Racism

According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, racism is defined as racial prejudice or discrimination. On Monday, Feb. 14, myself and three other members of the Young Conservatives of Texas received e-mails telling us that we were not allowed to run for the Student Senate seats we applied for due to our race and our heritage. Jessie Jackson and the ACLU did not rush to our defense. Instead, our group was labeled as “racist” and “an enemy of change” by current “Hispanic-American” senatorial candidate Homer Lopez.

If you do not understand why so much hatred is directed toward YCT, let me give you a brief synopsis of the events that led up to this point. A little over a year ago, the Young Conservatives of Texas held the infamous “Affirmative Action Bake Sale” to raise awareness of the injustice of affirmative action. This event shined the national spotlight on the racism inherent to affirmative action. This past week, three other members of YCT and I applied for these Special Interest seats and were told by the school that we were not allowed to run. Not only was this racist, it also violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which “prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.”

As if not being allowed to run was bad enough, the slander that followed was even worse. Current “Hispanic-American” senator Roberto Espinoza stated that “our (Hispanic) rights are being attacked and revoked by people who take time to devise plans that ultimately harm us as minorities.” Roberto also mentioned that “we (Hispanics) are being attacked” and “YCT is trying to destroy us (Hispanics) brick by brick.”

An even more telling statement came from Asian-American Senator Jason Shyung who stated, “As long as there are people like the YCT out there, who only seek to make our lives more difficult — we must get together to work against them. While we have been enjoying our lives, they have been plotting for the past two years to bring down the DMSA, our senate seats and a variety of other things brick by brick.”

The reason for these seats, according to the student senate task force on senate membership, is that “these (minority) populations are not always naturally represented by the SMU Student Senate, and we must take actions to ensure that they will have a voice.”

Saying that minorities don’t have a voice or chance to have a say in Student Senate is preposterous. According to the current ballot, there are only a few senatorial races that are being contested. Therefore, if someone really wants a seat on Student Senate, all they have to do is just apply. In fact, only three people applied for the five engineering senate seats. The aforementioned Roberto Espinoza, who is an EMIS major, could apply and receive that seat uncontested, as could anyone else, including minorities.

I feel that instead of complaining about how YCT is, according to Homer Lopez, “trying to attack progression,” I challenge them to go out and apply for those empty seats. The only thing holding back those “under-represented” minorities are themselves. They are relying on racist Special Interest seats instead of doing unbelievably back-breaking work of filling out two sheets of paperwork to get a spot on the ballot. The groups say they are fighting discrimination, but instead are being discriminatory themselves.

In closing, I would like to quote Martin Luther King Jr. because I feel his words hold true in light of the current situation. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Have we been holding true to his message? I think not.