Bias Incident at Mudd?

Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:01:50 -0700
From: [email protected]
Subject: [ALL_STUDENTS] Message About a Bias Related Incident At Harvey Mudd
To: [email protected].EDU

Dear Students,
We received this message from the Dean of Students at Harvey Mudd. As per our 5C protocols, I am sending it to you.
Always,
Dean Townes
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: bias-related incident and race at Mudd
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:57:11 -0700
From: Guy Gerbick <[email protected]>
To: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]


Last Friday night, an HMC student entered the room of another Mudder where several people were gathered watching an Asian comedy movie. The entering student, quoting a line from another Asian comedy, said "good morning, negao," which is intended to sound like the word "nigga" with a Japanese accent. Realizing that the joke wasn't funny to the group, the entering student quickly left the room.
The next day the host of the gathering wrote to a dorm chat list forcefully expressing her offense at the use of the n-word, even in jest or imitation. Other people similarly wrote of their offense. The offending student wrote to the list explaining why she said what she did and apologized for offending people. She also apologized to the host in person.
While some people may not consider this a bias-related incident or act of hate, it starkly highlights several important points for everyone at Mudd.
1. Harvey Mudd's goal is to provide a safe, supportive community of respect for everyone on campus.
2. While everyone has full free speech rights here, words can have real consequences. When you say something, even in a light-hearted way with no bad intent, people can be substantially, negatively impacted. Your use of language can even affect the great amount of work that many people have done to build a community that values the differences we all bring to being Mudders.
3. Saying racist, sexist, or homophobic things doesn't just affect people of color, women, or gay people. It has real effects on people in majority groups and makes for an unwelcoming environment for everyone.
If you want to talk with a supportive person trained in talking about race, please check the list of MAP (Multicultural Ally Program) allies at http://www.hmc.edu/about/administrativeoffices/institutionaldiversity1/map1/allynames.html
or talk to your proctor, who has also been through MAP training. Talking with an ally may be especially useful for people who have prejudiced attitudes and would like to change.
4. We need to talk more about race. So, this Friday's Forum will have Gary Kelly leading a discussion on race, including clips from a full-length movie completely devoted to how people feel about the use of the n-word. We can then talk about how to continue the discussions, particularly as the possibility of a black man being president of the U.S. becomes more probable.
Guy and Gary
--
Guy L. Gerbick
Interim Vice President and Dean of Students and Gary Kelly Associate Dean for Institutional Diversity Harvey Mudd College
301 Platt Boulevard, Claremont, California 91711
(909) 621-8125