UCSD's Racial Blunder Blown Out of Proportion

These are hot and troubled times in San Diego my friends... The infamous "Compton Cookout" (read more here) party thrown by students of UCSD has ruffled quite a few feathers. Although I agree that the theming of the event was in poor (wait, make that VERY POOR) taste, I can't help but find no mild degree of entertainment in the level of hypocrisy present in the whole ordeal.

How many "Jersey Shore" themed parties and bar crawls have been held in the past month? And how many of these events have garnered this much media attention and authoritative discipline? An overwhelming majority of UCSD students are registered Democrats, so it's a fairly safe bet to say that the majority of voting age attendees of this event assisted in electing President Barack Obama into office. Did their blatant racism play a part in that? The focus in these events is primarily an exaggerated stereotype of a persona and cultural trend, rather than a racial one. When we tell blonde jokes, are we bashing women or a stereotyped societyal persona?

I however, have a huge complaint on the organizers of the event. By directly relating the event to Black History month, they broadened the overall scope of those hurt by these events. Because of this, a crass and selfish attempt at a humorous party event put on by a group of testosterone driven frat boys became escalated to a racial commentary whether or not that was its initial intent. On a campus such as UCSD where white students are an ethnic minority, perhaps these students no longer saw themselves as "the oppressor" (oh my, such a slippery slope we deal with when it comes to white and black racial relations!) and did not view the issue to be as serious as it has been presently received.

Last, but certainly not least, on a much lighter note, I can't help but be pleased to point out that, as a student of SDSU, it is SUCH a relief to finally have one of these frat party fiascos NOT be our fault! Until next week. I'm sure at some point before Spring break SDSU will be back in the press for pissing off the authorities and UCSD can return to its reputation of bookworms and science geeks.

Hey, that's a good idea... next SDSU party we'll all dress up as UCSD students with glasses and pocket protectors... wonder if we'll get in trouble for exaggerating that stereotype?