La Shawn Barber writes today about a side-effect to the Duke rape scandal (see Nifong Hits the Circuit; Unusual Leftist Recommendations). What caught my eye in her article was this:
Hopefully, the report will elaborate, but my guess is that black students used the “rape” hoopla to vent frustration about feeling shut out of campus life academically. Ironically, it’s the administration’s fault that minorities have to deal with this. They’re admitted to these schools with lower grades and scores than their white counterparts in the name of skin color diversity, and the administration has little regard for whether they’re academically prepared.
The struggle to keep up with rigorous coursework is stressful in itself, but when you’re made to feel like some white liberal’s pet project and you carry the stigma of having been admitted under a separate and a lower-standards admission track, stress is tenfold. Perhaps Brodhead and the committee finally recognize that admitting students based on race despite academic readiness seriously undermines their campus experience and that raising standards will alleviate some of the alienation and stigma minorities may be feeling. We’ll know for sure (I presume) when the report comes out.
So let me get this straight: The faculty and staff are so knee-jerk they condemned the lacrosse players that were accused before their trial, and now they are going to cater to some students feeling "left out"?
A few weeks ago on Fox News Watch, Jim Pinkerton suggested that the victim culture has maybe run its course in reference to the Boston couple who were removed from an AirTran flight because of their unruly child. It's tantalizing to think our culture is becoming desensitized to the cries of victimization over every little thing.
In the same way the Duke rape case accuser and Nifong have harmed the image of real rape victims, others who cry "victim", especially on the coattails of a high-profile media circus, ruin things for everybody else. Not all causes are equal and that's where our victim culture is truly flawed. To elevate the somebody's feelings to the same level of rape is ridiculous. They are not directly comparing them, but it's a bandwagon.
La Shawn has made good comments on the content of their recommendations, but I think it's wholly inappropriate for the school to be working on perceived hurt feelings in light of how the accused lacrosse players have been disparaged by the same people who are now looking to improve the "undergraduate experience". It's hard to feel sorry for other students who haven't been tried and convicted by their own faculty, the media, and parading wacko activists. They are not equal victims.
I'm more inclined to just tell these people to suck it up or air their issues after the smoke clears from the rape case.
Asleep by The Smiths