A recent letter to the editor by Ellen Sciba (“Rock article was not newsworthy,” SN 10/10) appallingly tried to downplay the painting over of a Hispanic Heritage Month display on the rock on Farm Lane by fraternity pledges. Sciba’s arguments exemplified the way our society frequently attempts to make what is actually racism seem innocent or coincidental.

Regardless of the individual motivations of the Sigma Alpha Mu pledges, the defacing of the Hispanic Heritage Month display does reveal something about the way minorities are thought of and treated. It shows how people in the United States are insensitive to minorities and the issues they face. In fact, Sciba’s reaction to the article on the event shows how people are conveniently blind to minority issues.

Sciba indicated that the pledges “were not trying to disrespect” the Hispanic students, but unfortunately people do not need to try to do something degrading to do it. If the majority saw racist things as racism, there would be little more for minorities to worry about. Ignorance is the key factor.

It seems obvious to me that I should not immediately paint over a symbol of pride for a group that is constantly overtly and subtly denigrated in society. Think about how many Hispanics you see in leading roles on television despite the fact that Hispanics will soon be a numerical majority in the country. Think about the stereotypes of Hispanics as lazy, stupid and dirty that thrive in the United States because of what our culture teaches us. Think about the discrimination that Hispanics face today in housing, employment, education and other areas. Think about the alarming lack of bilingual education in public schools and the erasure of Hispanic culture.

Clearly, you do not paint over a display that symbolically attempts to resist all of that. If someone cannot understand that, then there is obviously a lot of ignorance involved - ignorance that is caused by and that promotes a racist society.

There is a definite difference between a fraternity display and a Hispanic Heritage Month display that Sciba seems to miss. She places the idea of both being painted over on an equal level, saying that neither would deserve front page news. I find it sad that someone would fail to see the difference between insensitivity to minorities and insensitivity to a fraternity. I also find it sad that someone would call a slap in the face of a marginalized group a “quirky disappointment” or label Sheena Harrison biased because she can see what is important news. I am sick of people groaning about those ‘wacky minorities’ coming up with more ‘exaggerated’ complaints. Feminism is not a scary, extremist philosophy and men should be feminists. Equal rights for gays are only called special rights because there are bigots all over the place. And by the way, I am white and I still care enough to think about the things that racial minorities face.

Brian Jones
interdisciplinary studies
social science sophomore