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Title: San Francisco students suspended over racist ‘wigger party’
Source: .
URL Source: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/sa ... %99/ar-BBoPrSN?ocid=spartanntp
Published: Jan 28, 2016
Author: .
Post Date: 2016-01-28 19:17:41 by Artisan
Keywords: None
Views: 101
Comments: 1

Saint Ignatius principal, Patrick Ruff, speaks to the press in front of Saint Ignatius College Preparatory. Saint Ignatius officials held a press conference on Wednesday, February 1, 2012, to announce the closure of the school following a stomach flu outbreak.© Sean Culligan, The Chronicle Saint Ignatius principal, Patrick Ruff, speaks to the press in front of Saint Ignatius College Preparatory. Saint Ignatius officials held a press conference on Wednesday, February 1, 2012, to announce the closure of the… More than a dozen high school students were suspended from St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco after they took part in a racist-themed party at Stern Grove in the Outer Sunset, school officials said Thursday.

The party, which took place Saturday at the city recreation area and was promoted through social media, was themed a "wigger party€" and was attended by students from at least five different high schools including St. Ignatius, said Principal Patrick Ruff.

The slang term "wigger"€ combines the word white and the n-word and refers to a white person who attempts to emulate African American culture by drawing on racist stereotypes of clothing and mannerisms.

"€œIt'€™s disheartening and incredibly sad this type of thing exists not just for SI, but for the entire city,"€ Ruff said, noting that the 14 students involved had been suspended as soon as administrators learned of the party. "€œThis really is a critical juncture for us."€

Ruff said the school has put an emphasis on social justice issues for years, and that he hoped this weekend's incident could provide a "teachable moment" at the school.

"€œWe work really hard to educate our young men and women on issues of equity and inclusion,"€ Ruff said. "€œWe'€™ve been doing this work for years, but now we have a concrete example that will give us an opportunity to have a conversation."

The school takes the issues seriously enough, Ruff said, that in 2010 it appointed Matthew Balano as director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion. It focuses on diversity at the school, where African Americans accounted for 3.5 percent of the student body in the 2014-15 school year, compared to 62 percent for white students.

Balano said he'€™s been in contact with students this week, and that they are justifiably upset.

"€œThere'€™s a feeling of sadness and disappointment, but there'€™s trust that we are working hard to get this right," Balano said. "This is a very messy thing, but we'€™re doing our best to get through this."

Some former students, while expressing gratitude for the education they got at St. Ignatius, said the party and its racist theme did not come as a surprise.

"€œI had a wonderful experience there and they really do try to have a focus on social justice,"€ said one alum, who graduated in 2013 and asked not to be named. "€œBut the biggest issue is that it'€™s a school where the majority is white and wealthy, and that dominates not only the social life of the students, but the politics of the board."€

Sarah Boliek, another alum, echoed those sentiments in a post to the school's Facebook page.

"I learned calculus and got into a good college, a great deal in part to SI," she wrote. "But bad behavior is so unpunished that it'€™s almost encouraged. I wish I could say I'm surprised to hear the students are acting racist, inconsiderate and inhumane, but I'€m not."€

Ruff said that, despite the ugly nature of the incident, he was pleased that the issue was brought to the attention of school officials by students who were upset after they heard about the party.

"I'€™m proud of the students who saw something that they knew was not right and brought it to the adults in our community," he said.

Moving forward, Ruff said he planned to address the issue with both the student body as a whole and in smaller groups.

"We value all of our students and want to be known as a place where they can explore their gifts and share their gifts,"€ he said. "€œIt'€™s really about allowing us to continue to grow as a community and and having an open conversation."€

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#1. To: Artisan (#0)

Wigger has been in our lexicon for at least 30 years now; nothing new there. It's actually a very functional noun.

“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken

Lod  posted on  2016-01-28   20:21:56 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


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