There is a controversial case out of Georgia where academic adviser Abbey Dawson has been put on leave at Kennesaw State University after being videotaped telling an African-American student, Kevin Bruce, that his waiting in the lobby to see an academic adviser constitutes harassment and would be reported to the police.
It is not clear if there had been prior exchanges with Bruce but Dawson appears to be responding to the refusal of Bruce to follow the appointment procedures for speaking with academic advisers. I can understand that the office was irritated by someone who refused to follow procedures if appointments are required in every academic advising session. If the office had made it clear that it was against policy to see “walk in” students, the refusal to comply and come back with an appointment could be viewed as bizarre. For example, if someone insists on seeing a doctor without an appointment and refuses to leave the waiting room, a nurse could find the conduct to problematic.
However, it is not clear why this became a matter of harassment or possible threatening conduct since there is no sign of Bruce doing anything other than sitting in the lobby. African-Americans often raise concerns (with good cause in some cases) that black males are viewed as inherently threatening by whites in circumstances where the actual conduct is inconsequential or indistinguishable from whites. It is the escalation to the level of harassment and police referral that justifies a closer investigation. Accordingly, I think the university was right to pursue the matter with this investigation.
Bruce also posted an email exchange showing that Dawson and others on the faculty were being unhelpful when he was seeking academic advice. Obviously, there is more to be considered in context of this controversy, which is why an investigation is warranted without assuming anything negative toward either Bruce or Dawson.
Olly,
I said I didn’t know, but I put it out there for consideration. I did see that she has a history with this particular student and others have said she is a very rude unhelpful advisor. That is why he filmed her, so it wouldn’t be his word against hers. I have no idea how she treats other races.
If this story has evidence of disparate treatment then point it out. For all we know, she calls campus security on Asians and the state police for jocks.
If you seriously deny disparate treatment between blacks and whites in the U.S. then I guess you should just join these boys.
http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/hear-no-evil–see-no-evil–speak-no-evil-william-meemken.jpg
When your comment includes; “That could very well be a part of this story.”; then that means it is not part of the story. You’d be better off beginning your post, “Once Upon A Time” because everything that follows is straight out of your imagination.
Me? LOL, no it’s you who are cranky.
Why would that make you cranky? Just say thank you and move along.
People get cranky when you need to point out the obvious to them, same old story.
Olly, I’m sorry you don’t see the pattern of disparate treatment of blacks in the U.S. That could very well be a part of this story. I don’t know what came before this video, neither do you.
There is one sure way to determine whether a story has any “there, there”. How deep into the thread before some nincompoop decides to plug a completely different story with the apparent attempt to get attention and rile up the crowd. Something akin to being the blog version of Al Sharpton.
Nick: black trumps white women because white women don’t riot. The white ladies need to loot a few malls and start burning down liquor stores, then they will get some deference. The only reason elite whites are wringing their hands about black fatherless homes and the breakdown of the black family is because elite whites want to live in urban areas, N.Y., Washington D.C., Chicago, etc, but that leaves them vulnerable to violent young blacks. The elite whites couldn’t care less about poor white broken families or fatherless homes, because poor whites don’t pose a threat of violence.
They should have a white advisor to deal with white students and a black advisor to deal with black students. Some big ol’ 300 pound black lady advisor could have smacked him in the head and nothing would come of it; why she was just “schooling” him. A young white woman says something that offends his overly sensitive little feelings and it makes the national news and she loses her job.
I. Annie: not a valid comparison. Not even the same state! The white guy was in Oregon; the black guy was in Nevada.
I’d fire her for inappropriate clothing, given her job description. She’s an academic counselor, at a university, wearing jeans and a slovenly outfit. If she thinks that she’s important enough to merit a written, confirmed appointment, before ever even speaking with a student, then she needs to dress accordingly and present a professional appearance worthy of her career. Where is the dress code? She’s going to counsel a student on dressing for success, when she is clearly incapable of doing so herself?
Issac, good thing all those bikers in Waco weren’t carrying an AR-15. There’d be far more than 9 dead in that shoot out. Well hoorah for open carry in Texas and elsewhere, huh? Maybe the fight was over whose gun was bigger. I wonder how many of those bikers were white?
Annie
The sad truth is that even though the words mean one thing the reality illustrates something quite different. Yes the black man should be treated the same as the white guy but in reality the chances are that the black man would have been closer to a crime than the white man. The association factor will not go away easily and soon. In my opinion, they both should have been made to hit the ground and dealt with the way the black guy was treated. Anybody walking around with a military style rifle in public is off the beam, 2nd amendment rights or not. It’s kind of a catch 22 thing.
When we want to clear the waiting room we send HumpinDog out and he cuts a loud artFay. This lady needs a dog. An artFayin dog. One who can speak pig latin and get around WordPress.
“SierraRose
… he took the video.
Everyone takes video of everyone these days. But no, staying after being told to leave isn’t harassment. Trespassing maybe, but not harassment.
The art of ignoring someone is such a needed skill these days. Headphones help quite a bit.
I’ve been the person at the front desk having to explain to students that the advisors are busy and they will need to make an appointment. I’ve also had students refuse to leave until seen. While there is nothing on this tape to indicate the student is harassing, he took the video. We do not know what went on prior to this. I have been cursed at and intimidated by students in such circumstances. I have also witnessed them harassing other students who do have an appointment because they are being seen first. These students then act like butter wouldn’t melt in their mouth when a dean, security officer, or other that they recognize as being in authority come out to talk to them. Yes, staying there when they have been told that they must make an appointment and then come back can definitely be harassment.
SierraRose – I would posit that since it is a public university, it is a public space and he has a right to plank himself down there as long as he wants. Would you be upset if he arrived an hour early for an appointment and waited? Would that be harassment? He certainly is there with a purpose, so he is not loitering.
So then placing blame without evidence IS to be avoided? After all, it’s pretty hard to deny it happens. LOL
Pogo, It must all be done w/ a wink and a nod. Otherwise, there’s evidence of collusion.