COLUMN: Robins for diversity VP? Say what?
All right, so we aren’t throwing Mad Hatter tea parties or chasing Cheshire cats, but Alice would agree: Things are a little topsy-turvy in Aggieland.
We have our politics all mixed up.
A crassly conservative campus is crying foul over liberal despotism, Democrats are dishing out sage advice on fiscal responsibility, and now the latest salvo – the university’s most lippy opponent of affirmative action and progressive reform appears on the student body ballot for – drum roll, please – Diversity Vice President?
Ahem!
Another self-aggrandizing political stunt, I suppose.
The problem with Tom Robins’ candidacy is, I suspect, that it lacks sincerity and trivializes an office with an important mission.
The diversity slot was created to establish a liaison between student government and various clubs and organizations representing diverse perspectives on campus. Included in this mix are groups such as the Multicultural Student Council and Pride! Alliance – both recently at the receiving end of Mr. Robins’ ill-conceived public tirades against affirmative action and gay marriage.
As recently as last week, a tuxedo-clad Mr. Robins reminded us – deafeningly – that he was going to lead a “revolution” against campus groups championing the cause of homosexual unions.
“The silent majority will be silent no longer,” he said.
Which causes me to wonder: Should Mr. Robins – by some act of God – be elected, would he reach out to those on the fringe or continue this agenda of speaking for the state’s moral majority?
The question is an important one. Mr. Robins’ attitude is dangerous because it has the ability to obliterate real issues by replacing them with prejudice parading under the guise of fairness.
Now I know I’ll be accused of mudslinging or potty-mouth liberalism. But before you throw the book at me, consider that among Mr. Robins’ right-wing rants is this statement directed at campus liberals: “If you’re a liberal, stop hugging a tree!”
Diversity of opinions and ideas, Mr. Robins?
Then again, venomous diatribes from the state chairman of the College Republicans can only be expected. After all, the student arm of the Republican Party has achieved national notoriety for its chauvinism – most recently, a “whites only” scholarship at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island that requires applicants to write an essay on “why you are proud of your white heritage.” The application must include a recent picture to “confirm whiteness.”
This latest bit of tasteless drama is part of the same bag of tricks that gave us the infamous affirmative action bake sale, which Mr. Robins brought to the Taggart Student Center Patio in December.
Don’t get me wrong. I think activism must be nurtured on a college campus, but in the interest of edification, not sanctimony. Mr. Robins, like the rest of his ilk, appeals to a spirit of loathing that runs counter to the very idea of diversity, which embodies a philosophy of inclusion at all levels.
We ought to – politely – show him the door.
Leon D’Souza is a senior majoring in print journalism. Comments can be sent to leon@cc.usu.edu.