Diversity war of words heats up at Texas A&M

Houston Comical ^ | 12/3/03 | RON NISSIMOV

[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."

[The_Victor]

Whoooooooop!

[Pikamax]

Let me help out with the reason why Texas A&M has a bad football team this year..

all the best players.. are going to Oklahoma, Texas, and other schools.

[kjam22]

That and a coaching issue.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

So much for the free exchange of ideas on the A & M campus.

[BadAndy]

It's great to see conservative students becoming activists on campus and challenging the leftist administrations. The next Newt Gingrich will probably come from this type of organization. Now if we can only get some action from Republican legistators.

[Pedantic_Lady]

Oh please...that is such crap. A&M has had great football teams in years past. The YCT have nothing to do with it.

[Flux Capacitor]

Forums Administrator: In the interest of fairness, please restrict white Freepers to one reply per user in this thread.

Asian, Latino, and black Freepers should be allowed between three and five replies per user.

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Thank you.

-Dan

[T.Smith]

I have to agree that the Young Conservatives are overreacting. This sort of hyper-sensitivity is emblematic of the left, not of conservatives.

[The_Victor]

Oh please...that is such crap. A&M has had great football teams in years past. The YCT have nothing to do with it.

At this point the discussion has little to do with the football team. The YTC has responded to the university president's and athletic director's verbal assaults.

[.cnI redruM]

I posted on this yesterday and I'm sorry if it offended the famously delicate sensitivities of those matriculating at the renowned Texas Art and Music University. However, it seems AD Byrne still doesn't get it, so I'll type v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y so that even a Coordinator of Diversity can read and understand.

1) If you find yourselves losing football games 77-0, there's a bit more going on with your program than just a diversity problem. It requires more than 1 or 2 highly teed-off NAACP pass rushers to destroy your squad 77-0.

2) Losing 77-0 does seem to have a disparate impact on Dennis Franchione's recruiting efforts. Perhaps even his prospects of future, lucrative employment in the coaching profession. If AD Byrne, who gave away the farm, located somewhere in the vacinity of Bryan, Texas, for Franchione's 'services' as Head 'Coach', would like to stop receiving informative feedback from the alumni football booster club, he needs a scapegoat. Rapidly.

3) In fairness to the OU football team, they were also denied equal opportunity in The Big 10. Other conferences offered their champions the opportunity to overcome difficult competition and feel a sense of tremendous accomplishment and pride. With a 77-0 outcome, the poor, downtrodden Sooners were denied that opportunity. The level of competition they received from AD Byrne's athletic program was truly separate and very unequal.

4) Out of the goodness of their heart's, the OU fans suggested something to the UT Longhorns during a similar 65-13 unfair denial of equal gridiron competition. They held up a sign saying 'Texas should consider touch football.' A&M defenders would need to catch the OU receivers and running backs first, but at least then, they could keep their eyes on the prize. An elusive name, on the back of a jersey, trucking toward the end zone, to make the score 83-0.

[The_Victor]

Texas Art and Music University

LOL!

[Rebelbase]

There is a "Our school cannot compete without black athletes" inference in the coach's and Univ. president's comments that is far more racist in its depth than is the protest against the inequality of affirmiative action by the young conservatives.

[writmeister]

Plus, the whiny Aggies weren't so sympathetic after they demolished hapless Baylor 73-10 the previous week.

Guy Morriss (the new coach at Baylor) was the first to defend Oklahoma's romp over A&M.

[freedomcrusader]

"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...

This statement is shockingly racist, directly implying that minorities are superior athletes. As the article almost pointed out, Jimmy the Greek was fired for saying the same thing outright.

[Lancey Howard]

Have a diversity bake sale every month. Advertise it in the student paper.
Each and every month.

[Redbob]

"The next Newt Gingrich will probably come from this type of organization."

Can't we have higher hopes than that?

Couldn't we hope for someone with a little more moral fiber and intestinal fortitude than Mr. Gingrich?

[longtermmemmory]

"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.

__ __ __ _ _ _

Translation: I want the issue discussing in a mannter which silences the conservative view or at the minimum only discussed the conservative view as a perspective to be ridiculed and discarded. This is in anticipation of the new Texas A&M quota system.




Universtity digrees are becoming more and more worthless.

[longtermmemmory]

digrees=degrees

[KeyWest]

Gates has frequently stated since his hiring in 2002 that he would make diversity a top priority.

He was hired and the football program tanked. That is cause and effect compared to a bake sale.

[Theodore R.]

Wasn't this Gates the CIA director (or some high ranking post) in the first Bush administration?