Racism, racism, racism!
Is this the cry of well educated SF State students when they can't accept the fact that a student of color, on parole, gets sent to prison for a violation of parole? Is this what our student leaders yell to get the attention of a disinterested student body?
You can cry wolf only once, and the cry of Archie has now rung hollow.
"A political prisoner," proclaims a spokesperson from the Student Kouncil of Inter-Tribal Nations, as the "Tribe" attempts to explain the recent jailing of Jason Archie, a black student and member of the AS, for assaulting a university instructor.
"The University Police need to be educated to the University's policies in regards to student grievances," exposes AS President Cristina Lopez.
The last time I checked, assaulting an instructor is beyond the realm of student grievance. I applaud the UPD for taking quick and proper action.
I blame the student leadership for not having the guts to admit that one of their own might be a violent ex-felon with a quick temper and a tendency to lose control -- regardless of race. I blame the student body, myself included, for not being involved or informed enough in student politics to have outvoted a man, once convicted of manslaughter for stabbing a person, from representing us.
In a university, students should be mature enough to take personal responsibility for their own actions. As a student of color myself, I am angered and offended by the arbitrary cry of racism from a few minority students claiming to represent all of us, without proof of such. Racism is a strong word with great ramifications for everyone in society, especially minorities, and should only be used when factual evidence exists.
In all of the articles and commentaries about Archie that I have read, not one of them contains any facts that even hint at racist actions by the university. The mere fact that Archie is black does not immunize him from university actions, nor does it excuse him from his own parole guidelines.
Several comments by Archie's supporters analogize him to Martin Luther King Jr. and other great black leaders. Yet, according to Dr. King, "People should be judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin."
Let us look at Archie's actions for what they are and not excuse him from his actions because of his skin color. To cry wolf when danger doesn't exist is easy; to yell racism when it hasn't taken place is cowardly.