hardly a unique event. The college I attended had these same style Ghetto parties along with Pimps and Ho's, and white trash - redneck parties.

And I bet I could guess the majority population on this campus...

In addition, no one was forcing people to go to this party, but then again someones always out to ruin the fun these days.

No one's forced to go to klan meetings as well, doesn't make it less offensive...

 

[randhail]

And I bet I could guess the majority population on this campus...


No one's forced to go to klan meetings as well, doesn't make it less offensive...

Unless you went to Howard, you know what the majority population is at nearly any college in this country. If this were a corporate party, I could understand people being offended, but it's a college party - hardly the places to go looking for maturity and political correctness.

 

[BVS]

Unless you went to Howard, you know what the majority population is at nearly any college in this country. If this were a corporate party, I could understand people being offended, but it's a college party - hardly the places to go looking for maturity and political correctness.

I understand I went to college as well, but these are law students not undergrads, their should be a higher standard.

 

[verte76]

This isn't too cool. I don't care if it's a college party, this isn't the most sensitive thing they could have done.

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

So white people can't be ghetto?

I can't believe how much coverage stories like this get.

 

[yolland]

Some interesting exchanges posted to a U of T law student's blog concerning the party and the reactions to it.

 

[beau2ifulday]

...which has struggled for years to boost minority enrollment and make students of color feel welcome.

Well, it always helps if the author of the article is politically correct if they are going to write about lack of political correctness (or just insensitivity, I guess) elsewhere.

 

[anitram]

Law schools are possibly the most white professional program around. Way moreso than med schools, MBAs, etc.

In my class of 164 people, there is one black guy, a handful of east and south asians (no more than say 15 in total).

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

All the more reason to be sensitive to race issues in a law school, in my opinion. It's law school, not frat kegger let's be immature time.

And certainly in a school where the statue of MLK was egged and where they portrayed African Americans in Jim Crow stereotypes-is that acceptable and just "fun" too? Would having whites walk around in blackface at a party at that school (or any school) be ok and just "fun"? I would assume that the less than stellar history of this school is the main factor for this party being an issue.

 

[maycocksean]

So white people can't be ghetto?

Fraid not. To be frank a lot of current hip hop "ghetto fabulous" culture is harmful to black culture and is not helping real people who actually live in real ghettos. It certainly doesn't help when white kids enamored with black pop culture decide to try to hop on the "cool kids" bandwagon and co-opt the culture for their own entertainment. If a lot of young African Americans are ignorant about the destructive nature of this stuff, white Americans are doubly so.

As far as freedom of speech, people can have whatever kind of party they want. But they can't hide behind free speech and claim exemption from being accused of being racially insensitive.

 

[redhotswami]

Not to say that I am not interested at the big picture, here, but I'm also interested at a hidden issue in all this...the people involved with the party were discovered over the internet.

As a student affairs professional, we struggle with the rules of classifying the internet as evidence. For example, we can't exactly bust minors for posting pictures of them drinking alcohol.

I'm wondering if the results of this issue will further change using the internet as evidence in university judicial affairs.

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

Fraid not.

I respectfully disagree. Ghetto is not exclusively black. But that's beside the point.

The blog yolland linked states that the party was off campus and some of the people that attended do not attend UT. I wasn't aware that universities had the ability or right to monitor off campus parties.

 

[maycocksean]

I respectfully disagree. Ghetto is not exclusively black. But that's beside the point.

Poverty is not exclusively black. Poor neighborhoods are not exclusively black. A literal definition of the word ghetto cannot be limited to blacks. But ghetto used in the context of this thread and in the context of the party that was held is specifically black. That's the issue and is very much the point. White kids don't get to be "black ghetto" because they're not black. They don't get to put on black face and they don't get to make fun of the "ghetto fabulous" lifestyle because it's not theirs to mock. (I mean obviously, they CAN from a free speech perspective, but they can't expect to exempt from accusations of racism).

 

[Liesje]

I'm wondering if the results of this issue will further change using the internet as evidence in university judicial affairs.

It's interesting to me as well. While I was in college there were many, many instances of kids getting busted because of things posted on the Internet, namely Facebook. Student Life and Res Life went after people for partying, underage drinking, and even stuff like having too many people in one house (city zoning laws say no more than 4 unrelated persons in one residence). The office always maintained they were not using Facebook, etc to bust people, but other students would complain so they felt compelled to look into it and then act. Many students were reprimanded because of Facebook groups they belonged to. For example, our nearest rival is Hope College so there was a group called Huck Fope for all the sports fans. I don't know about other schools, but mine used the Internet a LOT to bust people and if what they were doing wasn't quite illegal, they'd still get reprimanded or punished because it went against school policy.

 

[dazzlingamy]

Hmmmm, policing through the internet is a tricky one, on one hand if there are photos showing illegal things like under age drinking, do the police have to do something about it? Like in their duty of care? And use the photos as evidence?


On the other hand, i think people are getting overly upset over something that was a bit of fun. Yeah its a sterotype but its out there, the rap/hip hop scene flaunt it and i really think if its done with a bit of humour and no actual malice involved then people need to stop gettignr iled up at such insignificant things.

People need to learn to get the piss taken out of them. At our uni we had a 'haters' party where people dressed up as the KKK and the Camer Rouge and Nazi's and Al Queda Bosnian war lords and a few Saddam Hussains. IT was really funny seeing nazis and KKK talking to each other at the bar and then at the end of it we ended in a water and flour fight (the flour was mixed with red dye) so it looked like a blood bath and we all 'died'. It was hilarious!

But im guessing if this was held in the states we'd all be in gaol by now :/

 

[redhotswami]

It's interesting to me as well. While I was in college there were many, many instances of kids getting busted because of things posted on the Internet, namely Facebook. Student Life and Res Life went after people for partying, underage drinking, and even stuff like having too many people in one house (city zoning laws say no more than 4 unrelated persons in one residence). The office always maintained they were not using Facebook, etc to bust people, but other students would complain so they felt compelled to look into it and then act.

Yes exactly! It is such a dilemna on this campus. Many students were not hired for positions on campus because the departments looked at their facebook profiles and saw something they didn't like.

The rules are so tricky, and it varies from campus to campus. I wonder if there are private institutions that can get away with using internet as evidence.

 

[BVS]

Poverty is not exclusively black. Poor neighborhoods are not exclusively black. A literal definition of the word ghetto cannot be limited to blacks. But ghetto used in the context of this thread and in the context of the party that was held is specifically black. That's the issue and is very much the point. White kids don't get to be "black ghetto" because they're not black. They don't get to put on black face and they don't get to make fun of the "ghetto fabulous" lifestyle because it's not theirs to mock. (I mean obviously, they CAN from a free speech perspective, but they can't expect to exempt from accusations of racism).

Great post.

 

[Liesje]

The rules are so tricky, and it varies from campus to campus. I wonder if there are private institutions that can get away with using internet as evidence.

Well, I can say for sure that ours definitely did! I'm not sure they would use it as evidence for the police, but they used it as evidence of events against school policy and they can force you into school counselling programs (the most "popular" one being their version of AA).

 

[CTU2fan]

Wow, 10 years down the road one of these knuckleheads might be your lawyer...25 years down the road he might be your judge. Scary.

I'd like to drop these clowns into a real ghetto and see how they make out. In their full "ghetto fabulous" regalia, mind you.

Since it was an off-campus party I don't think you can point any fingers at UT Law, at all. It doesn't really say anything about the school, per se, only about the insensitivity/bigotry of some of the students.

It's sad to see how many people don't see an issue here. I don't think it's any sort of legal issue, but it's alarming to see racism being openly expressed. Certainly no one is so naive to believe that people aren't still quietly racist, but to see this sort of thing out in the open just shows how far we still have to go.

I guess my biggest problem is still that these bigots are Texas' future lawyers & judges

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

(AP)Johns Hopkins University has suspended the Sigma Chi fraternity because of a "Halloween in the Hood" party that drew protests by black students.

The invitation to the party, posted on the Web site Facebook, encouraged guests to wear "regional clothing from our locale" with jewelry including "bling bling ice ice, grills" and "hoochie hoops."

The party, held Saturday night at the fraternity house, featured a skeleton pirate hanging on a noose.

Black Student Union members protested the party on Monday, saying the appearance of the image and the language on the invitation highlighted racial tensions at Hopkins and the strained relations between the university and the surrounding community.

Protesters held signs showing a historical lynching next to a picture of the fraternity's skeleton.

"We need to educate the student body because apparently some people weren't given much of a proper lesson in the history of our country," said Yasmene Mumby, 20, a junior and BSU member.

University officials suspended all the fraternity's activities pending a full investigation. President William Brody said in a statement that he was "personally offended" and called the matter "deeply disturbing."

Sigma Chi's international headquarters on Monday also ordered the chapter's operations suspended for 45 days and said a full investigation was under way. It said further disciplinary action was possible.

"We are naturally very concerned about these allegations, and are committed to holding every one of our members accountable to our fraternity's values of friendship, justice and learning," Mark Anderson, executive secretary of Sigma Chi, said on the fraternity's Web site.

More than 100 students attended a campus forum Monday night before a panel of top administrators. Three men who identified themselves as Sigma Chi members stood up during the meeting and apologized for the actions of the author of the invitation, calling it shameful.

Marvin "Doc" Cheatham, president of the Baltimore branch of the NAACP, said he intends to explore legal action against both the fraternity and the university.