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To the Smith Community:
A disturbing and offensive incident
took place at Smith over the weekend. On Friday evening, a Smith student and her
male guest came to a theme party in black face and caricatured black clothing and
accessories, impersonating black celebrities. When confronted by students who told
her they found her costume offensive, the student left the party. She has expressed
deep remorse for her actions, and wants to do anything she can to see this issue
addressed.
In the hours and days following the party, there has
been much posting on Facebook and the Daily Jolt about the incident. Some of the
statements are incendiary, racist, deeply offensive, and entirely contrary to the
values of Smith College. We all need to ask ourselves hard questions about a campus
culture that seems to license anonymous, ignorant, prejudiced, and hurtful comments
of this sort.
The corrosive heritage of racism is the greatest burden
that our country takes from its history. It is troubling that colleges and universities
continue to experience incidents that reflect the bigotry that is so shameful a part
of our national past. Because we are colleges and universities, we all need to share
in the responsibility to educate ourselves and our communities about racism and privilege
and to work together to change our culture.
The recurrence of racist incidents in
our culture and on our campus shows us we have much work to do. I will bring the
question of how best to move the community forward to the faculty meeting scheduled
the week after Thanksgiving. Also in that week, we will hold a campus forum devoted
to the issues that this incident -- and
the responses to it -- have raised. Going forward, I will charge a group of
faculty, staff, and students to advise me about programs we might create to give
everyone in our community the opportunity to confront issues of race -- including
an all-college meeting about race, values, and our community at the start of the
spring semester.
Just six months ago, Smith adopted a new statement of
its mission, in which we affirm the values of the community we seek to be. “Smith,” it reads, “educates
women of promise for lives of distinction.” This is a charge to all of us,
and I ask each of you to consider your role in creating the learning community we
all deserve.
Sincerely,
Carol T. Christ |
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