“shit just got serious”
– ACB, post 18
In case you’re not in the loop about the whole Beta-gate thing, check out here and here.
Since I last wrote on the issue, new developments have come about. Most notably, FIRE – the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education – has shot off a letter to President Roth, indicating their grave concern about…
…the threat to freedom of association posed by Wesleyan University’s new policy banning students from “participating in social activities” on any property “owned, leased or operated by private societies that are not recognized by the University.”
FIRE, founded by UPenn history professor Alan Charles Kors and attorney Harvey A. Silverglate, is a non-profit group that seeks to clamp down on university administrations that gravely limit the civil liberties of their students. From a brief flick through their Wikipedia entry (thank gawd for the wikis), they appear to be an outfit who knows what they’re doing. (For evidence, see here and here and here.)
You can check out their views on the case here.
Will their warning bring about a positive outcome? We’ll see. (I sure do hope so, though.)
In other news, it appears some folks are planning something Wesleyan-like to have their voices heard. (For more details, go here.) As one poster very correctly puts it,
This is not a Beta protest. This is a student rights protest. Let’s make that clear.
– ACB, post 1
Well, Wes. It’s your move.
PS: Thanks to the anonymous tipster on the FIRE development!
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This is fucking pathetic. The only time everyone’s up in arms is when suddenly a place on campus — where, mind you, somebody was allegedly sexually assaulted — is being targeted. This is stupid, why can’t Beta officially be recognized by the University like all the other frats on campus? I don’t understand where the problem lies, but it certainly isn’t about “students rights.” Who gives a shit where you want to drink. Whiny cunts.
Oh, and, citing the ACB certainly does not help your cause.
http://wesleying.org/2011/02/16/oh-snap-mapping-the-student-response-to-beta-gate/
“Whiny cunts.”
Classy.
First of all, the world “allegedly” is important there. I don’t really care one way or the other about Beta, but allegations are not proof.
Second, the issue really isn’t about Beta. They’re the trigger, but the reality is, this policy can be used to affect almost anything. And while we might all like to feel nice and secure in our “they wouldn’t go after me” attitude, now the can, and its wrong.
Ugh, way too slippery slope-y. I don’t care until it happens, and I really don’t think it will happen. The university has a very specific agenda with this that is specific to Beta. If the University says “no more gatherings anywhere ever !!!” is one thing. But I honestly don’t see that the University has overstepped its bounds in any way. A frat and the university which it is in, should have a good relationship. That should be the focus and all of this will go away. Whether it is problems with Beta or problems with the university, is another question entirely.
Shit we could be complaining about the off-campus policy too !!! WHY CAN’T WE LIVE WHEREVER WE WANT!! RAHHH RAHHH PROTESTTT PROTESSTTT
I just think there are larger battles out there to spend energy on. This is just so dumb in the grander scheme of things. It’s embarrassing to the world. I’m embarrassed to be going here right now.
You are (a)pathetic
That’s fine. I really look forward to what GRAND, NOBLE changes you will effect through this.
I’ll be in graduate school getting shit done. Pce.
Unless you’re going to law / med / business school you are wasting money with grad school. Have fun prolonging isolation from the real world.
Isolation? Perhaps, depends on what I achieve. Money? Certainly not. I’m getting paid to go to grad school.
This. This is the kind of mindset that exists when someone thinks not everybody deserves to believe in a cause, or that not every cause worth believing in.
This is the kind of angst indicative of an elitist belief that not everybody deserves to speak, or self-express, or think anything different than whatever that elitist agenda is.
This is the exactly kind of disgruntle that will emerge again and again in the so-called “real world” when you do actually stand up and fight for a cause whatever it is, because for every cause you believe in, there’s somebody who thinks you don’t have the right to say it, or fight for it, or to even think it.
I don’t know who you are, or what your causes are, or why you’re this bitter and provocative and eager to draw attention to your disapproval. But I respect your right to voice your apprehension. I hope you respect our right to voice ours.
I think it’s important for all of us who are devoting a lot of attention to Beta to also take the time to reflect on the numerous social justice issues that took place on campus last semester that are currently being ignored. Where are the continuing conversations about sexual assault on this campus? Or about the racist anti-affirmative action bake sale that revealed how racially/ethnically segregated Wesleyan’s campus is? Isn’t developing a campus climate that makes all Wesleyan students feel relatively safe and welcome more important than fighting for “principles, ideals, and hypocrisy?” (As frostedmoose said in their previous post)
I would agree, but the segregation is of the students’ own design, not the administration. Also, not much was revealed about the sexual assault case, nobody really has much information on it so it’s difficult for us to have a legitimate conversation about it…
So because there are problems amongst students means that we as a community shouldn’t address them?
And also, the bake sale and the sexual assault case are just tips of the iceberg — they are symptomatic of larger problems that we should be having conversations about, regardless of the specifics of these two instances of social injustice.
I’m just concerned that as a student body we seem more willing to fight for lofty ideals and principles while the harder issues — making students feel safe and welcome on this campus — are ignored.
Protip: Calling the affirmative action bake sale “racist” (when it wasn’t) shows your bias. Also, what the hell is “social injustice?” I keep hearing the phrase but no one seems to want to define it.
Your continual argumentative responses only shows that you’re not putting some serious thinking into what went down last semester. Instead of simply arguing, talk to some students of color who were offended by the bake sale. Or try talking to some female students who feel afraid to walk around the campus at night. And if you have already had conversations with those of us in our community who feel unsafe and/or unwelcome and you still want to just argue with me instead of get out there and do something to reverse these injustices, then we got problems.
PS. (1) Putting race at the focal point of the bake sale was racist — it made out affirmative action to be a solely race-based program (which is false). (2) And sure, “social injustice” is a bit vague and slogany, but the message that we don’t have a perfect, just community here at Wes should be clear.
Summary of your first paragraph: How dare you disagree with me? Go talk to people who agree with me and agree with me!
And by the way — the bake salers made it clear again and again that they didn’t think anything OTHER than race-based affirmative action was problematic because they saw race-based affirmative action as INHERENTLY RACIST. Quit missing the point.
Also, show me any college, or any community in the world, that has a “perfect, just community.” Even ignoring the issue of whether you can define perfection or justice, we live in the real world. It’s impossible to create perfect justice anywhere.
But fighting for both the softer things (ideals and principles) and the harder things (the real issues) are not incompatible, no?
I feel that if you do one, you do the other inherently.
Yeah, you’re right. Fighting for ideals and real issues aren’t incompatible, but if you fight for principles you aren’t inherently addressing the real issues. As a community we need to put serious mindful effort into both. If we’re fighting for both we should INTEND to fight for both.
baller- put the admin in its place!