If Syracuse University being named the No. 1 Party School was seen as an embarrassment, imagine being the school with a “White Cultural Club.”

The news of the proposed club first spread around campus when Jerk Magazine published the article, “Some People Are Trying to Start a White Cultural Club at SU — we wish we were kidding.”

Jerk posted a scanned flier, like those seen in academic buildings, which reads that the group’s mission is to “address the negative connotations that are ingrained into the modern day white person’s identity” as “white people can be associated with a variety of negative connotations including but not limited to: oppressive, patriarchal, bigoted, racist, ignorant and privileged.”

Although the group is not affiliated with SU, it posted on the White Cultural Club Facebook page on Jan. 28 that they are seeking university recognition, but will currently operate as an independent organization.

Whether or not this is a grossly genuine effort or a sick joke, the attempted formation of a White Cultural Club fosters hate and ignorance at an academic institution that prides itself on diversity of all forms and identities. SU should be an environment in which students of color, who have had to overcome oppression to earn an education, can become successful without interference from “oppressive, patriarchal, bigoted, racist, ignorant and privileged” groups.

While the club may have been a space for students to celebrate the cultural aspects of European history, permitting a name change, that hope died when the club posted an image reading, “Diversity = White Genocide” on Jan. 31 to their Facebook page.

In light of the group’s clear intent, let us explore the malicious history of white separatism.

First things first: where does white culture come from? Is it from the mass genocides of indigenous peoples, the destruction of their cultures and the rape and dehumanization of women?  Or perhaps, it is from the vicious ideals of colonization and conquest that have culminated in institutionalized oppression and ingrained racism in the United States.

People who do not see why the White Cultural Club and organizations like it are a problem, consider this: for people of color to come together to form exclusive organizations is to say, “Look at what we have accomplished in combatting the historical and modern oppressions placed upon us by white people. We have been told that we are wrong, but we overcame, and we are proud.”

Likewise, white people coming together to form exclusive organizations says, “Look at what we have accomplished in creating, perpetrating and maintaining the social constructs that portray white people as superior and people of color as inferior — we are proud.”

Rather than wield their inherent power with racist and hateful intentions, members of the proposed White Cultural Club should take a moment to recognize their privilege as white Americans with the loudest voice in social and political spheres.
White privilege is seeing yourself positively represented in the media on every channel, every magazine cover and every advertisement. White privilege is being a white immigrant and not being told you are stealing jobs and ruining the country. White privilege is not having to start a national campaign to prove your life matters.

Dear members of the White Cultural Club, I challenge you to use your privilege to echo the voices of students of color, not to drown them out.

Alexa Diaz is a freshman magazine journalism major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at adiaz02@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @AlexaLucina.

Published on February 11, 2015 at 12:30 am