Racism in San Jose State (Extra Credit)

San Jose State University is about an hour or less from UCSC. My sister is currently attending San Jose state and I was surprised to hear about the racial controversy that is going on in that campus. I was surprised not because I was astounded that racism occurs, but because I only found out about the incident through my sister. I was not aware of what happened about a month ago and the way the school responded to the incident is infuriating.

A foundation board member, Wanda Ginner stated during a small February meeting, “I contribute to this university because these little Latinas do not have the DNA to be successful.”  This statement was made in front of the president of the school but it was an employer who was present who had to file the complaint.  However, nothing happened and in August she decided to file a formal complaint since the previous one had been ignored.

My sister informed me that a friendly protest took place where a group of students marched to the president’s office with a petition requesting San Jose State to take action against the racist comments. The president acted immature and locked himself in his office. He sent out his secretary with a walky-talky to talk to the students instead.

I was very disappointed to hear about the issue going on. Racism is clearly still an issue but it saddens me to see how the staff reacted to the issue. They chose to keep receiving money instead of confronting Ginner for her uneducated comments. It was not until students found out of the incident and took action. They have been very persistent and have organized rallies and protest. Faculty advisors have actually joined students in the protest. This is actually not the first racist issue that was ignored on campus. My sister also informed me that an African American student was locked inside a closet with racist flags and items but the school decided to ignore the issue. Students and faculty are fed up and fighting back. Although we live nearby it’s sad to see how this information is not being shared. I had to look into it after my sister informed me on it.

http://www.mercurynews.com/education/ci_26909908/san-jose-state-ethnic-dispute-draws-protest