In 2008, students living at the Cal Poly agriculture house flew a confederate flag and a hangman’s noose in their yard, in addition to a sign that had racist and homophobic slurs, accoridng to a New Times article. The head of the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science John Peterson confirmed that the students did hang the sign and noose, though he did not see them. He said he didn’t think the students “meant to send a message that was racially insensitive or motivated,” but failed to address that the confederate flag, noose, and racial and homophobic slurs have a history of representing and causing violence. I don’t think the College of Agriculture should have defended the students at all. They should have condemned the act, and explained the history of the confederate flag, nose, and the racial slurs and how they likely made Black and gay students feel very unsafe on campus. This would hopefully deter students from using these symbols in the future.
Peterson spoke with the students, but said that they wouldn’t receive a formal punishment, especially because the school had to consider free speech rights, according to the article. Peterson did say that the incident was “reprehensible” and didn’t reflect the department’s values, however, I think he should have apologized that the department created an environment where the students felt it was acceptable to use racist symbols.
According to the article, the students wrote in a statement, “We house members truly recognize how intolerant, insensitive, immature, and ignorant [our] actions were. These items were displayed without forethought and were promptly removed when their negative significance and connotations were realized,” however, it doesn’t appear that the students apologized for the harm caused by their actions, and I think the university should have required them to do so.
I think the College of Agriculure’s response would have been more successful if they apologized for the incident and the harm it caused to Black and gay students, and used stronger language condemning the action.
Music for Your Mind 