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ASU student confrontation handled with euphemism

BY J.D. HAYWORTH

Foothills Focus Columnist

Dr. Michael Crow has completed almost two decades as president of Arizona State University. He spent a portion of that time co-authoring a book that encapsulates what could be considered his mission statement for the institution: “Designing the New American University.”

But when a new controversy erupted on the Tempe campus and went viral via video on social media, Crow’s subordinates responded with old-fashioned euphemism.

On Sept. 23 in Room 321 of the Student Success Center, two white male students were harassed by members of the Multicultural Solidarity Coalition, which then posted a nearly eight-minute video of the confrontation that has since been taken down. (It remains available at other websites, though the graphic language contained therein is far from “quaint.”)

One of the white students, Chase Beckerman, had a sticker on his computer that read “Police Lives Matter” and the other, who remains unidenti�ied, wore a t-shirt reading “Did Not Vote for Biden.”

Two women of color, undergraduate Mastaani Qureshi and graduate student Sarra Tekola, appeared to take the lead in confronting the white men, demanding they leave Room 321.

Perhaps the most revealing part of the exchange comes when Beckerman, trying to strike a conciliatory tone, asked, “Is there anywhere I can go?”

Teacola responded, “Yeah! The whole rest of the campus! The second �loor, the �irst �loor, the whole MU [Memorial Union] – every single part of the campus centers you! This is the only space that you’re not centered and you’re still trying to center yourself, which is peak cis-white male bulls***t!

Beckerman then asserted, “I’m not racist, I’m just studying.”

That assertion brings a hot-tempered response from Teacola: “You are racist! Your sticker is racist because police, that’s a job! You can choose to be police. I don’t

see HAYWORTH page 10

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THE FOOTHILLS FOCUS | THEFOOTHILLSFOCUS.COM | OCTOBER 6, 2021

ASU incident forces rethinking of college

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ

Foothills Focus Columnist

Used to be, college was a place where new adults smacked face-first into life. You met people unlike any you’d known before. You confronted new ideas and cultures. You got challenged a little. You learned a lot.

That concept of college appears stone cold dead and video evidence proves it. It’s footage shot last week in Arizona State University’s Student Pavilion, in a room recently designated as a “multicultural space.” Before that, the space was a room where ASU pre-med student Chase Beckerman – a white male in his early 20s – sometimes went to study, including with his laptop, adorned with a “Police Lives Matter” sticker.

The sticker allegedly sparked the conflict, which last week racked up 5.5 million Twitter views and earned coverage from Fox News to Europe. In it, Beckerman and a white male friend – sporting a “Did Not Vote For Biden” t-shirt – are confronted by two women of color, sustainability grad student Sarra Tekola and undergrad Mastaani Qureshi, leaders of ASU’s Multicultural Solidarity Coalition, which lobbied for the creation of the space.

“What did I do wrong?” asks Beckerman.

“You’re offensive,” says one of the women. “Police lives matter?”

“We’re just trying to do schoolwork,” says Beckerman’s buddy, while Beckerman notes the presence of a Black Lives Matter sticker.

“But this is our space,” says the woman. “You’re making this space uncomfortable.”

“You’re making me uncomfortable,” says the anti-Biden T-shirt guy.

That’s when the whole thing goes to hell.

“But you’re white,” one woman shouts. “Do you understand what a multicultural space (is)? It means you’re not being centered.” To this the anti-Biden guy poses a question: “White’s not a culture?”

“White is not a culture,” Tekola yells. “Say it again to the camera. You think whiteness is a culture? … So anyways, this is the violence that ASU does and this is the type of people that they protect, okay. This white man thinks he can take up our space and this is why we need a multicultural space. Because they think they can get away with this.”

Beckerman says he’s “just trying to study,” which unleashes another tirade. “You’re a racist, your sticker’s racist. Because police, that’s a job. … I don’t choose to be Black, okay. You can choose to be a cop. You can choose to kill people with a badge and you’re protecting that… Which means that you’re racist.”

More shouting ensues, more cursing, more woke talking points.

The men leave, and the gist is clear: Police are evil. White men too. The appearance of a pro-law enforcement sticker in a multicultural space is an act of violence.

The self-anointed police of this space feel empowered to defend it by enforcing a version of the same Jim Crow segregation Americans of all races battled against for decades.

Now Beckerman has an attorney and a public statement. “I support good people of all colors, creeds, and religions and support those who want to end racial and social injustice. I am a student. My only desire is to study hard, work hard, and complete my studies at Arizona State University. I am cooperating with the University’s investigation into this incident and I have faith in that process.”

ASU also released a statement: “Differences of opinion are part of the university experience. The university expects respectful dialogue between students in all engagements.”

In a righteous world, respect would be a two-way street. You’d get it no matter the title of the space, no matter the color of your skin, no matter the slogan on your sticker.

I learned that in kindergarten. Now you go to college to unlearn it.

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HAYWORTH from page 9

choose to be Black! Okay, no– you can choose to be a cop, you can choose to kill people with a badge, and you’re protecting that sh*t which means that you’re racist!”

Beckerman said: “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to offend you guys or anything.” Teacola has long taken offense at ASU because school of�icials have not yet of�icially designated the space she was insisting the white students vacate as a multicultural center.

The university maintains that efforts to establish one are being formulated, but a speci�ic location and dedication date have not yet been established.

Teacola is a PhD. candidate in ASU’s School of Sustainability and is a Ford Foundation Fellow. The fellowship provides a stipend of at least $24,000 annually, which ASU accepts as full recompense for tuition and fees.

Despite the fact that the Ford Foundation describes her academic achievement as truly elite – in the top 4% of applicants – Teacola views herself as a victim.

Perhaps that is why, in addition to her role as the founder of MSC, she also is the Phoenix Metro Chapter of Black Lives Matter’s “co-minister for activism.”

Maybe that’s why ASU’s statement in response to the confrontation was so muted. It read, in part: “The Dean of Students Of�ice is aware of the disagreement between a handful of students…[and] will be discussing it with all involved…Differences of opinion are part of the university experience…”

The statement does not detail if any ASU student will face disciplinary action, but Beckerman has retained legal counsel and issued his own statement which emphasizes reconciliation and “meaningful change.”

It could also be that Chase is aware that Crow’s book is described as a “radical blueprint for reinventing American higher education” and understands the operative term is “radical.”

No euphemism there.

AROUND THE BLUHMIN’ TOWN Art is in the eye of the beholder

BY JUDY BLUHM

Foothills Focus Columnist

Are you good with money? Yes, I thought so. We have to watch our pennies even more closely with in�lation. However, it seems there are a few folks in the “art world” who have money to burn. No pun intended.

When Banksy, the famous but anonymous British graf�iti artist, sold his “Girl with the Balloon” piece at auction a few years back, it fetched $1.4 million. But wait, the moment the deal was done, the work of art self-destructed by unexpectedly lowering itself through a shredder that was secretly built into the bottom of the frame. Was anyone shocked or upset? In a rare display of “true art history,” the newly wrecked piece was retitled and then sold for a staggering $4 million.

Oh, the joy of spending (wasting) money.

I know many artists. They are hard working and express their talents in ways that takes time and energy. They may sometimes struggle to make a living but keep going because of their desire to create and inspire. Art improves our lives. It gives us comfort, beauty, motivation and hope. We might �ind something familiar in a piece of art, reminiscent of a place or person from our past. Perhaps we feel our lives are made brighter by vivid colors in an abstract or thrilled by a landscape we get to enjoy hanging on our wall. Art and its price tag are personal.

An artist named Jenn Haaning was paid $84,000 by a Danish Art Museum to reproduce two of his pieces. Haaning sent the museum a box that contained two empty frames. The “artwork” he sent is titled, “Take the Money and Run.” So, the two empty frames which contain blank canvases are on display in a museum. The feedback? People are standing and staring at a blank canvas “imagining” the possibilities. Lordy help us. Have the Danes lost their minds? The museum may ask for a refund, but the artist claims they got what they paid for.

Art is in the eyes of the beholder. And we pay what we think it is worth. I had a friend in nursing school who had a big old bulldog named George. One day while she was painting a bedroom, George spilled the paint, stepped into it, and ran through the house. An artist was born. My friend had George step into paint and walk around on big canvases and would then sell the paintings at the local

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�lea markets for a whopping $100 each. A lot of money back then. One of George’s paintings sold for $1,000 at the Ohio county fair. George became a local celebrity and helped my friend pay for her nursing school tuition.

The relationship between money and art is both baf�ling and complicated. Art is the object of our imagination or the summary of our beliefs. The expression of our emotions in all its mystery and glory. Art has been said to mimic life — as in a blank canvas waiting for our brushstrokes to “make the picture.” Like a dog named George, art is for each of us to create and enjoy. Expensive? Maybe. But always priceless.

Judy Bluhm is a writer and a local Realtor. Have a story or a comment? Email Judy at judy@judybluhm.com.

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