LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: WE WERE WARNED

This week gave witness to the ultimate tragedy. For the family of Michael Davis it has been a living nightmare. Eventually, the question will be raised, why has it come to this? It will be hard to believe, but we have been forewarned.

An April 1, 1987 Capaha Arrow editorial warned, "Black Greeks may push their luck too far.... Surely, this type of behavior (hazing) will catch up with them....Somebody's going to decide they were put through too much stress during initiation, and the lawsuits will hit the fan."

Immediately, the student editor was met with righteous indignation. He was called "ignorant" with a "swallow little mind." He was accused of being "blinded by prejudice," and causing not only an uproar with Black Greeks, but an offense of stereotyping all blacks on campus.

The actions considered in the editorial as hazing were defended by the then Black Greeks as "historical traditions."

Because of arguments and incidents noted above, there exists on campus, at the least, the perception of a double standard. Black students are not seen as being held to the same standards of conduct as white students.

-- Spring 1993: A black fraternity party results in a wrecked class with broken glass and chairs. Nothing has been done about it to my knowledge.

-- A college Republican party results in a food fight. They are required to pay for the clean up.

-- Department of Public Safety officials repeatedly hesitate to apprehend black students for fear of racial harassment charges.

-- Black student organizations are known for not properly registering and for not having advisors or using absentee advisors.

-- There is a quota for seats on the funding board.

Concern has been raised that this incident will lead to further stereotyping of black students. But common sense should inform us that the actions of a few do not reflect the values of the whole.

In reference to the accused, what comes to mind is what an Italian FBI agent told an Italian mafia wiseguy while placing him under arrest. The wiseguy said, "It's a shame that I would be arrested by one of my own kind."

The agent responded, "I'm not your kind, you're not my kind, I have totally different mores and values than you. The only thing we have in common is that we are Italian (black) and to that culture, you are a disgrace."

It is not the criticism of deviant behavior of some blacks that perpetuates sterotypes, but it's when they are allowed to get away with it.

The bottom line is the full responsibility for this tragedy rests on the shoulders of the entire university administration, because if they had cracked down on black hazing as sternly as need be, this matter never would have happened.

Since Southeast embraced "diversity/multiculturalism," it has faced more trouble than before. It would appear they need to subscribe to a program of IN LOCO PARENTIS for all.

Michael Session is a frequent contributor to the Southeast Missourian. He is a graduate student at Southeast Missouri State University and a former columnist for the Capaha Arrow.