I love The University of Alabama. I really do. But when I turned on CNN last week to see a news broadcast of alleged racism and segregation at the University, needless to say, I was upset. The University was being displayed on national television in a manner that was injurious to the University, but more importantly, its students.
On Sept. 11, The Crimson White published “The Final Barrier,” which detailed the supposed denial of black students into sororities on the basis of race. What has ensued has been an onslaught of national media attention that brings this university down and displays Alabama in a way that we should all be ashamed of.
One columnist boasted on Tuesday, “Due to the extraordinary efforts of this newspaper, the national attention is gazing upon our Quad.” Students with this mentality are parasites to our university, feeding off negative attention at the expense of our university and its reputation.
Before anyone reading this gets the idea that I am defending segregation, I will clarify that I am completely against it. With that being said, this situation could and should have been handled in a manner that does not destroy our university’s integrity.
A letter to the editor that was published in Monday’s CW reveals, “Racism in this situation is being pushed … by alumnae … of Alpha Gamma Delta.” Other CW articles directly expose as many as five other sororities that had similar alumnae intervention. This unveils the true culprits behind this segregation scandal: racist, outdated and inconsiderate alumni. The UA administration, its faculty and, most importantly, its students were not involved with this outrageous act of racism. But we, the UA family, are all suffering the consequences.
The negative media that these select few individuals have attracted has pressured the administration into making decisions that adversely affect the student body. For as long as I can remember, the University has had student organization seating for football games. Unfortunately, this will no longer be the case. When I asked an SGA official why we wouldn’t have block seating for the Colorado State game this weekend, his response was, “It would look bad.”
This is a prime example of how the University administration has been submissive to the national media. Our students are not to blame; however, the University feels the need to disguise our long-standing football traditions to avoid bad press. Could they be any more hypocritical?
This punishment, which in no way penalizes the responsible parties, further perpetuates the issue of segregation and racism at the University. Social functions have been canceled, block seating has been suspended, and the University has sent emails suggesting that we avoid national news reporters in an attempt to cover up the recent scandal.
Why should they cover it up? The University has done nothing wrong, and neither have the students, so why try to hide us? We absolutely do not deserve to be the scapegoat for a few selfish alumni. I applaud the University’s efforts to force sorority integration by opening up a new bidding process, but, to reiterate, the University has done nothing wrong, and we have nothing to hide.
President Bonner, I would like to respectfully ask you to reconsider the punishments that the UA administration has impressed upon our student body in an attempt to hide from the media. Transparency is the best solution here, and until the administration realizes this, our university will continue to be a slave to national media.
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Austin Barranco is a senior majoring in finance.
