"White Awake": University of Maryland under fire for creating 'safe space for White students'

[NightHawkeye]

From the "Basic fairness" files:University of Maryland under fire for counseling group advertised as 'safe space for White students'

“Do you sometimes feel uncomfortable and confused before, during or after interactions with racial and ethnic minorities?” the counseling center’s online description of the group read earlier this week. “This group offers a safe space for White Students to explore their experiences, questions, reactions, and feelings.”
...
An accompanying flyer invited white students to join the group, dubbed “White Awake.”
...
“The aim of this group is to help White students become more culturally competent, so they can better participate in creating a more inclusive environment at the University of Maryland,” the statement reads. “This group is based on research and best practices, and we believe in it.”​

 

[SolomonVII]

Ooh the irony.

 

[NightHawkeye]

Ooh the irony.

Exactly!

 

[thecolorsblend]

Whoever came up with this could be a troll par excellence.

 

[GoldenBoy89]

Ooh the irony.

On which side? I could see this being ironic in two ways. The people complaining about white kids having a safe space and the people defending a white safe space.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Sounds like much of the backlash was due to some misunderstanding of purpose of the group over a poorly selected name.

It says that the group has been renamed to the Anti-Racism and Ally Building Group

“We agree with the feedback that the flyer was not clear enough in conveying the fact that the purpose of this group is to promote anti-racism and becoming a better ally. We didn’t choose the right words for the flyer, and we are going to incorporate the feedback we have received into a revision of it. Again, we will discontinue use of the current flyer,” the statement reads.

 

[NightHawkeye]

Whoever came up with this could be a troll par excellence.

Maybe. Nevertheless, whoever petitioned for the group provided compelling reasons for the need, so much so that even with an onslaught of criticism the university finds itself between a rock and a hard place needing to support the group. The university did change the name but not the intent of the group.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

The university did change the name but not the intent of the group.

The original name of the group was what made the intent murky for those seeing it.

In all fairness, if you just heard there was a group named "White Awake" and there weren't extensive details readily available, it'd be perfectly reasonable to expect that some people are going to think it's a publication by some group like Stormfront.

Once the intentions of the group were made clear and they picked a better name, it didn't seem like it was viewed as a big problem anymore.

 

[dzheremi]

“Do you sometimes feel uncomfortable and confused before, during or after interactions with racial and ethnic minorities?”

It reads like ad copy for some new medicine, or maybe one of those "As Seen On TV" products that absolutely no one could ever possibly need...

 

[com7fy8]

I suppose white awake could mean people who aren't in the dark of racism.

But it seemed, from the reading, that there would be white people as staff and as visitors. This could be like the blind leading the blind. I would think it might help, if they haven't done this, to have various people helping in the operation of the group. Have minorities hanging out there so white students could get experience talking with them about things.

Even so . . . in case certain minority people were there to help whites know how to communicate with minority people, I would say no particular individual of a minority can speak for all others. So, best of all, I can see, is get to know each person and enjoy discovering how to share with each one.

In my case, I might want to talk with some black people about the best way to talk about them > do I say "black", "colored", or something else? I have tried "Afro", meaning anyone with African descent, so I'm not just giving someone some color identity which is not at all an identity. And "Afro" does not favor any term which more or less prejudiced people might use.

 

[dogs4thewin]

look I am 27 and feel that "safe spaces" are nuts.

 

[Ana the Ist]

look I am 27 and feel that "safe spaces" are nuts.

Good for you dogs. They're inherently racist and completely unnecessary. Nobody was ever harmed by just being around other people.

 

[dogs4thewin]

Good for you dogs. They're inherently racist and completely unnecessary. Nobody was ever harmed by just being around other people.

not racist ( all the time) just crazy. Not all the "safe spaces" have to do with race.

 

[Ana the Ist]

not racist ( all the time) just crazy. Not all the "safe spaces" have to do with race.

They're all based on the same principle.

 

[dogs4thewin]

They're all based on the same principle.

and they are all nuts

 

[Ana the Ist]

and they are all nuts

Indeed. The idea that being around whites causes enough stress to be harmful to one's life is ridiculous and pretty darn racist. The idea that being around heterosexuals can cause enough stress to be harmful to one's life is equally ridiculous.

It's the same principle behind "trigger warnings" or "micro-aggressions" and a whole slew of ideas that culminate in the censorship of free speech.

 

[Hank77]

not racist ( all the time) just crazy. Not all the "safe spaces" have to do with race.

How do you feel about Alcohol Anonymous, etc. meetings? They are safe spaces/places where people can talk freely about their problems/feelings.
Are you against people talking to psychologists, counselors, etc.? Those are safe spaces/places.
Because these groups are on college campuses some ignorant people, not saying you are one, attempt treat all of the campus support groups the same.

 

[Chesterton]

Whoever came up with this could be a troll par excellence.

I know, right? I wish I could take credit for it.

 

[Chesterton]

In all fairness, if you just heard there was a group named "White Awake" and there weren't extensive details readily available, it'd be perfectly reasonable to expect that some people are going to think it's a publication by some group like Stormfront.

God forbid.

 

[USincognito]

Why is this in American Politics?