The University of South Carolina would like you to know that it won’t tolerate racist posters on the walls of its buildings. The school said as much in a statement on the matter, citing the university’s “inclusivity and respect for all.”
The university is very inclusive of all people. That’s why black students on campus make up 10.2 percent of students on campus, compared to 27.9 percent of people in the state. I, for one, applaud the university’s commitment to keeping a campus that has nearly the same percentage of people of color as even the famously diverse state of Connecticut. I have reaped the benefits of USC’s culture of inclusion through my astonishing zero number of classes with a black professor in eight semesters, and three classes with a non-white professor. I’ve been in almost as many classes taught by people of color as Russians! The College of Arts and Sciences and the Darla Moore School of Business clearly have a well-deserved reputation for cultivating a strong faculty from diverse backgrounds.
With all of that inclusivity, it’s frankly shocking that this school is somehow even more respectful of its diverse student body. For instance, the campus gym is named after a man famous for his white supremacist views to help non-white students build up rage that can be burned as fuel when exercising. The university stood by while the first black fraternity council president was impeached for daring to crack down on rule-breaking in (white) Greek life, under circumstances he claims were racially tinged. It was respectful enough to let a black student deal with societal bulwarks on his own, potentially giving him a very inspiring story to tell. Oh, and the school let Turning Points USA use university space! Why is that good news? The national organization once fired its only black employee on MLK day and their No. 2 executive once felt comfortable texting an employee “I hate all black people. Like f---- them all ... I hate blacks. End of story.” Now students can easily tell which of their peers belong to a group with wannabe fascists.
It is obvious that the university lives out a mission of “inclusivity and respect for all,” even when it requires more work from than a statement to the press. They deserve to have every bit of it dragged out into the light and recognized.