(NAME-MCE) Noose, Confederate flag at Cal Poly campus house allegedly targeted Blacks, gays and hippies

[Anselmo Villanueva]

San Luis Obispo CA

Halloween tends to bring offensive displays at some campuses most
years, and this year is no exception. California Polytechnic State
University at San Luis Obispo's Crop House — where students pay
reduced rent for caring for campus crops — this week featured a
display with a noose, a Confederate flag, and a sign with slurs about
people who are black, gay, or hippies, The Tribune reported. Students
denied knowing how the sign got on their house with the other
material. Warren J. Baker, president of the university, released a
statement in which he said: "Such hurtful and indeed hateful
expressions have no place in a university that prides itself on an
ethic of openness and mutual respect among all peoples and a
commitment to rational and civil discourse. The students have taken a
first important step by apologizing for their actions. The department
and the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences are
working with them to ensure they understand fully the effect of their
actions and to pursue options for addressing the impact such incidents
have on our community."

Friday, October 31, 2008

Noose, Confederate flag at Cal Poly campus house allegedly targeted
Blacks, gays and hippies

Offensive display at campus house angers Cal Poly

Nick Wilson - nwilson at thetribunenews.com

Cal Poly officials have condemned a Halloween display depicting a
noose, Confederate flag and sign with derogatory language toward
blacks, gays and hippies at an on-campus residence.

Cal Poly's horticulture and crop science department head John Peterson
said Thursday that he met with the six students who live at the
university-owned Crops House. They pay reduced rent in exchange for
maintaining campus crops.

"We are truly repulsed by it," Peterson said. "We're truly unhappy."

Peterson said the students have issued a written apology and
acknowledge that they were wrong in allowing a noose and a Confederate
flag to hang from the home.

The incident sparked a protest on campus Thursday.

But the students told Peterson in a meeting that the noose was part of
a Halloween decoration and found its way next to the flag. They denied
knowing anything about the sign with racist and anti-gay remarks and
said they never saw it posted at the house.

The university did not release the names of the students and The
Tribune did not speak to them Thursday.

"Each of them said individually that (the noose and flag) didn't
reflect their sentiments or values," Peterson said. "They generally
feel like this was a foolish, youthful decision that went way beyond
what they expected."

Peterson said students protested at the University Union on Thursday,
decrying hatred and racism.

University officials say they won't discipline the students because
they have a right to free speech.

Cal Poly President Warren Baker issued a statement condemning the
postings that harken "a shameful period of American history," he
wrote.

"Such hurtful and, indeed, hateful expressions have no place in a
university that prides itself on an ethic of openness and mutual
respect among all peoples," Baker stated.

University Provost Bob Koob said that the incident can serve as a
teaching tool to students, but he noted that Cal Poly students are
generally welcoming of people from all ethnicities, backgrounds and
sexual orientations.

"We do have an educational opportunity to talk to students about how
far out from accepted normal behavior this is," Koob said. "I would
thank the students who assembled to protest."

University officials say they had not seen the sign or noose and
weren't sure if the Confederate flag was still up at the home.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.calpolynews.calpoly.edu/news_releases/2008/October/Response.html

October 30, 2008

A Letter from President Baker to the Campus Community
Followed by a Letter from the Cal Poly Crop Science Department

To Cal Poly Faculty and Staff:

As Cal Poly's president, I join the dean of the College of
Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences and the faculty of the
Horticulture and Crop Science Department in condemning recent
incidents reported at Cal Poly's Crops House that involved display of
racially charged symbols that harken to a shameful period of American
history.

Such hurtful and indeed hateful expressions have no place in a
university that prides itself on an ethic of openness and mutual
respect among all peoples and a commitment to rational and civil
discourse. The students have taken a first important step by
apologizing for their actions. The department and the College of
Agriculture, Food & Environmental Sciences are working with them to
ensure they understand fully the effect of their actions and to pursue
options for addressing the impact such incidents have on our
community.

I would like to offer a few thoughts about the vitally important place
of diversity in the life of the University. With the increasingly
global scope of life and work, the extraordinary diversity of
California's population and the growing diversity of our own student
body, it is important for us to provide a learning environment that
engages our students in ways that will prepare them for success in a
multicultural world. This means that students will need to learn with
people of different backgrounds, to think globally and to understand
the value of different perspectives and ideas, as well as appreciate
and embrace cultures beyond their own.

Students from different personal, social and cultural backgrounds
enrich the University with their varied perspectives and life
histories. All of our students in turn expect that Cal Poly's learning
environment will help and support them in their personal growth and
intellectual development.

We must take care that we are doing all we can to support and realize
the full potential of the University's rich and increasingly diverse
student community.

Creating and sustaining a diverse learning environment is essential to
a 21st century education. This deeply disturbing incident shows that
we have much more work to do before we can say we have achieved this
goal. While faculty, staff and administrators have special
responsibility for doing everything we can to build an inclusive
educational community, students also share responsibility for
recognizing and upholding the values of openness and mutual respect
without which it is not possible for a modern university – for our
university – to function and carry out its vital educational mission.

We all are responsible as members of this university community to
foster a welcoming, inclusive and civil community so that learning can
flourish.

Warren J. Baker, President
California Polytechnic State University
-------------------------------------------------------

Statement from the Faculty of the Horticulture and Crop Science Department
College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences

Reports of two student parties recently held at Cal Poly's Crops House
contained allegations of a sign displaying racial epithets and other
derogatory language, as well as the presence of other questionable
materials.

We are investigating details of these incidents and meeting with
students involved. We, as department and college leaders, wish to
express our dismay over these reprehensible incidents.

As members of the larger university community, we found the incident
reports disturbing and completely counter to the principle of civil
discourse which the college and university try to impart to all our
students.

CAFES has often been described as the friendliest college at Cal Poly,
for good reason. The vast majority of our students are responsible,
hard-working, ethical young people, with respect for different points
of view.

The potential harm to our Horticulture and Crop Science Department,
CAFES, and university from these incidents should not be
underestimated. Our supporters expect us to provide well-rounded
graduates with a global perspective to fuel the state's workforce.
These supporters include current and prospective students, their
parents, alumni and friends, our donors and employers who hire our
graduates.

We would like to assure our stakeholders that the Horticulture and
Crop Science Department, CAFES and Cal Poly strongly endorse the
values of tolerance, inclusiveness, and respect for all people.

John Peterson
Department Head, Horticulture and Crop Science

Horticulture and Crop Science Faculty
Wyatt Brown
John Phillips
David Headrick
David Hannings
Michael Costello
Jeff Wong
Virginia Walter
Keith Patterson
Dan Lassanske
Terry Vassey
Lauren Gardner