Recently, there has been an increasing amount of controversy at the University of California, San Diego. It all started when a fraternity decided to host a “Compton Cookout” party during Black History Month.

The party’s Facebook invitation urged its guests to speak loudly and to wear chains and cheap clothing. Girls were invited to act as “ghetto chicks.” A definition of “ghetto chicks” taken from a 2006 posting on urbandictionary.com was given, including, among other things, having gold teeth, starting fights and drama, and waving a finger in peoples’ faces. The menu for the event also included chicken and watermelon.

Needless to say, when word got around, some people were less than happy. UCSD immediately condemned the party, but no action was taken against its hosts because it was off-campus and not university-affiliated.

Then, a group of students defending the Compton Cookout used racial slurs on UCSD’s student-run TV station to describe those condemning the party.

Protests, rallies and campuswide discussions ensued. A task force to increase the numbers of black students and faculty members was created.

And then a noose was found hanging in the UCSD library. This was immediately interpreted by many, including the police, as an intent to intimidate or terrorize black students. The student who hung the noose confessed the following morning and wrote an anonymous letter to the UCSD’s student newspaper explaining the incident.

In it, she apologized for what happened and explained that she and a couple of friends were playing around with a piece of rope they found lying around and tried a couple of things — using it as a jump rope and tying it into a lasso. Then one of them tied it into a noose.

She then left for the library, taking the rope with her, where she forgot all about it and left it hanging by her desk. She claims she never thought of the noose in relation to what had been going on at UCSD, and that she was distraught knowing that she had added to the pain of those who had been affected by recent events.

She has since been suspended, and the investigation has been filed with the San Diego City Attorney as a possible hate crime.

The UC President and the Board of Regents Chairman released a statement saying, “Whatever the intent of the authors of this act, it was a despicable expression of racial hatred, and we are outraged. It has no place in civilized society and it will not be tolerated …”

And it wasn’t over yet. Days afterward, a crude KKK-style hood made out of a pillowcase was placed on a statue of Dr. Seuss outside the UCSD library. A rose was also placed in the statue’s hand. The items are being checked by police for fingerprints and DNA evidence. University officials have said that, “… individuals who are responsible will be punished to the full extent of the Student Code of Conduct and all applicable laws.”

Now, to me it seems that each of these incidents was a little blown out of proportion. I just don’t think it’s quite as big a deal as everyone else seems to. Take the Compton Cookout for example. Yes, I can see how it could be insulting. To be fair, though, if someone here at Iowa State hosted a “Cracker Party” where everyone was encouraged to wear polos, drink wine and dance badly, I can’t imagine that I — or anyone else, for that matter , would be particularly offended.

Still, I understand that it probably touched a nerve with a few people, but it hardly seems worthy of protests and task forces. It seems to me like something that should have been dismissed as idiots being idiots and left alone.

As for the noose, the girl who did it said she did not mean it to be related to race or the other events on campus. Heck, she said she didn’t even mean to leave it there in the first place. This may or may not be true, but the UC President and Board of Regents Chairman’s statement said, “Whatever the intent of the authors of this act, it was a despicable expression of racial hatred…”

Let me paraphrase that for you. “Whatever the intent, the intent was racism.” It seems to me that their minds are made up. The truth doesn’t even matter. They are prepared to assume racism regardless of the student’s testimony.

And as for the hood, well, I fail to see how cutting eye holes in a pillowcase warrants DNA analysis. It’s even possible that it wasn’t intended to be an act of racism at all. Although the KKK reference was clear, the rose that the statue was holding was not, creating conflicting impressions.

Roses had been left on desks on the same floor of the library where the noose was found with notes encouraging students to carry them to “…show love and solidarity for those that are in pain.” But, like the noose incident, university officials are not about to start looking at explanations other than racism. Their reaction is simply “identify and punish.”

It’s almost as if everyone actually wants to believe that this is all blatant racism. I would think that people would hold out hope that the last two incidents were simply misunderstandings, especially in light of how people came together for the rallies and discussions, and how they carried around roses to show their support.

So why is everyone making such a big deal out of this? It seems UCSD wants to appear tough on racism, but what about everyone else?

I can understand why people would want to make sure that bigotry isn’t completely ignored or swept under the rug, but when you go around making it sound like the isolated events of a few tactless individuals are evidence of a culture of racism, sexism, homophobia, etc., some people are actually going to start believing it. And there’s no better way to keep people from succeeding than by repeatedly telling them they can’t because of deep-seeded stereotypes.

So the next time you or some group you identify with is insulted — no matter who you are, this will happen eventually — take a minute and consider whether it’s really worth getting all worked up about, or if it would be better to just ignore it and get on with your life.

Blake Hasenmiller is a senior in industrial engineering and economics from DeWitt.

More information on the events mentioned:

UCSD penalizes fraternity for black history party

Noose ignites more protests at UC San Diego

Noose in Geisel was not intended as threat

Aggressive police investigation underway for individuals involved with latest UC San Diego incident

7th Floor love