Racism on College Campuses free essay sample

The main aim of this research paper is to directly observe and examine the way American College students perceive the notion of race on college campuses and how they believe it can be used to a persons advantage or disadvantage. I used two different kinds of research in this paper; interviews among 4 students from 4 different universities across the United States to provide a deep and personal understanding of the topic and by surveying in an open-ended questionnaire 10 American students from Auburn University in Alabama to provide a more general and statistical analysis. These two methods supported my thesis with strong evidence and background information. I found that all the interviewees unanimously believed in the figurative use of â€Å"the ‘race card’† and that people who are aware of it are able to consciously manipulate situations and/or people in a manor that is best suited for them. Background Information: The term ‘race card refers to somebody who exploits a racial prejudice against another person for some type of advantage, and it appears in social commentary as a taken-for-granted term. We will write a custom essay sample on Racism on College Campuses or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Its use as an unquestioned general descriptor overlooks how these moments of scandalous social interactions work to replay and reinforce longstanding ideas of national belonging and so-called racial truths. Despite the tremendous strides resulting from civil rights legislation, racism remains one of the most pressing social problems in the US (Jackson ; Solis, 1995). No setting is immune and college campuses have found themselves embroiled in the discussion. Racial issues are significant in all aspects of campus life including admissions, athletics, and social interaction. General experiments and analysis of ‘the ‘race card’’ are relatively low key to non – existent. In the 21st century, society has moved from being blatantly racist to being afraid to make any sort of â€Å"politically incorrect† comment. Focusing on the concept of modern racism or new racism, Kent (1996) asserted that colleges and universities can no longer pretend to offer a refuge from the swirling antagonisms of a highly racialized society (p. 45). This new or subtle racism is expressed covertly by non-minority students through behaviors of avoidance (p. 24). It is because of this active avoidance and a person’s anxiety of being labeled a racist or politically incorrect that there is such a void in this kind of research. Political correctness is a term most people know about and which impacts our social and political actions. The term denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize being offensive. In a society obsessed with being politically correct and non confrontational, the fear of making and confronting enemies can paralyze some and cause many to suppress their true feelings.It is important to conduct this research now because in the US, the first black president has just been elected in 2008, and the adverse reactions are still rippling through society. People are becoming more aware of ‘the ‘race card’ and it’s uses and implications. Focusing on this concept in the first three years of Obama’s presidential term really allows a directed study on an issue that is currently very prevalent in America. [pic] Figure 1 In Figure 1, we see a picture of Obama holding a fabricated ‘race card’. Essentially, this image suggests that regardless of Obama’s intelligence and competences, his sole basis for success (or failure) is based on race. The connotations of this image are a con that is taking his mug shot, where his identity card is instead the ‘race card’. A con is habitually associated with crime, violence, and brute force. By putting Obama in this setting, it suggests that by frequently talking about race as the contributing factor to his success or failure, he is ‘taking the easy way out’.Like the ex-con who turned down a job but robbed a bank, Obama is refusing to live up to his potential by ‘taking the easy way out’. (i. e: Cashing in the ‘race card’). The ‘race card’ in the image also resembles a Mastercard, which is associated with wealth and reckless use. This image therefore suggests that Obama is reckless in the way he ‘uses’ race. He ‘cashes it in’ when he feels like he can use his race to his advantage. The irony of this is that both the connotations of a con and a Mastercard are associated with a powerful and strong type of person.Although Obama may ‘play the race card’ or use it recklessly, he is never the less dominant and powerful. Overall, this image holds a negative perception or viewpoint of Obama, and therefore by extension any racial person, especially one whom ‘uses the race card’. Similarly, my research has led me to a website called Controversial Cards (www. controversialcards. com), where people can buy a ‘race card’ for personal use. I became accustomed to this website when an interviewee explained that while at a party, somebody pulled out this card as a ‘joke’ or ‘party favor’.The image is shown in Figure 2. The website claims â€Å"The ‘race card’ was created to open eyes, spark conversation and break down race barriers in America. It pokes fun of those who try to use the card for unfair advantage. It also helps to expose the shameless race-baiters and professional victims who see racial problems under every rock. † This highlights the ‘unfair advantage’ that being racially or ethnically diverse can ‘allow’ somebody an advantage, which is parallel to the thoughts and feelings of many people that I have interviewed on this topic.Like the card in Figure 1, this image also resembles a credit card, which can be ‘cashed in’ when desired. [pic] Figure 2 The rest of this research paper is determined to examine in closer detail how the ‘race card’ is ‘used’, who has the right to ‘use’ it, and what the advantages and disadvantages of this new phenomenon are; particularly in a college environment. It will follow previous studies of racism on college campus, but this essay will focus on the new issue of the ‘race card’. Research Question:What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of the ‘race card’, who ‘uses’ it, and in what circumstances? This paper will focus more precisely in the College Campus setting, how race is ‘used’ across universities nationwide, and also how Obama influences this phenomenon. Method and Rationale: As I began this research essay, I soon realized it was to be no easy feat. I originally began researching only Obama, race relations, and the ‘race card’, but it was difficult to find any existing relatable information. This would not have been a problem, had I been able to conduct comprehensive research on The President. However, as an undergraduate student in Paris, the extent of my research could not go nearly as deep or as thoroughly in the course of one semester to properly answer my questions. I therefore changed my research to how the ‘race card’ is used on the college campus. I found this much better to investigate, as I am currently a college student and was able to interview and question many American students. I chose to interview 4 students from 4 different universities in the US.As classification of race, gender, and politics play an important role in this topic, I interviewed two white males, one republican and one democrat, one black male, liberal, and one black female, liberal. I chose three males because I found that males tended to be more assertive in their political opinions. They had a firm belief and credence in their political stability and were generally less afraid to state how they felt. Their political affiliation is important, because although they have different stances, both political parties firmly believed in the ‘race card’.While interviewing these four students, however, I began to sense that I was not getting all the information, thoughts, and opinions that these students had. Even though the males were dominant in their beliefs, I still had a sense that all four interviewees were apprehensive to truly provide specific examples of racism on campus and how the ‘race card’ was ‘used’. They were apprehensive of being politically incorrect, and worried about how to correctly phrase their thoughts in a more positive way. I saw a fundamental inability to express oneself for fear of being labeled a racist. Those who speak publicly, normally these are people of a conservative or traditional viewpoint are to o often shouted down, mocked and derided simply for expressing a viewpoint that does not align with the prevailing PC orthodoxy, Senator Bernardi wrote. This has the effect of silencing people because they are afraid of being intimidated and ridiculed. In effect, they are reduced to whispering their views to others. But in doing so, we should also be mindful that what we say, where these views may not be based on fact, can cause hurt or marginalize people.As I began to realize this rational fear of being ridiculed that Senator Bernardi suggests, [I call it rational because every view point has an opposing force, and speaking up can feel like you are just waiting to be shot down again], I decided to produce a unanimous survey in the format of an open – ended questionnaire that was available to ten students at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. This allowed participants to better express how they really felt with out afflicting their identity.I chose Auburn University because it is in the â€Å"Bible Belt†, an informal term for an area of the Southern United States in which socially conservative evangelical Protestant ism is a significant part of the culture. From personal experience, I found that many students at Auburn University have a very strong political viewpoint that I believed would add traction and controversy to my thesis. I found that everybody that I interviewed or surveyed believed in the ‘race card’, and many were able to provide specific examples, advantages and/or disadvantages. One of the biggest disadvantages of my research paper was my geographical location.I found it very difficult to conduct thorough interviews of American students via skype. Had I been able to conduct face – to – face interviews, I could have established a trusting relationship that perhaps would have allowed the interviewees to provide me with more information regarding this hypersensitive topic. I also found it difficult to interview students or even phrase my survey appropriately with out influencing them. However, because of the unanimity of the results, it was clear to me that each interviewee and surveyed student believed in racism on college campuses and the use of the ‘race card’.As this is the first research of this kind, I believe it is a good start or stepping stone to now research more extensively at the PhD. level over a longer period of time. Analysis: After my research in the field, I found several dominant themes. This included the specific examples, advantages and/or disadvantages of the ‘race card’ and racial issues that occurred on college campuses through â€Å"social media websites, sports, and other aspects of campus life†. Allow me to further explain. Firstly, all fourteen subjects have an active and comprehensive understanding of the term ‘the ‘race card’’.One female student described this phenomenon as, â€Å" an excuse people of different races will use to justify their reaction, actions, thoughts etc because they are that certain race. Its nature to want to have certain rights over other groups, based on their ‘color’. Another student claimed that, â€Å"To pull the ‘race card’ is to use your race to better your position in some way. Most often in my opinion it’s used in a pejorative way meaning that you are incorrectly claiming rights just because of the color of your skin. † Simply put, the ‘race card’ is â€Å"feeling entitled to something because of your skin color†.As one interviewee claimed, â€Å"Racism on college campuses these days often spreads through email or via popular social networking sites, such as Facebook†. This new medium for racist expression is forcing universities to reconsider what it means to provide a safe space on campus for all students. Heres a specific example provided by an Auburn University student. â€Å"Two first year students, self-described white girls, began a Facebook wall conversation after an African-American classmate entered the room where they were studying. One of the posts read, ‘ewww I see a nig in the room, i feel irty, and unsafe. keep a eye on all of your valuables and dont make direct eye contact. i just threw up in my mouth right now .. . ’ In another post, the girl wrote back, ‘we’re two white girls.. she already has Nigger instinct to kill us and use us to her pleasure ’. † These posts were viewable by everybody on their friend list, a combined total of nearly 2,000 friends. This interviewee went on to suggest â€Å" these two [ignorant] white girls played the ‘race card’. They think that just because they’re white, they have the authority to write condescending things about people.That because they are white, they automatically have an advantage over the African – Amercan girl, and see themselves as ‘better’ than her†. In the past, this sort of conversation between two white students might have happened in handwritten notes passed in class. While some may view such overt expressions of racism a thing of the past, overtly racist comments often occur even today in the backstage (white-only space), as research by Leslie Pouts-Hicca and Joe Feagin demonstrates. Social media has changed all that now, and many participants in this research paper agree. As more people, especially students, spend time online, they forget that the comments they think theyre making in the backstage (white-only spaces) are easily made public and shared in the frontstage by people who do not share their views (or, have other agendas). As more of these expressions of overt racism come to light, it forces all of us to decide again and again what is socially acceptable and what isnt, especially on college campuses. The question for colleges and universities is also what can and should be done about incidents like this one?Furthermore, I have found that institutional racism in college athletics stems from the influence of the history of racism throughout the American experience. Since racism in college athletics is a result of racism within the larger society that surrounds it, cultural understanding must begin with the location of racism in American society. There are still racial issues limiting availability and access to this institution (Stahura and Gree nwood, 2001). While diversity awareness is important in determining the success of African-American college students, white students have an opposing view regarding this issue.Ervin reveals that â€Å"White college students are rebelling against diversity because they believe that it is an anti-White, preferential system that favors the needs of students of color† (Ervin, 2001, p. 764). Ervin explains African-American students’ differing opinion that â€Å"students [of color] feel that diversity is a facade and that multicultural programs do not help to solve the problems of intergroup conflict. African-American athletes viewed the chance to play at predominately white colleges as an opportunity to increase their chances of being recognized by recruiters from professional teams.According to Cureton, â€Å"campus environment (social and cultural) and student interpersonal factors significantly predict Blacks’ academic success. Specifically, prior research indicates those students’ perceptions of the college environment (feeling comfortable with the university, faculty relations, and nurturing environment that promotes personal development) or the university’s reputation strongly affects academic performance† (Cureton, 2000 p. 296-297). One student that I interviewed from D. C highlighted the advantage of the ‘race card’ in college athletics. I think minorities tend to ‘use’ the ‘race card’ as their ‘right of passage’ in to college sports. Like, ‘I’m black and over 6†5’, I deserve to be the star of the basketball team’. This kind of racial mentality in sports kind of becomes the norm after a while. Like, it would be weird if there were lots of non-white students on the golf team. That’s one of the disadvantages of the ‘race card’, is that people become so focused on it and think they are either a deserving or are an inadequate player in the field of sports.I don’t think it should matter what race you are, as long as you’re good at the sport! †. Another scenario of when the ‘race card’ came in to play, was in the admission process through the use of affirmative action. Seven of ten of the students surveyed were against affirmative action, calling it ‘reverse discrimination’, and saying affirmative action requires the very discrimination it is seeking to eliminate. According to these opponents, this contradiction makes affirmative action counter-productive.Other opponents say affirmative action causes unprepared applicants to be accepted in highly demanding educational institutions or jobs, which result in eventual failure. Other opponents say that affirmative action â€Å"lowers the bar, and so denies those who strive for excellence on their own merit and the sense of real achievement†. Some argue that affirmative action itself has some merit when it is targeted to true causes of social deprivation such as poverty, but that race-, ethnicity- or gender-based affirmative action is misguided.Fu rthermore, affirmative action may increase racial tension and benefit the more privileged people within minority groups at the expense of the disenfranchised within majority groups (such as lower-class whites). There has recently been a strong push among American states to ban racial or gender preferences in university admissions. In 2006, nearly 60% of Michigan voters decided to ban affirmative action in university admissions. Michigan joined California, Florida, Texas, and Washington in banning the use of race or sex in admissions considerations.Some opponents believe, among other things, that affirmative action devalues the accomplishments of people who belong to a group its supposed to help, therefore making affirmative action counter-productive. To sum up, using racial identity as an advantage is a prevalent scenario in the college setting. My research has led me to particular examples of social media, athletics, and the admission process. The ‘race card’ is actively in use, if only in a figurative sense, and students have a mentality that is racially defined, whether subconscious or not. Discussion:Through out my research paper on the ‘race card’ and racism in college campuses, it has led me (and many of my interviewees) to question the constraints of free speech. In regards to social networking websites, many people think that: If you really do believe in free speech, they shouldnt be punished. But free speech is not that simple. There are a couple of issues here. First, Auburn University has an anti-hate policy, which the white girls clearly violated. Second, the framers of the U. S. Constitution didnt have Facebook in mind when they were drafting the First Amendment to protect free speech.No one has a constitutionally protected right to be on Facebook. If you use Facebook, you have to abide by their Terms of Service (TOS) agreement, which prohibits overtly racist speech (although its only sporadically enforced). If we all of us, users of Facebook allow it there, were condoning a return to overt racism. In my view, the white girls at Auburn University who racially harassed their African American classmate deserve some kind of punishment from the university. So to what measures is the university responsible for eradicating racial situations?By the time you are in college, you are considered an adult, capable of making your own decision. Should the university be accountable for all that happens on campus? To address this sort of behavior, I want to suggest that human rights is a better, more useful frame for dealing with cyber racism than censorship and free spe ech. Although the young African – American girl eventually saw those facebook posts, there are no reports that Ive been able to find (interesting fact in itself) about what the African American student who was the target of this racism has to say.Ill bet that her experience of college life (plus life in general) has been damaged in some way by this run-in with her two white friends. At the very least, she has a new awareness that her college campus is just a little less safe from racism than it was before. In some ways, its not surprising that this African American students story is not being reported. As critical race scholars have pointed out, the victims story is almost never told. Our understanding of ‘free speech’ shifts when we listen to these stories. In 2003, the Supreme Court of the U. S. ruled that a burning cross is NOT protected speech. Part of that ruling declared that a burning cross has no value in a democracy because it is not meant to be a discussion, but its a symbol meant to racially terrorize a group of people. (Today, 14 states have anti-cross burning laws. ) So, not all speech counts as protected speech, and the Supreme Court has already ruled that racist speech in the form of a burning cross, can be ruled illegal. Given the rise of social media, the question becomes: what constitutes a burning cross in the digital era?I think what those white girls did on FB was akin to cross burning in the digital era. That kind of speech is harmful and it has no value for democracy. There are real, material consequences from racism. Children who experience racial discrimination feel psychological stress that may lead to depression. Perhaps not surprisingly, minority college students report more experiences of online bias than do whites. Taking this one step further, those who ‘use the race card’ can feel valuable and powerful, like the white girls who feel entitled to privileges that minorities are not.Or the African – American basketball player who feels entitled to be the star of the team. Or the Mexican – American who feels proud to have landed a job, based solely on his race. But when somebody plays the ‘race card’, who are they stepping on to use it? Everyone can use it, there are no limitations regarding gender, race, or political affiliation. If the person ‘playing the race card’ feels ‘entitled’ and ‘powerful’, then the other person who has ‘missed out’ on the opportunity will probably feel a detrimental ‘disadvantage’.I think that this project was successful in that it got myself, and also the participants of this project, really thinking about the ‘race card’ in college campuses. The course of this research paper has changed and reshaped my topic drastically, in a way that was more suitable for me to research and investigate. It was perfect timing to conduct this research, as it is near the end of Obama’s term in the White House. One of the hardest things about this topic was getting people to talk about the hypersensitive topic of race.There seems to be a fundamental barrier that blocks people from readily giving up information about racial perspectives. Conclusion: In conclusion, the ‘race card’ in America is a prevalen t term that is in common and regular use. It essentially exploits a person’s racial ethnicity for some sort of desired advantage. Racism, stemming from the civil rights movements just 50 years prior, is still an unresolved issue that is far from absent in American society. Every setting is subjected to racial stereotypes, and especially college campuses and students.People tend to have anxiety and trepidation revolving around questions of race. This precarious subject causes people to be worried about being politically correct or to just avoid it all together, rather than having to confront and making enemies with someone who disagrees with their point of view. In the US, President Obama, the first black president in the United States, was elected in 2008. Arguments and concerns arise and revolve around his racial identity, in a manor that questions his success and the extent to which he won votes based solely on his race alone. I took these concerns references and applied it to American Universities to see how students were dealing with the same effects as Obama. I found that all participants in this project unanimously believed in the ‘race card’ and that people could use it to their advantage if necessary. Common examples were in social networking websites, the athletic department, and the admissions board. The ‘race card’ could be used by anyone, regardless of gender, race, or political affiliation. A particular advantage and disadvantage of the ‘race card’ is the binary opposition it causes people to feel when the card is ‘used’.While the ‘player’ feels ‘entitled’, the ‘other’ feels ‘disadvantaged’. The ‘race card’ challenges questions of responsibility and freedom. Is the university responsible for keeping its campus racially acceptant, how so? To what extent is a person’s freedom of speech taking it too far, and imposing infringements and discomfort upon others? How do we define race and racism without categorically labeling somebody, which is essentially what we are trying to avoid? How is this fundamental attitude that many students are brought up with eminent in society, and how to rid ourselves of negative stereotypes?