Daily Pilot Report: Racism ignored at UCI
Posted by: Jonathan Constantine | 02/13/2008 9:09 AM
H/T: Assemblyman Chuck Devore
The Daily Pilot's Summary of the Report:
By Joseph Serna
Updated: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 10:48 PM PST
The UCI Muslim Student Union endorses hate speech against Jews, and UCI administrators and local Jewish groups need to do a better job condemning it, according to a report released Tuesday by an independent community task force that investigated anti-Semitism at UCI.
"The acts of anti-Semitism are real and well-documented," according to the group's report. "Jewish students have been harassed. Hate speech has been unrelenting. There is no indication that the university is at all concerned about the disconnect between campus values and the values of the greater society."
The group conducted more than 80 hours of interviews with dozens of Jewish and non-Jewish students, faculty, community members, and elected officials. Chancellor Michael Drake declined requests to participate in the investigation, school officials said.
Among the criticisms the group volleys at the university is that the faculty is afflicted with a "politically correct" orthodoxy that prevents it from condemning provocative speeches and actions at Muslim Student Union-sponsored events out of fear for appearing biased.
Efforts to reach the Muslim Student Union's spokeswoman and president were unsuccessful Tuesday.
"We don't want to proscribe speech, we don't want [UCI] to enforce any kind of censorship, but we want to have a public discussion of what leaders should be saying and should be doing in the face of this outrage," said task force member Jesse Rosenblum. "We're asking the university to take a moral stance with American values."
In February 2007, the Hillel Foundation of Orange County created a task force of Jewish community leaders to investigate anti-Semitism at the university following a number of clashes between Jewish and Muslim students in recent years sparked by controversial speakers and protests on both sides. The Hillel board of directors dropped the investigation over the summer, but the group decided to push on independently.
In a statement released to the media, Drake pointed to a U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights report released in December that says the university does not discriminate against Jews.
"The 1st Amendment mandates that speech is protected. We are obligated to, and will continue, to follow the law," Drake said in the statement. "There are those who continue to claim that by protecting speech, we endorse it. This is simply not true We have clearly stated our active opposition to harassment and racism, including anti-Semitism, and to other forms of categorization."
Condemnations to broad concepts like harassment and racism is what the task force said is the problem.
"The condemning of hate speech in general" implies it's coming from multiple sides, and it's not, Rosenblum said. The group said anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism are not mutually exclusive, and the Office of Civil Rights was bound by legal definitions -- not moral ones -- when arriving at its conclusions.
"[UCI] can discern the difference between the criticism of a sovereign nation on one hand and the call for the destruction of that country or saying hateful, unsavory things toward [Jews.] There's a big difference between the two," said Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, an outspoken critic of the university's handling of the Muslim-Jewish clashes at UCI over the years, but not a member of the task force. "I would be willing to bet you my 11-year-old daughter could tell the difference. The question becomes: Do you have the moral courage to speak up for it?"
The group also takes aim at Jewish groups.
"The major Jewish organizations, with few exceptions...have not held the university and its leadership accountable for its failure to support an environment conducive to all students," according to the report. The Jewish Federation, Anti-Defamation League, Hill and the American Jewish Committee have not effectively represented the community or students at UCI, according to the report. Task force members urge Jewish students to enroll at other universities until UCI changes its ways.
The report's recommendations require nothing from the Muslim Student Union. It stands by the group's and its speakers' right to free speech, but argue educators and leaders should condemn the worst offenses.
"There is a pretty bright line between doing what's right and being passive in the face of evil," DeVore said. "Certainly, once upon a time universities were the bastions for doing what's right."
JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.
The Daily Pilot's Summary of the Report:
By Joseph Serna
Updated: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 10:48 PM PST
The UCI Muslim Student Union endorses hate speech against Jews, and UCI administrators and local Jewish groups need to do a better job condemning it, according to a report released Tuesday by an independent community task force that investigated anti-Semitism at UCI.
"The acts of anti-Semitism are real and well-documented," according to the group's report. "Jewish students have been harassed. Hate speech has been unrelenting. There is no indication that the university is at all concerned about the disconnect between campus values and the values of the greater society."
The group conducted more than 80 hours of interviews with dozens of Jewish and non-Jewish students, faculty, community members, and elected officials. Chancellor Michael Drake declined requests to participate in the investigation, school officials said.
Among the criticisms the group volleys at the university is that the faculty is afflicted with a "politically correct" orthodoxy that prevents it from condemning provocative speeches and actions at Muslim Student Union-sponsored events out of fear for appearing biased.
Efforts to reach the Muslim Student Union's spokeswoman and president were unsuccessful Tuesday.
"We don't want to proscribe speech, we don't want [UCI] to enforce any kind of censorship, but we want to have a public discussion of what leaders should be saying and should be doing in the face of this outrage," said task force member Jesse Rosenblum. "We're asking the university to take a moral stance with American values."
In February 2007, the Hillel Foundation of Orange County created a task force of Jewish community leaders to investigate anti-Semitism at the university following a number of clashes between Jewish and Muslim students in recent years sparked by controversial speakers and protests on both sides. The Hillel board of directors dropped the investigation over the summer, but the group decided to push on independently.
In a statement released to the media, Drake pointed to a U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights report released in December that says the university does not discriminate against Jews.
"The 1st Amendment mandates that speech is protected. We are obligated to, and will continue, to follow the law," Drake said in the statement. "There are those who continue to claim that by protecting speech, we endorse it. This is simply not true We have clearly stated our active opposition to harassment and racism, including anti-Semitism, and to other forms of categorization."
Condemnations to broad concepts like harassment and racism is what the task force said is the problem.
"The condemning of hate speech in general" implies it's coming from multiple sides, and it's not, Rosenblum said. The group said anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism are not mutually exclusive, and the Office of Civil Rights was bound by legal definitions -- not moral ones -- when arriving at its conclusions.
"[UCI] can discern the difference between the criticism of a sovereign nation on one hand and the call for the destruction of that country or saying hateful, unsavory things toward [Jews.] There's a big difference between the two," said Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, an outspoken critic of the university's handling of the Muslim-Jewish clashes at UCI over the years, but not a member of the task force. "I would be willing to bet you my 11-year-old daughter could tell the difference. The question becomes: Do you have the moral courage to speak up for it?"
The group also takes aim at Jewish groups.
"The major Jewish organizations, with few exceptions...have not held the university and its leadership accountable for its failure to support an environment conducive to all students," according to the report. The Jewish Federation, Anti-Defamation League, Hill and the American Jewish Committee have not effectively represented the community or students at UCI, according to the report. Task force members urge Jewish students to enroll at other universities until UCI changes its ways.
The report's recommendations require nothing from the Muslim Student Union. It stands by the group's and its speakers' right to free speech, but argue educators and leaders should condemn the worst offenses.
"There is a pretty bright line between doing what's right and being passive in the face of evil," DeVore said. "Certainly, once upon a time universities were the bastions for doing what's right."
JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.
CATEGORY:
FEATURE
As a part-time teacher at UCI since 1998, I support these findings. The MSU at UCI is, in my view, a radical organization that is doing great harm to the school's image around the country.
The administration and almost all the faculty are unwilling to confront the MSU and their hateful speakers, putting the safety of Jewish students at risk in the name of "free speech" and political correctness.
Please keep the spotlight on UCI. The public needs to know what is being done with their tax dollars.
gary fouse
adjunct teacher
uci-ext
fousesquawk
Looks like the Daily Pilot editorial leadership thinks that UCI should encourage the Muslim students to "dialogue" with the Jewish students, and if that happens, all will be well.
They've already tried that. From what I've gathered, in 2002 or 2003, after the MSU repeatedly used "Swastika = Jewish Star" and other Holocaust references in their posters, UCI forcefully sat down the MSU and Hillel/AFI leadership and stated that Holocaust imagery and especially "Swastika = Jewish Star" were hereby banned.
Then that MSU leadership graduated.
Guess what appeared on a huge MSU placard paraded around during Zionism Awareness Week in May 2004, as well as I believe even June 2004 graduation:
A picture of a wall spray-painted with the symbols of a Swastika, an Equals Sign, and a Jewish Star:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72689453@N00/148242181/
When asked how this could happen again - after all, what happened to the ban? - Dean of Students Sally Peterson told one student that the ban was just a guideline, and thus unenforceable.
Since then, UCI has tried dialogue in many ways:
- the inter-religious forums of Fall 2004: http://www.vcsa.uci.edu/files/announcements/2004_1008.pdf
- Difficult Dialogues, funded by a $100,000 grant from the Ford Foundation, in 2005-2006
- and most recently, inviting Abraham's Vision to try to improve the environment.
Meanwhile, since May 2004, UCI has hosted multiple annual MSU events - some two weeks long - full of Holocaust imagery. The MSU leadership has even called for a new Holocaust, echoing the President of Iran's own words: the wiping of Israel off the map.
On another campus, perhaps dialogue might solve the problem.
But the UCI MSU has been steadfast - for about a decade now - in their refusal to remove anti-Semitism and threats of violence and intimidation from their repertoire, even through:
- all of the news coverage,
- the three-year long investigation by the US Department of Education,
- and all of the UCI-initiated events.
They simply aren't going to change until legal pressure is brought upon them.
Now, let's talk about what the Daily Pilot leadership completely left OUT of their Editorial:
The OC Independent Task Force's report did not just deal with the MSU - it also dealt with the university administration.
As documented by the OCITF, UCI received a slew of written complaints - full of documented evidence of violations by the MSU of UC (and thus UCI) policies - during the 2006-2007 school year. Those violations are listed in Section 102 of the university policies as "Grounds for Discipline".
UCI is supposed to launch an investigation and hold hearings the moment it is informed of a Section 102 violation.
To my knowledge, UCI never launched an investigation or held a hearing for any of the complaints.
I challenge the Daily Pilot editorial leadership to review what I've written and to come back with a better Editorial - one that doesn't blatantly ignore facts such as what I've presented here.
I came across an article yesterday in the blogosphere (Modelminority.com) about negative reactions to the heavy Asian-American student enrollment on the University of California campuses. As one who has been teaching part-time at UC Irvine since 1998, I was troubled by the thought that there is any anti-Asian-American feeling here in California-or anywhere for that matter.
Let me set the backdrop for this essay. Here in Southern California, we have a huge Asian-American population. It is especially demonstrated on our university campuses. At UC-Irvine, without digging up statistics, I would say that over 50% of our student body at UCI is Asian-American.
I should mention here that when we in the US speak of Asians, we are referring primarily about people whose origins are in the Pacific Rim, in other words, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Thai, Vietnamese, and so on. The British, on the other hand, see Asian immigrants in their country as primarily Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and so on. I am speaking of the former.
According to the article, the preponderance of Asian-Americans on UC campuses has stirred resentment from some other students who feel they cannot compete against the academic excellence of this minority group. This has led to some expressions of anti-Asian feeling in some quarters, and in some cases, of demands to cut back on Asian-American enrollment in the UC system.
I found the article troubling, not because I disagree with it, rather because of my own life experience and feelings toward Asian-Americans. Growing up in West Los Angeles, I was always surrounded by Asian-Americans (usually Japanese-Americans)as classmates and friends. Even though I was born as World War II was ending, Japanese-American kids were always popular in our circles. Later, in my 20s, I attended a Japanese-American Christian church for several years. From 1975-1978, I was stationed with DEA in Bangkok, Thailand. All in all, my life experiences have left me with a profound respect and affection for Asians in general and Asian-Americans in particular. Maybe I have been wearing blinders all these years, but I have really thought that Asian-Americans were well-assimilated and not really subject to any serious racism in this era. Don't get me wrong, I am well-read on the World War II relocation of Japanese-Americans to internment camps and the prejudice against Chinese immigrants in the 19th century (Chinese Exclusion Act, etc). I just thought that that was a lot of ancient history.
I have also been aware for some time that many Asian-Americans are uncomfortable with the expression "Model Minority" that has been assigned to them. First because it overlooks real problems within the community that they share with everyone else, such as drugs; second because it has the potential to pit them against other minorities such as blacks and Hispanics. It is true that the crime rates among Asian-Americans are lower than the population at large, yet certain communities like the Chinese, Vietnamese and Cambodians have seen their share of youth delinquency and gangs.
What is the reason that young Asian-Americans are doing so well scholastically? Without the benefit of having resarch and empirical evidence at my fingertips, the obvious answer seems to be the emphasis on education and respect for family tradition that immigrants bring with them to America, qualities that, at the same time, seem on the decline in America. The result is that Asian-Americans embody the best of the old culture combined with the best in American culture. Though they may look different, they are well-assimilated into American society. It is hardly surprising that they are achieving at such high levels academically and professionally.
At UCI, the fact that over 50% of our student body is Asian-American has a lot to do with the fact that UCI focuses primarily on the biological sciences and pre-med, fields that attract Asian students. In my view, it is one of the more attractive aspects of UCI that we have so many Asian-American students. Guess what? On our campus, you don't see so much of the nonsense and protests going on that you see on so many other campuses across the nation. These kids are at school because they belong there, they know why they are there, and they don't have time for all the other nonsense. Of course, I have written extensively in my blog about the problem of anti-Semitism at UCI, fomented by Muslim students, their speakers and their left-wing student allies, an issue in which I have involved myself personally. From my own observations, the Asian-American kids are not involved in any of this anti-Jewish movement. What are they involved in besides their studies? You can see them on campus involved in their fraternity and sorority activities and charitable drives. What you don't see them doing-at least at UCI-is protesting against this or that or complaining about America.
Yet, I read in the article that UCI is one campus where some expressions off anti-Asian sentiment have been expressed (usually anonymously in graffiti and other forms). I find it troubling. Equally troubling to me is the idea that any university should consider ways of limiting Asian-American enrollment. I believe in a strict meritocracy. To me, if our campus were 100% Asian-American based on grades, SAT scores and merit, I would be OK with that. If we find Asian-Americans to be overrepresented on our college campuses, then it is for us to do some introspection and ask ourselves why we are falling short. It is for us to do better.
As I said above, I have been involved in calling out anti-Semitism on the UCI campus, as well as the failure of the administration and faculty to confront it. It now seems that I need to open my eyes a bit wider to see if there is a problem with anti-Asian-American feelings. If there is, I don't think it is widespread, but it seems that I may have overlooked whatever there is.
gary fouse
fousesquawk