The White Student Union (WSU) at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), arguably the newest face of the campus movement against identity politics, has called on UCSB’s chancellor, Henry T. Yang, to resign after its list of “demands” were not met by the administration.
FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE:
Today, walking to my final, I heard someone near me watching a TV that wasn’t working say the phrase “white noise.” It wasn’t addressed to me but I was nevertheless immediately triggered but I had no s@fe space respectful of Europe@n identities to take refuge in. I wallowed, without a s@fe space, for hours before being able to study for my next final.
This could all have been avoided if the UCSB administration would just have met our demands and created a s@fe space for PED. But the oppression of white identities continues at UCSB and the administration turns a blind eye to it.
How can UCSB claim to represent us when it so viciously others us and allows people to say things that we find offensive, like “white noise”? Don’t they realize how much this marginalizes white identities?
Why isn’t UCSB arresting and expelling every single person who says something that might offend a PED?
These are just some of the questions we’d like answered.
We are left with no other choice but to issue the following demands:
I. We demand that UCSB Chancellor, Henry T. Yang, write a handwritten apology to the UCSB WSU and hold a press conference in Thunderdome Stadium reading the letter. In the letter and at the press conference, Yang must acknowledge his lack of support of persons of Europe@n descent, recognize that systems of oppression exist, and provide a verbal commitment to fulfilling UCSB WSU’s demands. We want Chancellor Yang to admit to his gross negligence, allowing UCSB students to say things that PED find offensive, consenting to the othering of PED, and lastly refusing to intervene when this “white noise” remark was made.
II. We demand the immediate removal of Chancellor Yang as UCSB’s Chancellor. After his removal a new amendment to UCSB system policies must be established to have all future UC system Chancellor positions be selected by a collective of students, staff, and faculty of diverse non self-hating Europe@n backgrounds.
III. We demand that UCSB meets the UCSB WSU demands that were presented in 2015 for the betterment of the PED community.
IV. We demand that the UCSB creates and enforces comprehensive PED awareness and inclusion curriculum throughout all campus departments and units, mandatory for all students, faculty, staff, and administration. This curriculum must be vetted, maintained, and overseen by a board comprised of students, staff, and faculty of (non self-hating) Europe@n.
V. We demand that by the academic year 2017-2018, the UCSB increases the percentage of non self-hating Europe@n faculty and staff campus-wide to 10%.
VI. We demand that the UCSB composes a strategic 10 year plan by May 1, 2016 that will increase retention rates for marginalized PED, sustain diversity curriculum and training, and promote a more safe and inclusive campus.
VII. We demand that UCSB increases funding and resources for the UCSB Counseling Center for the purpose of hiring additional mental health professionals — particularly those of non self-hating Europe@n descent, boosting mental health outreach and programming across campus, increasing campus-wide awareness and visibility of the counseling center, and reducing lengthy wait times for prospective clients.
VIII. We demand that the UCSB increases funding, resources, and personnel for the social justices centers on campus for the purpose of hiring additional professionals, particularly those of non self-hating Europe@n descent, boosting outreach and programming across campus, and increasing campus-wide awareness and visibility.
#StandWithUCSBWSU
#LearnInclusion
The list compiled by the UCSB-WSU, which starts off protesting the “offensive” overusage of the phrase “white noise,” looks incredibly similar to the list presented to University of Missouri by the Legion of Black Collegians and other advocates of the BlackLivesMatter movement. The Mizzou letter asked the university’s president Tim Wolfe to write a handwritten apology note and resign after what was considered his “negligence” to acknowledge #concernedstudent1950 demonstrators needs.
The UCSB-WSU complained in the past that the same demands that were being met on behalf of other racial identity groups on campus, such as the Black Student Union, were being pushed under the rug and even met with condemnation and death threats when it advocated for protection of white students. Yesterday, the group called for a “white history month” in acknowledgement of “all the achievements whites have achieved.”
“How can UCSB claim to represent us when it so viciously others us and allows people to say things that we find offensive, like ‘white noise’? Don’t they realize how much this marginalizes white identities?”
Press release issued by the White Student Union (WSU) at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)
A student organizer of the UCSB-WSU who asked to remain anonymous due to fear of risking his or her physical safety, told The Daily Wire that he or she believes that the UCSB chancellor resigning would be an important step forward not just for white-identified students at UCSB, but across the nation.
“No one should have to be forced to listen to things that are @ffensive,” he or she said.