2008 Woodie Awards
Students Ask The Question: "Save Colgate?"
Controversy Over Website Leads To Forum
Jill Ferris
Issue date: 11/5/04 Section: News
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On Wednesday, October 27, advertisements for a website (www.sa4c.com) appeared and sparked controversy on campus. Promoted by a deluge of flyers and a billboard on Route 12B, the site has spurred conversation in dining halls, dorm rooms and classrooms.
The website charges that Colgate is "threatened by the militant liberalism that permeates the University." It claims a "cultural war" being led by the Colgate administration "to create a student body of androgynous graduates who all tow the line of political correctness." It cites "battles" in this war including the University's attempt to "blackmail the Greek societies into selling their houses to the University" and "the dumbing-down of core curriculum requirements."
Additionally, the website alleges that the University has been overrun by political correctness. First-year students are no longer referred to as "freshmen"; the Raiders are no longer the "Red Raiders". The website charges the University with attempting to "attract a study body that places a priority on "diversity" - a code word for anyone who is not a white, heterosexual male."
The response on campus has been widespread.
"Generally, most people tend to agree that the website was a horrible approach and that the content is not exactly valid," McCormack said. "I'm conservative, and I do think there is a liberal bias [at Colgate]. Most liberal and conservative students and professors, however, agree that the site was inappropriate."
Regardless of the site's appropriateness, the result has been a dialogue on campus amongst the students and faculty.
"I've been pleased with the students and faculty who have engaged in critical thinking," University President Rebecca Chopp said. "The students have raised the issue of public accountability."
Professors have used the website as a tool in the classroom, whether analyzing the arguments in a logic course or discussing how it fits into the political scene in America.
"The site has been put into a framework under the lens of discourse," Dean of the College Adam Weinberg said. "This is an example of the students engaging each other in thought-provoking ways."
Still, many members of the community have found the site's content offensive.
At the Black Solidarity Day Speak Out, sophomore Makina Perry stressed the importance of standing together as there are "people out there who can create websites and blatantly express their racist feelings."