As more and more stories make news headlines about injustices facing minority communities, the question should be… WHEN IS IT ENOUGH? This story is no different, only hitting a little closer to home.
On November 29, 2018, Loose Change, a local bar in downtown Clemson, promoted a new dish, the “Tijuana Chicken Sandwich.” However, the way it was promoted is why it is so problematic. Below is a picture of the chalkboard sign containing the promotion:
Emboldened are words and phrases like “feed a caravan,” “bordered,” “built high,” and “illegal,” referring to many of the racist lingoes used during Trump’s presidential campaign, and in turn, it took obvious jabs at the Latinx community. The Delta Nu Chapter of Lambda Theta Phi, a Latin Fraternity on Clemson’s campus, wrote a letter expressing their “disapproval of your [Loose Change] tasteless appropriation of humanitarian crises” for the sake of advertising and obtaining monetary gain. In the letter, they went in depth on some of the struggles facing Latin Americans today and how this sign could come off as offensive. The sole intent was to “bring awareness” to these issues and not to be combative. Towards the end of the letter, they respectfully asked to speak with the manager to prevent this from happening in the future. (if you would like to read the letter in its entirety, please follow them on Instagram: @clemsonlambdas).
Since writing the letter, Loose Change has responded by blocking all of Clemson University’s Hispanic/Latinx organizations, including Lambda Theta Phi. This has led to the creation of the hashtag #istandwithimmigrants. This hashtag has been used by multiple NPHC Greek councils, which are the predominantly black Greek organizations on campus, and other students, mostly minorities, standing in solidarity with Lambda Theta Phi and the entire Latinx community. There have been few public statements of solidarity made by the white student body, and no statement of support has been released from the university, which promotes itself in diversity but does little to actually support its minority student population.
This is not the first time a minority group has been targeted in Clemson, where earlier this year Clemson’s Muslim Student Association was accused of spreading Islamic teachings, but they were only selling doughnuts in an attempt to fundraise. A more common incident would be the 2014 blackface party hosted by the predominantly white fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon. And in 2016, making news headlines, the blatantly racist act of putting bananas on banners throughout campus that promoted African Americans, leading to the infamous Sikes Sit-in.
Unfortunately, Clemson University has not done enough to include minority students in the “Clemson Family.” As a black student of Clemson University, I challenge white members of the board, white administration, white faculty/staff, and white students to stop living in your bubble of privilege and open your eyes to what is happening in your own communities. Stand up and say enough is enough because, if the roles were reversed, it would be called what it is… racist.