Posted on 12/03/2003 5:56:13 AM PST by The_Victor
Conservative students at Texas A&M University are outraged that the school president implied they made racist remarks and the athletic director accused them of hurting the football team by protesting affirmative action.
The Young Conservatives of Texas student group sent open letters Tuesday to A&M President Robert Gates and Athletic Director Billy Byrne demanding they apologize for their "false and defamatory accusations."
"Their irresponsible actions are unacceptable from anybody, especially high-ranking university administrators," wrote David Rushing, an A&M graduate and Southern Methodist University law student who chairs the statewide YCT organization. "Thee-mails sent by Dr. Gates and Mr. Byrne only serve to strengthen our resolve to fight the good fight and spread the conservative message across Texas."
Gates said Tuesday night the students "are being a little overly sensitive."
He pointed out that, unlike SMU administrators' actions in September, he did not shut down an "Affirmative Action Bake Sale" held on the College Station campus on Nov. 19 that is at the heart of the dispute.
"I want the issue (of diversity) discussed in a respectful way," said Gates, who plans to hold an open forum this evening to unveil A&M's plans to incorporate race as an admissions factor in light of last year's U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing racial preferences in admissions and scholarships.
Last week, Gates and Byrne sent e-mails and posted Web messages being interpreted as rebukes to the bake sale, in which YCT members sold cookies for $1 to Asians, 75 cents to whites, 25 cents to Hispanics and 10 cents to blacks. The sliding scale was designed to protest racial preferences and the hiring of a so-called "diversity czar" to bring more minorities to the 45,000-student campus, which is 85 percent white.
"The Texas A&M Bake Sale plays right into the hands of those who recruit against us, in both athletics and in the general student population," wrote Byrne, who has been pilloried in national conservative publications.
Matt Maddox, an A&M senior who chairs the campus YCT group, said the thinly veiled attempt to blame A&M's poor football season on conservative students is laughable.
"Byrne is implying that the best football players are minorities," said Maddox. "What is the difference between that and what Jimmy the Greek or Al Campanis said?"
Jimmy (The Greek) Snyder resigned from his television post after making what the network regarded as racially insensitive comments. Campanis, former Los Angeles Dodgers executive, lost his job after saying blacks lacked "the necessities" to serve as Major League Baseball managers.
Byrne, who was hired by Gates, could not be reached for comment.
"The administration is trying to turn this issue to an athletics issue so they can win the support of alumni over issues of race," Maddox added.
Gates has frequently stated since his hiring in 2002 that he would make diversity a top priority.
To demonstrate his commitment, Gates created the position of vice president and associate provost for institutional assessment and diversity. James Anderson, a former vice provost at North Carolina State University, has filled the job.
"During the last few weeks important conversations about diversity have taken place throughout the university in both formal and informal settings," wrote Gates in an e-mail to students, faculty and staff. "While everyone has the right to freely express her or his opinions, such sentiments must be presented with a genuine sense of civility. The majority of conversations and interactions about diversity have embraced this value.
"During this same time the positive efforts of countless individuals were blemished by the actions of individuals such as those who made disparaging remarks about a Hispanic American graduate student, about a group of ethnically diverse prospective students who were visiting the A&M campus, and about a new vice president and faculty member."
Gates said Tuesday that the bake sale was related to only one of the three incidents, in which a Hispanic woman was allegedly told "to go back to Mexico." He acknowledged he did not investigate the claim but said he didn't accuse YCT by name.
Students at the Nov. 19 bake sale could be heard discussing the alleged slur. A female student who is a member of YCT said the Hispanic student started the flap by proclaiming "Texas used to be part of Mexico," and someone replied, "then to go to Mexico if you like it there so much."
Maddox said the "individuals" Gates is criticizing are clearly meant to be members of his organization.
He said he and other YCT students never made disparaging remarks toward anyone and that Gates never spoke to YCT members before publicly making his claims.
"There was media coverage all day," Maddox said. "There is no way YCT could have perpetrated these acts and gotten away with it."
November 30, 2003
Dear Mr. Byrne:
The statewide organization of the Young Conservatives of Texas is contacting you in regard to your ?Wednesday Weekly? of November 26, 2003, in which you suggest that the Texas A&M chapter of the Young Conservatives of Texas (A&M YCT), ?plays into the hands of those who recruit against? Texas A&M with respect to athletics and the general student population.
With all due respect, we resent your shameless and feeble attempt to shift responsibility for Texas A&M?s lackluster athletic season from yourself to A&M YCT. At the University of Texas at Austin, our chapter there held a similar bake sale and has been at least as active as the Texas A&M chapter over the last few years. Interestingly, the University of Texas athletic programs continue to excel.
Mr. Byrne, we find it ironic that you are unable to appreciate the importance of YCT's activism for equal rights given that the field of athletics in which you are ostensibly an expert provides a textbook example of the benefits that come from making decisions based entirely on merit and without regard to race. Whether it is Jim Brown, Arthur Ashe, Jackie Robinson, Dat Nguyen, Tom Flores, or Yao Ming, we have seen that racial minorities do not need special treatment to excel in sports, but simply a fair shot to compete on an even playing field. The same applies to academics.
While some of the most high profile college sports have racial demographics that do not mirror the population, we trust you would agree that the "underrepresentation" of whites, Hispanics, Asians, and other groups in sports such as football and basketball and the corresponding "overrepresentation" of blacks is solely due to merit-based criteria, not racial discrimination. If race was used as a factor in the composition of sports teams, clearly the quality of play would suffer, in addition to the unfairness that would be visited upon those athletes discriminated against on account of their skin color.
Mr. Byrne, if A&M YCT stops hosting bake sales to protest racial preferential university policies, your athletic program will not consequently improve. The only effect would be that free speech would be suppressed. However, if you will stop focusing time and effort on a political organization and an activity that you know little about and start spending more time doing your job of building A&M athletics, then they may improve.
Sincerely,
David C. Rushing
State Chairman, Young Conservatives of Texas
Texas A&M University, Class of 2002
Christopher M. Allen
State Chairman Emeritus
George Bush School of Government, Class of 2004
Matthew J. Griffing, Esq.
Executive Director
Marc Levin, Esq.
General Counsel
Steven E. Watson
Vice Chairman for Finance
Randy Samuelson
Vice Chairman for Legislative Affairs
Mark McCaig
Vice Chairman for Communications
Texas A&M University, Class of 2005
Nayeem Mohammed
Vice Chairman for Internal Affairs
Jon Gimble
Vice Chairman for Special Events
Sarah Davis
Secretary
Texas A&M, Class of 2004
Matthew Maddox
Chairman, A&M YCT
Class of 2004
So9
Ouch! That had to sting!
Thanks for posting this, I had not seen the actual letter.
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