College students turn a bad night out into a brighter future
http://tri-statedefenderonline.com/articlelive/articles/4322/1/College-students-turn-a-bad-night-out-into-a-brighter-future/Page1.html
By Linda S. Wallace
Published on 11/5/2009
Once a cultural collision occurs, motorists and passengers frequently are called upon to make some key decisions. First, we need to check our injuries? Next, we need to look around to see if others also are suffering? If so, are we in a position to play hero and help?
Do we need the police or the courts? How truthful should we be in providing details and admitting fault?
Six African-American students on a trip to Chicago found themselves in a whopper of a cultural collision recently. The seniors from prestigious Washington University in St. Louis were barred entry into Original Mother’s, an exclusive gold coast nightclub in Chicago where the class seniors were gathering for party. Those barred were told their dress – specifically baggy pants and caps – violated the club’s dress code. When in doubt, check it out, right? The students did not take “no” for an answer. They arranged for a black student and a white student in the senior class to exchange pants. The white student put on the baggy jeans and gained admittance. Gotcha!
What happened next is a sign of these Barack Obama times. The students filed grievances with the appropriate authorities, and then began some serious diplomacy – trying to resolve the conflict and figure out the lessons to be learned.
Last week, Fernando Cutz, who is senior class president at Washington University, held a press conference to announce Original Mother’s had agreed to participate in an upcoming rally against discrimination. Cutz, 21, said the nightclub had agreed to sponsor four fund-raisers – three in Chicago and one in St. Louis – and send managers to diversity training, according to CNN. The money raised likely will be used to help organizations that promote race awareness, the students said.
“What we are looking to do is to turn this negative into a positive,” Cutz said in prepared remarks released to media.”To make sure that all of us learn from what happened to these six students in Chicago 10 days ago, and that we move forward, together, in a productive manner….We would also like to show that the best way of fighting discrimination can be by reaching out and extending a helpful hand to those who need it.”
The students said the club has also agreed to provide a private apology to the six students and a public apology to the entire senior class. In return, the students agreed not to pursue legal action. Brad Grayson, an attorney for Original Mother’s, noted the club has not admitted to any wrongdoing. “There was no intention to admit white kids with baggy jeans and exclude black kids with baggy jeans,” Grayson told the Chicago Tribune newspaper.
The Washington University seniors are modeling cultural competencies. They are savvy cultural negotiators. (The negotiations took less than 24 hours.) They were effective communicators who used language to bridge the racial divide and build common ground. Perhaps more importantly, they created a settlement that will benefit the entire community, and not just a few individuals.
For students who choose to wear baggy pants and low-riding jeans – the very attire banned recently from the campus of historicall African-American Morehouse College in Atlanta – the scenario with the Washington University seniors is a reminder that appearances do matter.
It is as important to understand how other cultural groups will react to the manner in which we express ourselves as it is to value the Constitutional right to self-expression.
(Linda S. Wallace is The Cultural Coach. Check out her Cultural IQ blog)
Six African-American students on a trip to Chicago found themselves in a whopper of a cultural collision recently. The seniors from prestigious Washington University in St. Louis were barred entry into Original Mother’s, an exclusive gold coast nightclub.
College students turn a bad night out into a brighter future
 |
Linda S. Wallace |
Do we need the police or the courts? How truthful should we be in providing details and admitting fault?
Six African-American students on a trip to Chicago found themselves in a whopper of a cultural collision recently. The seniors from prestigious Washington University in St. Louis were barred entry into Original Mother’s, an exclusive gold coast nightclub in Chicago where the class seniors were gathering for party. Those barred were told their dress – specifically baggy pants and caps – violated the club’s dress code. When in doubt, check it out, right? The students did not take “no” for an answer. They arranged for a black student and a white student in the senior class to exchange pants. The white student put on the baggy jeans and gained admittance. Gotcha!
What happened next is a sign of these Barack Obama times. The students filed grievances with the appropriate authorities, and then began some serious diplomacy – trying to resolve the conflict and figure out the lessons to be learned.
Last week, Fernando Cutz, who is senior class president at Washington University, held a press conference to announce Original Mother’s had agreed to participate in an upcoming rally against discrimination. Cutz, 21, said the nightclub had agreed to sponsor four fund-raisers – three in Chicago and one in St. Louis – and send managers to diversity training, according to CNN. The money raised likely will be used to help organizations that promote race awareness, the students said.
“What we are looking to do is to turn this negative into a positive,” Cutz said in prepared remarks released to media.”To make sure that all of us learn from what happened to these six students in Chicago 10 days ago, and that we move forward, together, in a productive manner….We would also like to show that the best way of fighting discrimination can be by reaching out and extending a helpful hand to those who need it.”
The students said the club has also agreed to provide a private apology to the six students and a public apology to the entire senior class. In return, the students agreed not to pursue legal action. Brad Grayson, an attorney for Original Mother’s, noted the club has not admitted to any wrongdoing. “There was no intention to admit white kids with baggy jeans and exclude black kids with baggy jeans,” Grayson told the Chicago Tribune newspaper.
The Washington University seniors are modeling cultural competencies. They are savvy cultural negotiators. (The negotiations took less than 24 hours.) They were effective communicators who used language to bridge the racial divide and build common ground. Perhaps more importantly, they created a settlement that will benefit the entire community, and not just a few individuals.
For students who choose to wear baggy pants and low-riding jeans – the very attire banned recently from the campus of historicall African-American Morehouse College in Atlanta – the scenario with the Washington University seniors is a reminder that appearances do matter.
It is as important to understand how other cultural groups will react to the manner in which we express ourselves as it is to value the Constitutional right to self-expression.
(Linda S. Wallace is The Cultural Coach. Check out her Cultural IQ blog)