University forum at Sid fosters dialogue in wake of vandalism, 40s Party

By Sarah Rutledge | Thresher Editorial Staff

In the weeks following the racist vandalism incident at Sid Richardson College, it has become increasingly apparent that everyone has an opinion to voice. Members from Rice and from the Houston community met in the Sid commons last Thursday for a diversity forum to address the issues of racism and diversity, as well as others relating to diversity training. Led by Director of Multicultural Affairs Cathi Clack, the forum featured students, faculty and alumni speaking on the vandalism, 40s Party — which had the stereotype that poor people drink 40-ounce bottles of malt liquor — and what it means to be a minority at Rice.

After Sid Master Michael Orchard started the discussion with a general introduction, Sid senior Kelli Newman said she felt students forget about diversity after Orientation week, when new students attend a diversity training panel provided by students and faculty.

“I think it’s something that we do during O-Week and then we kind of go on about our life,” Newman said. “And I think unless you’re a minority, it doesn’t necessarily come to your mind [everyday].”

“Dealing with issues of dive Monique Forward (Will Rice ‘95), president of the Association of Rice University Black Alumni, said a general lack of knowledge about what is offensive pervades student campus life and that this ignorance is not unique to Sid. Instead, she said it is a result of different individuals’ backgrounds.

“I don’t think [Sid is] different from any other college in the Rice community,” Forward said. “Even when I was at Rice, that just tended to be what the Rice community settled with — just not thinking about it.”

Forward said African-Americans feel increasingly isolated living on campus and move off in large numbers by sophomore or junior year. She said being aware of these patterns and involving everyone in the college community would help ensure that no group feels disconnected.

Sid senior Lindsay Balthrop thought that Sid students felt discriminated against themselves in the days following the vandalism.

“Some of the ways it was presented across campus, it was like it was an attack, then, on all of Sid and that all of Sid was responsible for it,” Balthrop said. “We feel like we weren’t happy with what happened either, yet a lot of people felt like it was our one college that committed this act together, and I know a lot of us felt like we were victims, too, because of that.”

Orchard said the forum, especially in regards to fostering better race relations at Rice, may have yielded more questions than answers. He said knowing that something is wrong is an important first step.

“It is often the case that at [diversity forums] people want to hear answers, but oftentimes the best thing is just to care,” Orchard said.

“Dealing with issues of diversity on all sorts of levels is something that has to be an ongoing interest,” Clack said. “This is going to be something that you’re going to deal with for the rest of your life, and it’s going to be a growing process.”

Martel College senior Alley Lyles said having a productive conversation about diversity is difficult, especially with different races.

“I feel as though, for instance, if I’m going to talk to a white person and say, ‘Hey, how do you feel about racial profiling?’ the conversation automatically stalls because that person feels as though I’m white-bashing them,” Lyles said. “That’s really not what I’m trying to do. [White people] feel as though you’re made out to be the bad person, and because of that, you can’t participate in the conversation.”

Clack said having an open mind while dealing with different cultures and races can be difficult, and no one should expect to leave the forum with an easy fix or a clear solution. She said she struggles daily with diversity issues and entrenched beliefs.

Clack said the conversation about the 40s Party could stall because of a misnomer. She said the vandalism incident was racist, but the 40s Party is not racist. She said the party resulted from a lack of awareness of the social connotations of poor blacks drinking from 40-oz. malt liquor bottles.

“A 40s party in and of itself is not a racist thing,” Clack said. “But if you have it in conjunction with the [Martin Luther King, Jr.] holiday, can we see how that might be considered insensitive? Whether we want to admit it or not, 40s has a cultural connotation. I defy you to go to the country club and tell me you’re offered a 40 when you ask for a beer.”

Clack said the group who held the party is not being sanctioned for the 40s theme, though it was insensitive. The group instead is in trouble because they held a public party in a public space — in the Sid basement — and called it a private party, she said.

Although the students at the forum did not know how long the 40s Party tradition has been at Rice, it usually falls on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day weekend.

Very few of the individuals involved in planning the party attended the forum. Clack said she wanted insight in their motivation for holding the party on that weekend.

One student said instead of focusing on a particular incident, the forum should focus on diversity. She said if there had been complaints about the 40s Party in previous years, she never heard them.

Balthrop, who herself was not involved in the planning of the 40s Party, said she doubts the party will continue next year due to the outcry this year.

“I think that, after this, I don’t know if we would ever have a 40s party again,” she said. “It’s not worth … alienating some of the members of our community for that. I can’t fathom any situation in which 40s Party in any form or fashion will be welcomed or attended or pursued in the manner that it was this year.”

Jan West (Brown ‘73) said she entered Rice in 1969 and would not have been surprised to see a racist slur written on the wall then. But hearing about the recent racist vandalism at Sid still shocked her, she said.

“I’m African-American, and I felt embarrassed and ashamed,” West said. “It feels really bad to enter into a room [of people at a party], and they want to know, ‘Hey, what’s up with Rice University?’ and I don’t know what to say. We all get the blame, we all have to deal with the consequences when one or two people do something that is not about diversity but is … completely unacceptable.”

However, the issue still remains unclear for some students. Sid sophomore Sergio Jaramillo said he did not know where to draw the line between insensitivity and racism.

“When you sit down at a table at Thanksgiving, how do you think a Native American feels?” Jaramillo said. “We’re all guilty of being insensitive, in a way. Even something small, like if you’re having a huge steak, and sitting by a vegetarian, that’s insensitive to somebody.”

Newman said these situations are not analogous to the amount of insensitivity from the 40s Party.

“When you eat meat next to a vegetarian or when you have Thanksgiving, you’re not making fun of any group of Americans and you’re not making fun of vegetarians,” she said. “But when you have the 40s Party, you’re making fun of the stereotype. You’re making fun of an image that is negative to the black community.”

Clack said if students felt marginalized or offended by the 40s Party, that should be sufficient reason to discontinue the party.

Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman said he feels that black students at Rice have a different experience than do other groups.

“The reality is, Rice has something of a shameful history when it comes to the African-American community,” Forman said. “It’s a belief of the university, a core of the university, that we are a multicultural community in which a wide range of ideas and perspectives are welcome. It’s a core part of what we do, and we believe there’s a value in it. And that value comes at a price. You have to fight to … keep this a campus which is welcoming to everybody, and welcoming someone isn’t a passive process.”

Lovett College sophomore Allie McGrath, a diversity facilitator for O-Week, said the forum highlighted racial tensions at Rice. McGrath said Rice should look to set up more forums in the future, even if there was no clear resolution at this forum.

Lovett senior Jeeyun Lim, who served as an O-Week diversity facilitator for two years, said she agrees that the current O-Week diversity training is not ideal. She said she finds it difficult to present diversity in a way that will speak to students.

“During O-Week, people are so excited about having fun, and the truth is, this kind of conversation has you leaving, feeling a little uncomfortable,” Lim said. “So you don’t necessarily want to focus on that during O-Week, but how else are you going to do it?”

Lim said students complained during the forum about diversity training focusing solely on groups’ differences instead of their similarities. She said these complaints were ill-founded because the training would accomplish nothing if groups spoke only of their similarities.

McGrath said the most important issue for students at the forum was to accept that everyone has a different point of view due to cultural backgrounds.

“I feel like people are having trouble understanding that,” she said. “They try to be like, ‘We’re sorry, and we feel it too,’ but we can’t feel it. You have to realize that I cannot understand where you come from.”

Clack ended the forum by urging students to communicate openly with each other so as to prevent potentially hurtful misunderstandings.

“I hope that [people] don’t think about the incident in the office here as a ‘black’ incident,” Clack said. “It may have targeted a specific group in that writing, but … remember, this is something that happened to your community. Let’s see if we can find a way to come together.”

February 8, 2008

The Student Newspaper of Rice University

University forum at Sid fosters dialogue in wake of vandalism, 40s Party

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