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Liachan -- That is a very offensive accusation, and one I take seriously as the parent of a Reed student. You should examine the evidence before spreading what appears to now be a Portland urban myth. The Halloween decoration incident of paper bag figures in trees was described in detail on the Willamette Week website by several Reed students explaining that this was a painful mistake made by a student who did not at that time understand the cultural implications of the symbolism. Please note -- decorations put up by one, or a few, students, not by a large group or as an official policy. I found this explanation entirely plausible, as even smart students beginning college don't know everything. That is why they go to college, to learn. A college student should be regarded as a work in progress. It is possible to be clever and talented in some areas and naive or insensitive or ignorant in others. The students commenting on WW went to great lengths to describe the discussion and education and awareness campaign that followed this incident, thus proving to my satisfaction that they and the administration take racism seriously. Members of the student body and the faculty and staff are in fact minority ethnic. You can verify this by reading a few pages of the Reed College website. The general tone of your comment is so dumb I have trouble believing you are a triple degree holder from prestigious schools as you claim. For the record, I attended a state university where I learned to read between the lines and examine evidence. It's not really all that hard to do. My experience of being on the Reed campus six times this year was that I saw serious academic work going on, and an atmosphere of politeness and respect for others. If there is one word I would favor to describe the students I saw and meet there it would be 'sweet', in the old fashioned sense, meaning notably gentle and thoughtful. These kids are for the most part the types who spent a lot of time in high school studying, reading and writing and doing their math homework. That's how they got to Reed in the first place. If you are, as you claim, a 'local educator', I would hope that you would have a more responsible and nurturing attitude toward young people than you have demonstrated in this comment. The 'Thinking Out Loud' program was about drug use and drug policy, it was not about a witch hunt against Reed students. But the sensationalism of the Willamette Week article has encouraged prejudice and unreason and the desire of angry, bitter and unbalanced people to pop out of the woodwork to focus their psychological problems on a hate orgy against Reed students. It is possible for journalists to be very critical of an institution in a manner that is still socially responsible. Your comment lacks maturity, and is yet more proof that Willamette Week has actually obscured important issues that should be discussed sensibly. In so doing, it has also stereotyped and victimized a community which most students enter at age 18 or 19. Shame on you and Shame on Willamette Week.

posted 5 years ago
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