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OPINION
THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 3, 2021
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ASU incident forces rethinking of college BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist
U
sed 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. ■
Beckerman, had a sticker on his computer that read “Police Lives Matter” and the other, who remains unidentified, wore a tshirt reading “Did Not Vote for Biden.” Two women of color, undergraduate Mastaani Qureshi and graduate student Zarra Teacola, 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 floor, the first floor, 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 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 officials have not yet officially 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 specific location and dedication date have not yet been established. Teacola is a PhD. candidate in ASU’s School of Sustainability and is 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 percent 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 Office 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. ■
ASU student confrontation handled with euphemism
BY JD HAYWORTH Tribune Columnist
D
r. 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, as Chase
