White Student Unions

White Student Unions are student organizations that aim to represent the interests of "white" students on university and college campuses. In 2015 many new WSU Facebook profiles appeared and media, after speaking with universities, first reported that they were hoaxes, that they were not condoned by the universities themselves. Neo-Nazi blog, The Daily Stormer, suggested followers create white unions, though some union leaders who claim they are unaffiliated, have since stepped forward and given statements about their mandates.[1][2][3][4][5] While earlier WSU's were white supremacist in nature, newer unions are mixed in their ideologies and many disavow any connection to white supremacy, stating that they are fighting, instead, for safe spaces on campus for white students who feel whiteness is being stigmatized and also that white people are being silenced and excluded from the dialogue of race and whiteness.[2][3][4][4][6][7]

History

1960s and 1970s

The first White Student Unions and similar organizations were initially born of the white separatist movement.[8] In the 1960s, a White Student League was formed by white supremacist Tom Metzger and his father, but it dissipated in the 1970s. In 1979, Greg Withrow incorporated Metzger's Aryan Youth Movement into the White Student Union as a "militant extension of the student struggle."[8] Sacramento State University started the first one, and it extended to as many as 20 chapters across the United States.[9]

1980s and 1990s

White Student Unions were organized at Temple University in 1988 and at Florida State University in 1989. Temple University "was forced to recognize it because it already recognized a host of all-minority institutions," Dinesh D'Souza wrote in 1991.[10]

In 1992, a White Student Union, with "avowedly White supremacist goals," was formed at the University of Minnesota. The university banned the group, but after debates about the First Amendment, the ban was lifted and the group was allowed to register as a student organization.[11]

2015-2016

In November of 2015, a number of White Student Union pages emerged on social media platforms such as Facebook, some apparently in response to a call to action on The Daily Stormer, a white supremacist website; some sources have said that the pages also seem to have been coordinated on 4chan.[1][12][13] Most coverage has described these as hoaxes, and universities have asked that online groups remove any university insignia.[14][15] The unions, nearly all of which have a negligible quantity of followers or likes,[16][17][18][19][20] say they are real and that they are the product of students on campus who want safe spaces for white students who feel stigmatized and silenced. One such page considered the backlash against its creation an affirmation of the stigma against whites citing that nearly every government-funded university has an officially sanctioned black student union or association and experienced no such feedback.

Some of the unions also posted demands for things such as university funding and campus police support. One University of California school also attempted to orchestrate a "White Student Walk Out" for the 19th of January 2016 to voice issues. No such movement took place. [21]

The University of California later sent a mass email to all then matriculated students over the controversy caused by the pages allegedly representing schools nationwide. The UC system, among other institutions, determined that the pages were not created by or on behalf of any members of the student body they claimed to represent. Nonetheless, the university administration offered free counseling and organized a support meeting for students who may have been distressed by the controversy. The pages seemed to be the product of a larger campaign to draw awareness to, and possibly exacerbate, the increasing racial tension being reported in the media surrounding "Black Lives Matter" and other similar racially motivated movements. The original WSU pages that sparked the initial controversy were created for various institutions throughout the country all within a short period around mid-November and seemed to share an uncanny resemblance in format and terminology suggesting a single individual or coordinated group was responsible for their creation. Those responsible have yet to be identified. [22]

Receiving numerous complaints and reports regarding the allegedly prejudicial and racially supremacist inspiration for the pages, Facebook ultimately determined that no user guidelines had been violated and that the pages would not be removed by Facebook administrators. Many of the pages remain but have remained mostly inactive since shortly after their creation. [23]

Some claims, have been met with skepticism over their nature, purpose, and goals.[24] While the creator(s) of the initial string of pages have yet to be identified, some schools experienced "copycat" pages being created by actual members of the student body. One such individual, Matthew Heimbach, who says he is the founder of the White Student Union at Towson University says that he is not racist; but critics point to his group's patrols against supposed "black predators" as evidence of racism. Defending the patrols, Heimbach writes that "White Southern men have long been called to defend their communities when law enforcement and the State seem unwilling to protect our people."[25] These unions have generally been extremely critical of the Black Lives Matter movement, saying that protesters are exhibiting "explicit hostility to white students, faculty, and culture."[26]

Other WSU leaders who have made statements about their union mandates, have, on the other hand no reported history of white supremacy and claim they are seeking safe spaces for white people who feel that whiteness is being stigmatized and white people are being silenced.[2][3][4][4][6][7] UBC's White Student Union in British Columbia, has explained in interview, that their goal as a student group, is to provide "a safe space for white students to air their true feelings," promote a vision "in which every ethnic group has the right to organise and represent themselves and their interests" and destigmatize white culture. The executive committee "meet[s] in a quiet corner of a Vancouver-area library" and "aren’t all white." [27][28][29] The WSU at NYU state, that they feel stigmatized and "[w]hen people say that Students of Whiteness don't face any unique challenges or obstacles we should think about this". "White students are the only group to be labeled as ‘problematic’ simply for existing and to have University classes dedicated to attacking their identity."[4][30] One South East Asian board member on the UBC executive noted, that "I think it’s an injustice ...the stigmatization of whiteness....[which] prevents us from having honest conversations about things that are important."[3][31] University of Central Florida WSU leaders feel as though they are being held accountable for the sins of their ancestors because they are white and state, that “We are not a racist or white supremacist organization… But we will not apologize for being white. We will not self-flagellate for the sins of our ancestors. We will not be emotionally blackmailed to go along with the displacement of white people and culture in the name of ‘diversity’ or ‘equality."[6] Leadership from UT Auston's White Student Union told reporters that “some white students feel as though they are drowning in an anti-white narrative." [32] NYU WSU leaders also stated, that they want to "reclaim[] the word whiteness and not let[] the campus thought police define [their] identities for [them].”[13]One such page considered the backlash against its creation an affirmation of the stigma against whites citing that nearly every government-funded university has an officially sanctioned black student union or association and experienced no such feedback.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Dozens of 'white student unions' appear on social media amid racism protests".
  2. 1 2 3 York, Jamiles Lartey in New. "Dozens of 'white student unions' appear on social media amid racism protests". the Guardian. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "‘We trolled so hard we became real’: meet the founders of UBC’s White Student Union". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "NYU White Student Union Facebook page is a fake, school says". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  5. ↑ "UCF White Student Union Sparks Controversy". 90.7 WMFE. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  6. 1 2 3 "Jessica Bryce". 90.7 WMFE. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  7. 1 2 "Western investigating 'White Student Union' page". London. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  8. 1 2 Dobratz, Betty A.; Shanks-Meile, Stephanie L. (2000). The White Separatist Movement in the United States: "White Power, White Pride!". Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 69.
  9. ↑ Willie, Charles Vert; Garibaldi, Antoine M. (1991). The Education of African-Americans. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 172. ISBN 0-86569-020-0.
  10. ↑ D'Souza, Dinesh (1991). Illiberal Education: The Politics of Race and Sex on Campus. Simon & Schuster. p. 269. ISBN 0-684-86384-7.
  11. ↑ Zanna, Mark P.; Olson, James M. (2013). The Psychology of Prejudice: The Ontario Symposium. Psychology Press. p. 51.
  12. ↑ Kate Dubinski, Postmedia Network (24 November 2015). "‘White Student Union’ Facebook group stirs controversy, skepticism on Western University campus - National Post". National Post. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  13. 1 2 "NYU White Student Union Facebook page is a fake, school says". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2015-12-30.
  14. ↑ "White student union Facebook groups on Canadian campuses appear to be a hoax". 24 November 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  15. ↑ ABC News. "Facebook Pages Purporting To Represent 'White Student Unions' Spark Backlash On College Campuses". ABC News. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  16. ↑ "Canadian universities say white student union Facebook groups appear to be a hoax". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  17. ↑ "Western investigating 'White Student Union' page". London. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  18. ↑ "Harvard Investigating 'White Student Union' Facebook Page". Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  19. ↑ "UC Berkeley White Student Union Facebook page pulled down". ABC7 San Francisco. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  20. ↑ "This ‘White Student Union’ Needs To Take Several Seats And Read A Book". MTV News. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  21. ↑ "‘UCSB White Student Union’ Plans Demonstration, Generates Backlash". www.independent.com. Retrieved 2015-12-30.
  22. ↑ Cabbany, Jennifer. "University offers counseling, support meeting to students distressed by ‘White Student Union’". The College Fix. The College Fix. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  23. ↑ Baskin, Morgan. "White Student Union Facebook pages, believed to be fake, spread nationwide". USA Today. USA Today. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  24. ↑ "Public Statement on Campus (Un)Safety by some concerned graduate students at the Institute of Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice". Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  25. ↑ Enzinna, Wes (January 22, 2014). "White Student Union". VICE. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  26. ↑ "UCF White Student Union Sparks Controversy". 90.7 WMFE. Retrieved 2015-12-31.
  27. ↑ "Canadian universities say white student union Facebook groups appear to be a hoax". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  28. ↑ "‘We trolled so hard we became real’: meet the founders of UBC’s White Student Union". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2015-12-30.
  29. ↑ "‘We trolled so hard we became real’: Meet the founders of UBC’s White Student Union". nvs24.com. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
  30. ↑ "NYU: 'White Student Union' Facebook page fake". WNYW. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  31. ↑ "‘We trolled so hard we became real’: Meet the founders of UBC’s White Student Union". nvs24.com. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  32. ↑ York, Jamiles Lartey in New. "Dozens of 'white student unions' appear on social media amid racism protests". the Guardian. Retrieved 2015-12-29.

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Wikimedia Commons has media related to White Student Unions.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, February 12, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.