Students in hot water over racist Facebook posts
May 10, 2010 by Taylor HanniganPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
Two white students posted a racist conversation on Facebook after a black student entered the room. Now they’re facing the music.
When a black student at the University of Minnesota Duluth entered a room, two white students described her in racially derogatory terms during a Facebook conversation. The conversation appeared on the white students’ Facebook walls, making it visible to hundreds and maybe even thousands of others.
The white students haven’t been punished yet. But at a forum attended by about 100 students, faculty and administrators, some faulted the school for not having any minority counselors on staff. The chancellor of the school, whose total population of about 11,000 includes 130 black students, has called the incident “horrendous and despicable.”
Should these students be punished? If so, how? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
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May 12th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
No harm. . . no foul! Leave the students alone!
May 12th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
Last I checked, the first amendment didn’t make an exception for speech we don’t like. Yes, this is “horrible and despicable”, but let’s leave the speech police in North Korea.
May 13th, 2010 at 10:26 am
Let me tell you something, forget about all this mess of racial slurs, bloppers, blogs facebook and everything like that. Pay that black student the money that she deserves for the pain and suffering of her foreparents and then see what happens. Ok? Paying money out of your pocket has a way of “shutting down” some of the stupid stuff.
May 13th, 2010 at 11:01 am
No….the students shold not be punished……what happened to freedom of speech? Would anything be done if two black students said; something about white people? Which they do all the time. Black people are just as rascist as white people.
May 13th, 2010 at 11:05 am
It depends on a few factors. If this facebook “room” was sponsored through the school, then the student can face some reprecussions. If it is totally public, then it is probably covered under free speech. However, I do think that the school needs to (and it seems like they will) acknowledge this issue and try and make some changes so that these things do not happen in the future — providing diversity courses, hiring teachers or councellors of varying races, etc.
May 13th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
The two students who described their Black colleague in racially derogatory terms should have the courage to face that person and explain precisely what it was they meant by their comments about her. And those comments should be posted on facebook as well.
May 13th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Why does she deserve money for the suffering of her foreparents? That’s ridiculous. My foreparents were Native American (we say Indian), and I don’t feel entitled to anything. I have all the same rights and opportunities as everyone else, and I’ve moved on. And I don’t feel like I need any special rights, nor do I feel like I can expect the whole world to cater to me.
She doesn’t have the right to never have her feelings hurt. White people don’t get freedom of speech. Why is that? I’m sick of hearing someone scream racism over every little thing, real or imagined.
May 14th, 2010 at 8:53 am
I am very concern when on a daily basis we are focusing on race instead of the issues of the world. I notice that when disaster comes like a tornado, hurricane, etc. it does not see races; only thing it sees is what is in its path. Therefore, we should spend more time focusing on important things instead of trivial things.
Let us get over the race issues and move on to living together on this planet.
June 14th, 2010 at 12:37 am
Dear All,
This is ridiculous. Freedom of speech is Freedom of Speech. I used to hear black people in NYC use the N word all the time; in the subway, on the street, in restaurants and in bars, etc… Most black people who use it in public seem to intentionally do so when white people are around. The article doesn’t even explain what was said. How do we even know what this woman considered to be a slur. Further, even if the conversation did take place on a school facebook page, it is still Freedom of Speech.
Sincerely,
Sean M. Donahue