Letters to the Editor | Racism at Vassar a concern for all

What Vassar needs is a response to racism and anti-racist responses. We don’t need a misunderstanding of some facts and a misrepresentation of others. Ian Saxine’s column [entitled “SAEJ’s tactics questionable” in the 12.5.05 edition of The Miscellany News] provided the latter.

I read Saxine's article expecting a reasonable critique of SAEJ. What I found was confusing double-speak. First, he condemns SAEJ for attempting to silence "the only real publication on campus that expressed some sort of disagreement with Vassar's collective worldview.” Then, he taps into that same “collective worldview” to relate SAEJ to George Bush. He seems to come to an epiphany, proclaiming that SAEJ and Bush are “not so different after all.” This is an offensive move because it assumes that Bush and SAEJ “sit on opposite sides of the political spectrum.”

What Saxine fails to see is that there are self-identified moderates and conservatives on campus who’ve expressed support for SAEJ (though none are members) and for their anti-racist movement, while some on the left have expressed disapproval. One doesn’t have to sit in opposition to our president to be offended by racism or interested in such issues.

Any group, whether MICA or the College Democrats, that uses offensive language in their publication would be subject to the same response from the offended students. Most students offended by racism demand answers because they feel unsafe, not because there is an ideological disagreement.

The assumption that SAEJ and Bush oppose one another implies that Bush supporters are more likely to commit acts of racism than other groups. Again, this is unfair to the entire campus community. Saxine’s assumption may come from the presence of “World Can't Wait: Drive Out the Bush Regime” at SAEJ's rally, but we should remember that this was an open-mic event. Both dissenting and supporting opinions were shared.

Finally, the claim that SAEJ has tried to defame anyone who doesn’t agree with them is questionable because Saxine has no problem assuming that some people are SAEJ members. This is shown in his claim that SAEJ has accused MICA of tipping “off the Nazis at overthrow.com.” He fails to see that SAEJ never claimed such a thing. Those who have made that claim are in the minority, and many aren’t a part of SAEJ. Saxine's claim operates on the brand of misguided assumptions that he tries to condemn in the first place.

Those who disagree with SAEJ's tactics should help them form a stronger response to racism. Racism is ubiquitous, and off-campus lesson plans do nothing to justify inaction on-campus. With the elusive institution of racism, criticisms are only as valid as the push for equality that comes from such criticism. I urge Vassar to stop looking at racism in terms of left or right, and to fight racism, not each other.

—Ricardo Almonte ’08