Student groups overstress race

Did this columnist even attended a meeting of the Black Student Alliance, the Asian Pacific American Student Organization, or any of the other eleven “groups on ASMSU’s Programming Board that control a fifth of all student tax dollars”? He certainly should have before publishing this.

oh man, in before the huge shitstorm.

Just as a note how does this speaker feel about groups on the other side such as the YAF? After all they don’t take money from the university right? Would the author back them up?

This guyz a racists, you know that hes pissd that the governments gotta help give us the money because they was the ones that held us down for so long. They owez it to us, this white boy is just pissd that they dont give his people money to spred racism.

Re: OBAMA

i don’t think this guy is racist… i think this guy is ignorant… he obviously hasn’t been in the shoes of a struggling minority

I’m here to try and sanely correct some of the logical errors within Mr. Freitag’s arguments.

“They create divisions along racial lines where they do not need to exist. Groups like these insinuate that people of similar races have something in common no other race can share with them;”

I’d argue history is one thing that is shared. The history of racism in America has affected many of those groups. Slavery, the Chinese exclusion Act, Anti-Mexican zoot-suit riots, all are something shared in the communities. People are less likely to see a random Black person and assume they are an illegal immigrant, or see an Asian person and think they are from the inner city gang.

“Why then are our tax dollars going to support racially divisive groups?”

You assume the purpose is to divide, not connect. What evidence do you have for this? Legacies and prejudices still exist for groups and like it our not, people lump people together by skin color. Coming together to share that experience and make something positive out of it does not mean the path of separatism, but integration. Under your logic, Martin Luther King running a boycott of buses by the Black citizens of Montgomery was racially divisive, when the goal was to get equal access to a part of society.

“True diversity is not diversity of skin color, but diversity of thought, lifestyle and culture. . . To even include race when considering diversity only cheapens true diversity.”

Your argument here seems to be “We need to use money to fund a diverse set of diversity to get true diversity, but not be so diverse as to exclude racial diversity”.

Race historically has been a problematic sort of diversity, in definition and human interactions, but it’s been a driving force of American and World history and we cannot simply bury our heads in the sand and pretend it doesn’t exist. Certainly diversity extends beyond race, though diversity of thought, lifestyle, and culture is part of what those groups do.

I might also add on the the 13 groups is the Arab CULTURAL Society. Might want to do more than cherry pick names to make your point.

“There are several student groups focused on ethnicity that are eligible to receive student tax dollars. Anybody can join these groups. . .

A group that is truly committed to fighting racism would want to represent all races and not discriminate. . . create an integrated group in the place of the segregated groups we have today.”

You see what you did there? You contradicted yourself. You open up saying these groups do not discriminate in membership (which they don’t), but then turn around say they are segregated.

Another problematic theme in of your argument.. Somehow they have to represent all racial groups without mentioning race, so long as they collect tax dollars. This whole article is a mix of contradictions like that.

“I hope one day the world will be color-blind. The first step to accomplishing this is to make all people equal under the system. This is accomplished by eliminating race as a consideration whenever possible.”

Somehow we have to end racism without considering race? Pray tell, how would that be accomplished?

I’m not jumping on the race card bandwagon here, because I don’t believe this is racism that guides your thinking, but you come from a perspective where race rarely matters.

A European immigrant coming to America today would have less negative stereotypes attached because of skin color than someone from Saudi Arabia, South Africa, China, or Mexico, or a Native American moving from a reservation to mainstream society. A European immigrant wouldn’t be thought a terrorist, a gang member, a “Yellow Peril”, an illegal, or a scalper. The advantage the European has, essentially the “White Privilege”, isn’t being handed anything special, but having much fewer negatives attached to them because of skin color.

Being a colorblind society is a lofty goal that will never happen in our lifetimes. To simply say we should cut out all discussion completely, or throw it onto the groups themselves to solve and absolve society as a whole form participating and contributing. The interaction provided by these tax supported groups helps provide events that will help bridge the gaps in ways one overall group could not do.

On principle, I am against groups that exist to “help” one race or another over all others, even if they allow other races to join their group. However, i do think that many of the groups that would seem to fall under this umbrella are actually doing a great job of promoting interactions between people of all races. I’ve been to events put on by some of these groups, and they tend to be very welcoming to EVERYONE, and they promote diversity, interaction, and cooperation. good for them, and I’m sure they’ll continue to support diversity, interaction, and cooperation among all groups, regardless of where tax money is going!

OBAMA- maybe you could use some of that money to return to school and learn how to spell and use proper grammar. I do believe Hooked on Phonics works quite well.

Just a thought.

Oh, and I love how you use the name OBAMA and then claim how the government has held you down for “so long,” yet 2 weeks ago a black man was elected president….. weird!

Spell Check- don’t feed the troll

I agree, I dont want my student tax dollars used to segregate the campus, and than spend even more trying to figure out why the campus is segregated.
Where is the western european alliance, or white caucus.
Kind of funny how YAF gets labeled racist, but the BLACK student alliance gets a pass.

hey “Black Gruops Wrong” are you really Kyle Bristow?

Excellent work Alex! Very solid piece and well-articulated.

It’s not that I am opposed to discussing race or racism, or even using tax dollars to do so. I only disagree with the method in which this is being done. The best way to do this with a student organization is through an organization that represents no race in particular.

Terrible logic. Terrible writing. Terrible article.

“ .. Being a colorblind society is a lofty goal that will never happen in our lifetimes ..”

Yup. A lot of people will never be happy, living in the USA. So, they should give up their U.S. citizenship and move to France. Which is 50% LESS diverse than the U.S. Or North Korea, Algeria, or Syria.

Neil Boortz will pay for your one-way ticket out — leave today. Thanks.

I just want to say that this guy is an idiot. Groups such as BSA and APASO does not and i repeat, does not encourage segregation of any kind. The main purposes of such groups is to inform and enrich the MSU community of their cultures. There is no talk of reverse racism or how to bring the WHITE man down, matter of fact, these groups usually present how to work with each other. Even if these 13 groups control 1/5 of the student tax dollars, people have to understand these groups also have affiliate groups for which they sponsor and support. Also, the student tax dollars fund these groups to put on large events for which hundreds to thousands of people, MSU and non-MSU, attend. Before bashing any type of organization, please attend their events/meetings and find out what it’s really like before you sprout some ignorant ideas from what you have read. I also would like to state that the state news is a piece of shit. Misquoting and falsifying information seems to run rampant in the state news. I have been personally interviewed before, and yet they have quoted me for something completely different than what i have said. Also, i am taking this article as a form of hidden racism.

“Kind of funny how YAF gets labeled racist, but the BLACK student alliance gets a pass.”

I don’t remember any black student organizations on campus posting lists of Jews who serve in the US Congress, or saying they approve of banning Islam from being practiced in America.

As a Black student, you are already part of the BSA family!

If YAF said As a White student, you are already part of the YAF family! everyone in this forum would be calling them racist, yet no one here thinks it is racist of BSA? Racist a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement,…

I also find it funny that with all the crap the SN publishes they feel the need to distance them selfs from a legitimate argument, “Editor’s note: Columnists’ views do no represent the opinion of The State News.”

“You see what you did there? You contradicted yourself. You open up saying these groups do not discriminate in membership (which they don’t), but then turn around say they are segregated.” – A Calm Voice of Contradiction

It is possible to not discriminate in membership yet still be segregated. Just because it is not mandatory segregation, does not mean they are not in fact segregating themselves by catering towards a particular group.

Bill- YAF couldn’t say white students are already part of the YAF family because they hate jews and white gays among others.

Why do people always say why isn’t there an Eastern European group or whatever? Form one. Or they say such a group would be called racist. Who cares? This article and some of the comments are saying the BSA et al are racist, yet they keep plugging away. Anyone calling such groups racist would be just as wrong as the author. We all know the real reason that such groups don’t exist is because they simply aren’t necessary for any number of reasons.

Doug’s comment and the general theme of those critical of these groups are hilarious. I would bet Doug and those who agree with them bemoan the politically correct world we live in and the impingement of free speech by the “left”. Yet here they are criticizing groups for catering towards a particular group. By Doug’s idiotic logic, a bowling club is segregating itself by catering to bowlers. Should we just have groups be called “Group” so as to avoid the appearance of catering to some individuals and not to others?

Bill Lumburg “If YAF said As a White student, you are already part of the YAF family! everyone in this forum would be calling them racist, yet no one here thinks it is racist of BSA? Racist a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement,…”

YAF wouldn’t be racist for saying all white students are part of YAF (They are racists for many of reasons) however they would be wrong.

Neither BSA nor YAF could claim that anyone of a particular race is part of their group automatically. But if you were to survey students a very high percent of black students would agree to the goals and message of the BSA than white students to YAF, simply because the BSA works for positive inclusive goals and the betterment of black students by integrating them into society, while YAF wants a white supremacist doctrine that students are against.

This guy is a real hero!

I bet he doesn’t even SEE race!

A Calm Voice of Contradiction,“Neither BSA nor YAF could claim that anyone of a particular race is part of their group automatically.” I posted a link to where the QUOTE “As a Black student, you are already part of the BSA family!” came from. It came from the BSA web site so yes they CAN and DO claim that someone of a particular race is part of their group automatically.

“Doug’s comment and the general theme of those critical of these groups are hilarious. I would bet Doug and those who agree with them bemoan the politically correct world we live in and the impingement of free speech by the “left”. Yet here they are criticizing groups for catering towards a particular group. By Doug’s idiotic logic, a bowling club is segregating itself by catering to bowlers. Should we just have groups be called “Group” so as to avoid the appearance of catering to some individuals and not to others?” – Jason

I didn’t critize any group or race in my comment. If I did, feel free to point it out. I was clarifying the difference between discrimination and segregation. I have no problem with groups catering to individuals. In fact, thats what all groups do. However, the point of the article was not that these groups shouldn’t exist, it is that our tax dollars should not be funding them.

And try to refrain from the person insults; they add nothing to the conversation and only undermine your stance.