Like “fake news,” it’s telling that the term “safe space” entered the general lexicon so rapidly — everyone seemed familiar with the concept, and once it had a commonly accepted name, it was easier to mock.
Some universities don’t seem to mind acting as big safe spaces housing lots of little safe spaces under a protective glass dome, but it seems that’s where things are headed: how “safe” can a space really be unless boundaries are established and enforced to keep out the “other”?
Surprisingly, Oberlin College’s president said no when students in 2015 demanded an $8.20 an hour stipend for leaders of black student protests and the establishment of “special, segregated black-only ‘safe-spaces’ across campus.” But that certainly wasn’t the end of the fight to self-segregate in the name of feeling “safe.”
Campus Reform reports that “Tongues Untied,” a program at the University of Minnesota for “People of Color who identify as LGBTQIA and/or Same-Gender-Loving,” is asking that even well intentioned “allies” steer clear.
"Please note that this is a space created for LGBTQIA and/or same-gender-loving people of color." https://t.co/HuVyrJHABO
— Campus Reform (@campusreform) July 27, 2017
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It doesn’t sound like an outright “ban,” but the program’s website gives a pretty strong hint that white and straight students really need to give same-gender-loving people of color their own space in which they can speak without the intimidating presence of non-LGBTQIA persons:
For our allies: we do appreciate your voices and commitment to dismantling racism and homophobia; however, please note that this is a space created for LGBTQIA and/or same-gender-loving people of color.
We appreciate your commitment to dismantling racism, so don’t take this “No Whites Allowed” sign personally, OK?
University Bans White And Straight Students From Safe Space https://t.co/acQgsez8pp pic.twitter.com/44pX9Tzcot
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 31, 2017
What is it here that seems newsworthy? I don't get it. Why do you think this is newsworthy? Because white and straights are excluded?
— Simon J. Hernandez (@shimown) July 31, 2017
Gee, do you NOT get the idea of a safe space? Does the idea of folks having their own space to discuss issues of import to them seems odd?
— Simon J. Hernandez (@shimown) July 31, 2017
Sorry … we thought this was a university, where people came to discuss new and different ideas and challenge themselves and each other.
There was a whole movement to end this sort of nonsense.
— Momservative (@momservative6) July 31, 2017
https://twitter.com/PapaAtena/status/892143019402686464
Related:
Irony: Commencement speaker Michelle Obama urges Oberlin 'safe spacers' to leave their comfort zones http://t.co/OH5us7qUpc
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) May 27, 2015
Organizer of Black Resistance March orders white media to move to the back of the fuss https://t.co/rFmyh2KdYB
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) July 26, 2016
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