[ninonitti]

I searched the UT site for a Department of Germanic or Italian Studies and came up empty.

Could it be that UT is being niggardly in it's funding of the study of these ethnic groups??? I'm sure Ms Crabtree would love to hear some diverse comments:lcrabtr1@utk.edu

[HennepinPrisoner]

I wonder if the national fraternity chapter or UT administrators ever saw Eddie Murphy in Coming to America.

Apparently, it's funny when a black person paints his face white but it's racist if a white person puts on black makeup.

[ppaul]

Electric Aunt Jemima
Goddess of Love
Khaki Maple Buckwheats
Frizzle on the stove
Queen of my heart
Please hear my plea
Electric Aunt Jemima
Cook a bunch for me.

- Frank Zappa

[Oldeconomybuyer]

I did the same thing with a group of friends in a junior high "talent show" back in about 1968. We lip synced to the song "ABC" by the Jackson 5. We lost the talent show but weren't kicked out of school.

I don't know what these students did but it sounds like the PC crowd needs to lighten up.

[RightOnline]

OK, so I'm wondering.........if a group of black students painted their faces white and went to a party as the Osmond Brothers, would the same "punishment" be imposed?

Sheesh...............like that would ever happen............................

........blacks posing as the Osmond Brothers.

[Bikers4Bush]

Pathetic.

[AppyPappy]

In the college business, we call this "separating the wheat from the chaff". The F'ups always find a way to F'up.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Yesterday, I walked into a Burger King in downtown Manhattan. In the spirit of the day, one of the workers was dressed up as Count Dracula.

Little did I know at the time that I was supposed to express my outrage that this young black man would paint his face white.

(I'm obviously so out of the loop that I didn't know that this wasn't "PC". Can I still register my complaint with Al Sharpton? Will he rally to my defense to help combat this terrible racial insensitivity?)

[anniegetyourgun]

"We will require the leaders and members of Kappa Sigma to demonstrate a commitment to uphold our expectations for civility, ethnic diversity and racial harmony," Crabtree said."

You WILL submit to the thought police....and you will like it.

[sam_paine]

SPIKE LEE HAD NO PROBLEM WITH BLACKFACE. RENT IT TODAY!

[Redbob]

Now UT is insulting the sacred memory of Al Jolson!

Oh, Mammy!

(Guess I'll just go re-read "Little Black Sambo")

[ppaul]

Even if the national Kappa Sigma organization reinstates the UT Lambda chapter...

Lambda?
Hey, are these guys gay?

[BruceS]

Yes, there is a double standard, yes, it is awfully PC to do this. BUT...you would think that anyone smart enough to get into a college would know they couldn't do this and not create an uproar. The "rules" may be stupid (that's a whole other debate), but these college kids were even more stupid.

[Godel]

If its racist to put on blackface, can I be offended when Goths and Clowns put on that white face make-up?

If they have a black guy playing Ronald McDonald is that racist?

[mhking]

Black conservative ping

If you want on (or off) of my black conservative ping list, please let me know via FREEPmail. (And no, you don't have to be black to be on the list!)

Extra warning: this is a high-volume ping list.

[RoseyT]

What if Michael Jackson belonged to that fraternity? Would they have been suspended long ago for Michael's attempt to turn himself white?

[Petronski]

"no longer has standing as a registered student organization and is suspended from participating in university activities, such as Homecoming..."

"Some stupid zombies get to ride a pile of Kleenex down the street. Rah rah."

[1L]

This is interested. Phi Kappa Sigma, a t.u. fraternity, was not suspended but only put on probation after a DEATH resulting from a hazing incident. Hazing is illegal in Texas, but it appears that t.u. values it higher than making overly sensitive people upset.

[dfwgator]

Why would you need to dress up in blackface to portray Michael Jackson?

[Dante3]

I really don't see what the big deal is except it's another step in mind control. I could care less if black students put on white face and go to trick & treting or whatever as Al Gore, Lautenberg, Janet Reno, or any other white person.

[Fletcher J]

An earlier article about this in the News-Sentinel mentions how flabbergasted the administration was of these kid's insensitivity - after all, UT has just completed building a brand new taxpayer-funded $11 Million Black Cultural center.(Which replaces the old Black Cultural Center, by the way)

No word yet on when the white cultural center will be completed. (sarcasm)

In fact, I wonder what the university's response would be if an individual offered $11 Million to build a white cultural center, along with the property to put it on? Would they accept the offer? What would the person making the offer be labelled as? I think I can guess...