The systems were more widely used during the pandemic, when students were encouraged to report on classmates for not wearing masks, said Cherise Trump, executive director of Speech First. The pandemic also coincided with a spike in hate crimes.
At Stanford, students can report a “Protected Identity Harm Incident,” which is defined as conduct targeting an individual or group on the basis of characteristics including race or sexual orientation. The system is meant to “build and maintain a better, safer, and more respectful campus community,” according to the school’s website.
Senior Christian Sanchez, executive vice president of the Associated Students of Stanford University, the student-government group, said the system is necessary and important. Mr. Sanchez, who describes himself as Chicano, said he has bristled in the past when another student has addressed him as “G,” short for gangster.
He has let it roll off his back, he said, but less thick-skinned students should have a path for redress.
“People need to be aware of what they’re saying and who they’re saying it to,” Mr. Sanchez said. “There are a lot of instances of stereotyping, and people should have a resource to report it if they want to.”
i used to know a guy who basically told on himself. the story started off as him complaining about how the community college he had been going to for like 12 years (still no AA) was trying to "kick" him out because it had woke police. after like 30 seconds of asking questions, it turns out he had fucked up some kind of administrative process (understandable) and absolutely tee'd off on some low level functionary via an email absolutely riddled with slurs (less understandable). like one of those enraged rants alleging conspiracy and calling the completely unknown reader the F slur multiple times and riddled with profanity and even some vague threats of violence.
so later he gets an email to talk to a higher level administrator that starts by asking him if he's "ok" or needs help. of course the guy is like, "what are you talking about, i'm fine" so it gets into a conversation about professionalism in emails and how threats of violence or slurs won't be tolerated and tries to connect him to mental health resources. and that's how he knew the school was "going woke".
i knew this guy in high school and this happened about 20 years later, 15 years after we lost touch. i was just listening to his story as he told it to someone else via an informal/spontaneous reunion. and he really thought he was the aggrieved party for being summoned to an administrator's office and having his mental health questioned.
Jesus christ, that's like the most generous way they could have handled it, too.
These assholes don't get that the non-"woke" response in that situation is just punishment.
i know, right. i'm pretty non confrontational in person (i.e. a coward), but even i was like, "you can't just explode on people at their low-paying job, call them a bunch of slurs, threaten violence, and not expect some kind of consequence, man."
it's probably not a consolation, but the guy's life is an ongoing and multi-faceted disaster because he brings this level of introspection and critical analysis to all of his life's decisions and since capitalism is all about taking advantage of these people instead of educating them and assisting them, i don't really see it getting any better. in the end, he admitted that he was in the wrong, but it was a bridge too far to recognize that the mental health services should be looked into.
honestly, the guy is a case study for political underdevelopment in the US. he has been screwed over very hard by every employer and every landlord so deeply and he hates them and "The System" very much, but seems more interested in drawing attention to the "woke" phenomenon of the next GTA game having a woman protagonist. all that class tension is wound up and set loose on the wrong people.
you kind of can but not at a university