Offensive Comics and "Wear Black" Campaigns

No one is perfect, but that doesn't also mean at times that one doesn't know better. 

Case and point: University of Arizona's student newspaper, The Arizona Daily Wildcat

On Tuesday, October 16, 2012 the Wildcat published an obviously homophobic comic strip:

Photo credit: http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2012/10/19/1046681/university-of-arizona-student-newspaper-apologizes-for-homophobic-cartoon/?mobile=nc

As you can see, this is a disrespectful comic and it's wrong of the newspaper to publish it. I'm not sure what the students and people overseeing the Wildcat were thinking, not to mention the student that drew the comic, unless he/she was trying to see what he/she could get away with. The good news is that the student has since been let go. 

This issue at Arizona could have a very similar ending to the one Oregon State is hoping for this weekend concerning their "Wear Black" campaign at Reser Stadium for the upcoming football game against Utah.

Several years ago Oregon State had a "Blackout" for a football game and the date landed around Halloween weekend. During the weekend of the football game, there was a fraternity with a noose hanging from a tree that was not taken down after the Halloween festivities, a student who painted his entire body black, including his face and who wore a black afro wig, and then the Oregon State student newspaper published the photo of the student on the front page the following Monday.

The "Blackout" did not bring positive results for the school, but instead sparked a racism discussion and  a ban of the blackout at football games. This upset students as they did not think that the entire University should be punished for a small group of people's wrong-doing, but it only takes one person to ruin a party as we all know. 

My point here is that it has taken Oregon State until now to give the blackout another chance. However, they are calling it the "Wear Black" campaign instead of a "Blackout." The school released statements at a press conference saying they want to be able to trust the students and fans to make appropriate decisions regarding the campaign and that they were going to give everyone another chance.

It took a few years, but after much media coverage from the Oregonian and student requests, Oregon State turned it into a teaching moment, and has finally given the people a second chance, in hopes that they have learned a thing or two. If the weekend goes well, the Wear Black campaign will continue; if not, it may disappear forever. 

I hope that the University of Arizona takes their incident as a teaching moment as well.

They have offended an entire group of people on campus whom I'm sure feel very uncomfortable and even unwelcome at their own University. It's unfortunate that it happened.

This is a moment for the University to look at what has happened and for them to explain to the paper and the student body why it is wrong and why the LGBT community deserves just as much respect as everyone else. 

If I were the editor of The Daily Wildcat, I would write an extensive apology and explanation for what happend and try to communicate that this is not how Arizona wishes to view the LGBT community. 

Colleges and Universities are meant to be places of progress and positive change. They are filled with the country's (and some of the world's) future generation of decision makers. These institutions need to remain places of progress and change, because the last thing we need is to go back to the way things have been in the past. 

If you are a college student, an alumni, or a parent of a college student, be sure you understand this: every human on this Earth, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, social status, economic status and beyond, is created equal. No one should ever have hate put on them because of how they were born or what they choose to represent (as long as it's not a serial killer or a child molester). 

I believe in the power of positivity and believe that we can all exist in peace.

Lesson learned: "Be careful of the words you say, keep them soft and sweet, you never know from day to day which ones you'll have to eat." --- K. McCarthy