San Diego Community Newspaper Group
www.SDNEWS.com Volume 15, Number 25
THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010
Race-based tension boils over at UCSD Klan-style hood, noose at library BY ADRIANE TILLMAN | VILLAGE NEWS Racial tension has intensified at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) since a KKK-style hood was hung on a statue outside the campus library on March 1, and a noose was found hanging in the library on Feb. 25. A white pillowcase, which had been crudely fashioned into a hood with a hand-drawn symbol, was placed on a statue outside Geisel
“It was a mindless and stupid mistake. When I got up to leave a couple hours later, I simply forgot about it.” UCSD STUDENT regarding noose at library Library and a rose was inserted into the statue’s fingers, according to a statement from the Chancellor’s Office. Police are processing fingerprint and DNA evidence from the pillowcase. The Chancellor’s Office released a statement promising to punish the perpetrator “to the full extent of the Student Code of Conduct and all applicable laws.” A noose was seen hanging from a bookcase on the seventh floor of the library on Feb. 25. A female student, who identified herself as a minority, confessed to hanging the noose and gave a state-
Black Student Union calls for changes Race relations have simmered under the surface for years before the “Compton Cookout” – an off-campus party held by UCSD students to poke fun at Black History Month – unleashed a torrent of protest across the campus. The Black Student Union (BSU) has called for “serious structural changes” to bolster the number of historically underrepresented groups on campus — namely AfricanAmericans, Chicanos and Native Americans. “Individual behavior and attitudes are not the primary source of the problem,” wrote BSU co-chairs David Ritcherson SEE CHANGES, Page 6
ment to UC police, which the department refused to release since the investigation is ongoing. Police described the incident as “hanging a noose with intent to terrorize.” The student, who has been suspended, claimed she did not hang the noose as an act of racism in an anonymous letter she wrote to the campus newspaper, The Guardian. A Guardian editor verified the letter writer’s authenticity. The student claims she found a small piece of rope on campus that her friend had tied into a noose. “I innocently marveled at his ability to tie a noose, without thinking of any of its connotations or the current racial climate at UCSD,” wrote the student in the letter. The student said she went to the library to study, where she began playing with the rope and “ended up hanging it by my desk,” the student wrote. “It was a mindless act and stupid mistake,” the student said. “When I got up to leave a couple hours later, I simply forgot about it. This was Tuesday night.” Campus police completed its investigation on March 2 and has handed the case over to the City Attorney’s Office. Campus police called the act “a possible hate crime.” Another UCSD student hosted an off-campus party to mock Black History Month on Feb. 27. The Facebook invitation announced a costume contest that awarded bonus points for “pimp smacking your ho,” wearing “booty shorts,” having a “ghetto body” and getting beaten by the police. The “Compton Cookout” off-campus party held Feb. 15 was the first to anger the community as the Facebook invitation told students to dress like outrageous black stereotypes. Students and faculty in the Ethnic Studies program likened the Compton Cookout to the blackface minstrel shows wherein whites showed power over blacks: “… events such as this one are marked celebrations of the play of power characteristic of whiteness in general and white minstrelsy in particular: the ability to move in and move out of a racially produced space at will; the capacity to embody a presumed deviance without actually ever becoming or being it; the privilege to revel in this raced and gendered alterity without ever having to question or encounter the systemic and epistemic violence that produces hierarchies of difference in the first place.” I
The Bishop's School's Erin Pannek(No. 5) looks to score against a strong Coronado defense during the Feb. 27 CIF Division II water DON BALCH | VILLAGE NEWS polo championshipp at La Jolla High’s Coggan Pool. (See more photos on page 11)
Lady Knights marooned by Islanders BY DAVE THOMAS | VILLAGE NEWS Two old rivals met once again Saturday evening with CIF Division II gold on the line. When all was said and done, Coronado High left victorious in a 10-7 win over The Bishop’s School. Gabby Stone kept Bishop’s (23-6) in the contest with 10 saves, while Sammi Peck paced the offense with three goals. Sarah Presant, Melanie Boehrig, Jessie Webster
and Kristen Casey each added a goal. Prior to getting to the title game, Bishop’s bested rival La Jolla High last Wednesday, 12-8. Leading Bishop’s in that win were Kirsten Siegel (three goals) and Casey (two goals, four assists). Stone led the way with 12 saves in goal, despite having a sprained thumb. Despite the CIF loss to Coronado, Bishop’s finished its season with champi-
onships at the TYR Cup and The San Diego Open, as well as its 13th consecutive 20-win season and 13th straight trip to the Division II CIF championship game. The Lady Knights say goodbye to six seniors, including co-captains Peck and Siegel, as well as future Brown University player Presant, soon-to-be Siena College player Boehrig, Michigan-bound Katy Feaver and Julia Hill, who has not yet decided on a school. I
Rec redesign could include skate park BY ADRIANE TILLMAN | VILLAGE NEWS Marnie Gavit, 45, is a La Jolla mother of three who believes the village needs a safe, designated place for children to skateboard. She also happens to be a skateboarder herself who has spent time hurtling down Black Mountain Road. Gavit is working with the Tony Hawk Foundation and skate park designers Spohn Ranch Skateparks and Site Design Group Inc. to get the wheels spinning. “We have ideas but it takes the whole community to plan it and to get involved with it,” Gavit said. Gavit has floated the idea of locating the skate park at La Jolla Recreation Center on Prospect Street. The board is in the midst of conceptualizing a redesign of the recreation center, which still must go through the public vetting process. The preliminary plan moves the basketball courts to the south side of the building. Gavit is also looking at locating the skate park in the canyon north of the fire station on Nautilus Avenue near the walking trail. She is less interested in suggestions to build a skate park near the
The draft plan for La Jolla Recreation Center, designed by Spurlock Poirier Landscape Architects.|
French-American school since she said it would be less accessible to students. Deciding where to locate the skate park — or whether to build a few small skate parks around the village — is a process that takes time and is not a quick decision, said Miki Vuckovich, executive director of Tony Hawk Foundation. Most importantly, the park needs to be
easily accessible to the skaters and bikers who use it, he added. “The idea is not to put the skate park behind a warehouse and give them the message ‘out of sight, out of mind,’” Vuckovich said. “We should put them in a visible spot to show them that they are SEE SKATE PARK, Page 6