‘Should I have been offended? Was I missing something?’
A Mexican student at Princeton has thrown some cold water on the politically correct hysteria surrounding Cinco de Mayo-themed campus parties.
Writing in the Daily Princetonian, Princeton freshman Uri Schwartz confesses to being baffled at the latest outrage regarding a Cinco de Mayo party thrown by Princeton students. Schwartz writes of receiving a message from the Princeton University Latinx Perspectives Organization regarding the party, as well as e-mails from the Princeton Latinos y Amigos group pledging to “stand in solidarity” with Mexican Princeton students.
“From what I have read,” Shwartz writes, “…it seems that there was a party where people wore sombreros and ponchos, and drank tequila.” He then wonders: “Should I have been offended? Was I missing something?”
Schwartz eventually concludes that the reactions of the two student groups in question were “excessive, unnecessarily harsh toward the University, and, in some respects, unsubstantiated.” The constant cries of “racism,” Schwartz writes, have created a “boy-who-cried-wolf scenario” on campus.
I was particularly startled, and quite honestly bothered, by PULPO’s claim that Public Safety is racist because it does not shut down racist parties as quickly as it shuts down parties thrown by minority students. Furthermore, they stated that on the Street, “students of color are reminded, once more, that they are in the minority and do not see themselves represented in the music and general culture of the Street.” This portrays the Princeton party scene as anti-cultural and oppressive toward minorities. As far as my experiences go, and the experiences of my Latinx friends and friends of color, these statements are misrepresentations of the reality on campus…
I want to make clear that I am in no way defending the actions taken by the students who attended this party. Racism is a central issue in modern society, and we must take care not to undermine the legitimacy of our genuine claims of the marginalization of minority groups in some aspects of campus life. I see what is happening on campus as a type of boy-who-cried-wolf scenario. I worry that the responses of PLA and PULPO to what is, in my opinion, a non-issue, will decrease the credibility of their claims if an incident similar to what happened at Baylor University — where students dressed like maids and janitors, put on brown face, and chanted “build that wall” — happens here. If your reaction to some students putting on sombreros is to condemn Public Safety for racism and demand that the University change its policies, then what could the response possibly be to something like what happened at Baylor?
Instead of condemning the students, Schwartz writes, “we should encourage them to learn how to celebrate Latinx culture appropriately.”
MORE: Princeton U. Latino groups want punishment for week-late white ‘Cinco de Mayo’ partygoers
Like The College Fix on Facebook / Follow us on Twitter
IMAGE: Shutterstock
Please join the conversation about our stories on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, MeWe, Rumble, Gab, Minds and Gettr.