White beauty queen at US black university pens plea to Obama
The "Homecoming Queen" at a traditionally black US university has sent a letter to President Barack Obama, complaining that her win had been questioned on campus because she is white.
But after her letter riled students at Hampton University in Virginia, beauty pageant winner Nikole Churchill issued a public apology, saying she had taken "the comments of a few and blew them out of all proportion."
Churchill, a tall, raven-haired woman who, like Obama, grew up in Hawaii, wrote to the president after winning her university's beauty pageant last week.
"It would be much easier to say that possibly some were not accepting of the news because I wasn't the most qualified contestant; however, the true reason for the disapproval was because of the color of my skin. I am not African American," the nursing student wrote to the president.
Read it all at Breitbart. What should Obama do with this, if anything? Would it be a smart move on his part to speak to the issue of reverse racism, or should he just ignore it?
Invite her to the White House for a beer. Actually, given that she's a college student, invite her over to play beer pong.
ReplyDelete"Although some are outraged by her race, I think most are upset because this young lady has no ties to the student body. She is a transfer student who attends an HU satellite campus. She has never lived in a dorm, eaten in the cafe, or spent time in the Student Center."
ReplyDelete...and here I though college was all about preparing for the real world and getting an education. I guess I completely missed the important things like living in a dorm and eating in the cafe.
Personally, I don't see the need for 0bama to involve himself in this one bit. As much as he's lived in an left-wing echo chamber all his life, I doubt he so much as acknowledges reverse racism exists.
Instapundit just linked to an interesting article semi-related to all this just a few moments ago:
Asian-American Applicants and Competing Rationales for Affirmative Action in Higher Education
"Black or white, this young lady is not qualified to be the face of Hampton University as she is not in tune with the wants, needs, and desires of the student body at large," a person who signed themselves as a graduate of the university commented on the website of Essence, a magazine for black women.
ReplyDelete"Although some are outraged by her race, I think most are upset because this young lady has no ties to the student body. She is a transfer student who attends an HU satellite campus. She has never lived in a dorm, eaten in the cafe, or spent time in the Student Center."
Oops. They know they f*cked up. The first statement says it all. To be "in tune" means "to be black." And more than that. I've noticed that black students from Africa or the Caribbean don't count -- they aren't "black" either according to the identity-politics orthodoxy that dominates on college campuses.
The "in tune" comment is code, and anyone who's paying attention knows precisely what it means.
The second statement is an attempt to distract -- it is a recognition that they realized that the race card will not play in Peoria. So now what we see is a host of technicalities being thrown around. Only the True Believers will be impressed -- to any impartial observer it speaks of nit picking.
I'll go out on a limb here -- given that in nearly every case these things are voted by the students, I'd suspect this is a case of the girlfriends getting pissed that the brothers elected a white chick.
As for Obama, a personal letter to the young lady would be in order. A public statement of any type could not help but go awry -- frankly he's in trouble regardless on this one. Here is one case where I'd say I feel a bit sorry for him -- this is a no-win. That said, he set a precedent with the Skip Gates fiasco, and insofar as he has packaged himself as the "post-racial president" he has asked for this kind of thing.
Obama is one of the few elected political leaders that "can" address this issue.
ReplyDeleteWe will find out if he has the courage or the understanding.
Pi Guy.
ReplyDeleteThe ugly secret that many in colleges -- students and faculty alike -- wish would go away is that "non traditional" students are increasingly becoming the norm. Commuter students are more common, mainly because housing costs are depressed in many areas.
Hampton is, of course, a "historically black college." On their website they describe themselves as "a dynamic, progressive institution of higher education, [and] a privately-endowed, non-profit, non-sectarian, co-educational, historically black university." They proclaim that, despite the last part, that "Hampton University accepts all qualified applicants without regard to race, creed, national origin, religious beliefs, or physical disabilities."
A quick check on the ethnic make up of the student population (information that they are supposed to make public) shows that the links to the sections of the website dealing with "ethnicity" are disabled. Those are the only demographics disabled.
Hmmmmm. I wonder why.
If Hampton operates like a lot of places, I would suspect that the reason why this "transfer student" doesn't reside on campus and all the rest is because she is not considered by the admin to be a "real" member of the campus community.
ReplyDeleteFolks like her (and I'm not referring to race, but rather to her major and transfer status) are generally admitted for one reason: money.
In the biz these are called "revenuers" -- students that you admit solely to take their money.
What happened to my Avatar? It's now a flag.
ReplyDeleteI guess I must be "dissenting"
Lucius Septimius said...
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to my Avatar? It's now a flag.
I guess I must be "dissenting"
Nope, blogspot has a bug in their comment avatar feature. The first 5 comments show their normal avatars, and all the rest get what is set as the generic avatar.
As a matter of fact, littleoldlady was having fun with this fact last night.
Blogspot has been notified of the problem, and all we can do now is wait for it to be fixed.
Considering the reverse Midas touch of Chairman Zero, maybe it's best that he not say or write anything in return, or that he delegate it to somebody among his entourage who is not totally tone-deaf and just put on his signature.
ReplyDeletePi Guy -- earlier it was just a gray profile rather than a flag.
ReplyDeleteFF -- too late; by personally involving himself in the Skip Gates thing he opened himself up to this.
ReplyDeleteLucius Septimius said...
ReplyDeletePi Guy -- earlier it was just a gray profile rather than a flag.
Yep. I added the gray profile last night.
This morning, C² designed the flag icon, and I changed the code to use it less than an hour ago.
Meanwhile, the USC/ND game is looking ugly, though I see ND just scored.
ReplyDeleteAnd then missed the extra point!
ReplyDeleteLame.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFF -- self editing?
ReplyDeleteLucius Septimius said...
ReplyDeleteFF -- self editing?
He's finally free to do so.
;)
LOL!
ReplyDeleteHonestly, this whole thing strikes me as a bunch of catty college girls.
ReplyDeleteThat's not the business of the POTUS.
I, on the other hand, would be more than happy to discuss the issue at length with the young lady who won the contest.
ReplyDeletePi Guy: nice Ilya Somin article.
ReplyDeleteI've known (in the early 1990s) for some people to defend so-called AA on the grounds that "otherwise, all the good jobs will go to Jews and East Asians".
This aside from the fact that somebody who enters a more demanding program than (s)he can handle due to AA, and then drops out, might have been better served by actually graduating from a "lesser" institution.
Interception Notre Dame.
ReplyDeleteWow -- that was a great defensive play.
Re: self-editing: hit "publish" before I was done :-)
ReplyDelete/Premature blogaculation? [groan]
LOL
ReplyDeleteFF -- absolutely right. The failur rate of minority students at places like Harvard is scandalous.
ReplyDeleteIt also applies to graduate students. I've seen many very smart black grad students pushed out the door and into jobs before they are ready. Given the state of the job market, it's hard to get an interview without having completed the Ph.D. -- in fact, the standard is having at least a few years post-graduate experience before landing a tenure-track job. Black doctoral candidates, though, are often able to get tenure track jobs before completion. The result is that they struggle to finish their dissertations while coping with the stress of a new job. And in more cases than I like to count, they end up tanking on their pre-tenure reviews (mainly because the time they are *supposed* to be using to publish articles are spent finishing the dissertation) and then having their contracts not renewed.
(It's almost impossible to deny tenure to a black candidate, but you can make sure they don't stick around long enough to come up for tenure -- administrators can be pretty heartless when need be).
In any event, more than a few very promising black graduate students have had their academic careers sabotaged by AA.
I, on the other hand, would be more than happy to discuss the issue at length with the young lady who won the contest.
ReplyDeleteI'll see if I can find a picture. (I aim to please.)
CC -- I saw the picture, which ensured my deep concern for her, um, welfare.
ReplyDeleteWell, if we're talking about homecoming queens, what if
ReplyDeleteThe Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun!
I found a video and added it...she had to apologize for writing Obama the letter (which I guess was mentioned in the article).
ReplyDeleteLucius Septimius said...
ReplyDeleteHonestly, this whole thing strikes me as a bunch of catty college girls.
That's not the business of the POTUS.
Well put.
Obama is one of the few elected political leaders that "can" address this issue.
ReplyDeleteWe will find out if he has the courage or the understanding.
Syrah, that's similiar to my take. If anyone could do some good with the issue of reverse racism, he could - but like PiGuy, I imagine he's largely blind to its existence.
Nikole Churchill apologized for writing to him already, so he's probably off the hook in any case (not that he was necessarily on it).
I really wonder how the black community/student body would respond to a few words from him on this topic. They mostly seem to love him, so I would think he'd be received well for just about anything he might say. It would be interesting to see, in any case.
Honestly, this whole thing strikes me as a bunch of catty college girls.
ReplyDeleteThat's not the business of the POTUS.
That's true, too. There are certainly more meaty examples of reverse racism out there if he was ever inclined to say something about it.
Hell would freeze over first, I'm guessing - but maybe he'll surprise me one of these days.
Corre∫pondence Committee said...
ReplyDeleteSyrah, that's similiar to my take. If anyone could do some good with the issue of reverse racism, he could - but like PiGuy, I imagine he's largely blind to its existence.
Damn dangling modifiers!
;)
Reduce dangling modifiers without surgery!
ReplyDeleteUSC players are being dolts --
ReplyDeleteThrow into the endzone ....
Excuse me if this article or video has already been discussed
ReplyDeleteBritish Hero Tells U.N. Council: 'IDF Most Moral Army in History of Warfare'
UN-Watch article including a video
Today's emergency UN Human Rights Council debate on the Goldstone Report predictably saw a line-up of the world's worst abusers condemn democratic Israel for human rights violations. In a heated lynch mob atmosphere, Kuwait slammed Israel for “intentional killing, intentional destruction of civilian objects, intentional scorched-earth policy,” saying Israel “embodied the Agatha Christie novel, 'Escaped with Murder'.” Pakistan said the “horrors of Israeli occupation continue to haunt the international community’s conscience.” The Arab League said, “We must condemn Israel and force Israel to accept international legitimacy." Ahmadinejad’s Iran said “the atrocities committed against Palestinians during the aggressions on Gaza should be taken seriously” and followed up by the international community “to put an end to absolute impunity and defiance of the law.”
What the world's assembled representatives did not expect, however, was the speech that followed (see video and text here
), organized by UN Watch. We invited as our speaker a man who repeatedly put his life on the line to defend the democratic world from the murderous Saddam Hussein, Al Qaeda, and the Taleban. The moment he began his first sentence, the room simply fell silent. Judge Goldstone, author of the biased report that prompted today's one-sided condemnation, had refused to hear Col. Kemp's testimony during his "fact-finding" hearings. But UN Watch made sure today that this hero's voice would be heard -- at the U.N., and around the world.
USC wins.
ReplyDeleteWhat a frickin' amazing game.
Especially given that I despise both teams.
Uh oh ... :01 remaining?
ReplyDelete'IDF Most Moral Army in History of Warfare'
ReplyDeletenoooooo! lalalalalalalalala! I don't hear you!
Over at Kos, DU, Puffington Host, and the rest of the liberal world, the indignation has been stoked I suspect.
:01 remaining.
ReplyDeleteWow. Fourth Down and goal to go with one second left in the fourth quarter.
Doesn't get better than this.
OK, now it's official.
ReplyDeleteClaussen sucks.
Lucius Septimius,
ReplyDelete'IDF Most Moral Army in History of Warfare'
---
And that sentence was uttered by a British no more!
That after British union after British union called for boycotts of Israel.
OK -- have to take the kids to my MIL's house to bathe them since we still don't have any hot water.
ReplyDeleteGrrrrr.
Callahan23 - there had been a bit of discussion of that with the rest of the UN Terrorists' Rights Commission vote.
ReplyDeleteThe whole thing make a kangaroo court look fair.
The right to free speech...
ReplyDeleteThe right to self defense...
The right to broadband??????
ACCESS to a fast Internet connection has become more than a convenience. It’s being enshrined in some countries as a legal right of all citizens.
Screw, lets skip it all and go straight to FREE OBAMA MONEY FOR EVERYONE!
Kosh,
ReplyDeletein light of all this filth I thought it a little uplifting to post a rebuke by this courageous military man/expert.
in light of all this filth I thought it a little uplifting to post a rebuke by this courageous military man/expert.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if get gets combat pay for that? Patrol in Afghanistan is safer in many ways.....
I believe access to broadband internet is an important infrastructure for our Republic. There is no "right" to it but the fact is that it has become a critical resource for a developed society. Therefore, it should be a utility like water and electrical power.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that making broadband access a regulated utility will fundamentally undermine investment in basic internet infrastruture.
If you want to see what is 'wrong' about our present system look at the antics of some of the owners of current mass-carrier systems. They are investing in all sorts of sport teams, big real estate and speculatory investments while my monthly cost of broadband now approaches $200/month.
Enough is enough.
experiencedtraveler, I agree. Internet access is a utility, and often needed most by people in rural areas, just the areas that don't have it.
ReplyDeleteAnd most suppliers (phone and cable companies) are already regulated. They ask for rates that allow expansion, and then don't spend it. They should have to give back money if they don't upgrade their systems as they promised. (It should be proportional to how late they are, unlike most government limits.)
Hi Kosh! Nice to 'talk' with you again.
ReplyDeleteSometimes the Government must pressure the big service providers. It is too comfortable and easy between the 'competition' of cable/fibre/satellite these days.
And, as a "die in the last ditch" capitalist I don't think I can be easily accused of socialism!
:)
...and hey JCM,
ReplyDeleteI vote PRESENT on the FREE OBAMA MONEY FOR EVERYONE bill! ;)