IUPUI's Affirmative Action Office Out Of Control

Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis is located in the heart of Indy, just outside of downtown.

Recently, there was a flap over a man working for and attending IUPUI for reading a book (on his break in a breakroom) entitled, Notre Dame vs. The Klan: How The Fighting Irish Defeated The Ku Klux Klan. What followed was something totally outrageous and another fine example of how this racial card is be played at every drop of a hat.

Much of it is explained in this WSJ Op-Ed piece.

The story began prosaically enough. Keith Sampson, a student employee on the janitorial staff earning his way toward a degree, was in the habit of reading during work breaks. Last October he was immersed in "Notre Dame Vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan."

Mr. Sampson was in short order visited by his union representative, who informed him he must not bring this book to the break room, and that he could be fired. Taking the book to the campus, Mr. Sampson says he was told, was "like bringing pornography to work." That it was a history of the battle students waged against the Klan in the 1920s in no way impressed the union rep.

The assistant affirmative action officer who next summoned the student was similarly unimpressed. Indeed she was, Mr. Sampson says, irate at his explanation that he was, after all, reading a scholarly book. "The Klan still rules Indiana," Marguerite Watkins told him – didn't he know that? Mr. Sampson, by now dazed, pointed out that this book was carried in the university library. Yes, she retorted, you can get Klan propaganda in the library.

As anyone can plainly assess from this synopsis of the situation, there are many out of control elements at this and other universities across this nation. Here, we have a book that explains how the Klan's influence was significantly diminished at one prestigious university and we have a group of paranoid race-baiters at another university, making an illogical determination that this book is offensive. (Maybe the Klan would find this offensive too, because they came up on the short end of the stick in this one.)

How can anyone learn the Klan's thinking is wrong, except they read about it in an academic setting? How can anyone learn that power can be stripped from hate organizations like the Klan, except they read about one example where it was? How can there be any inspiration to do such a thing, except a story be told?

Never mind this book was found in the university library, this book was deemed offensive by those with a union mentality and an official complaint was lodged at the request of some ignorant being. From there, some radical "chip on her shoulder" university Affirmative Action Officer gets involved and proceeds to demonstrate that some people have no business in positions of authority and influence.

But here's a twist, found later in the WSJ piece. The ICLU (Indiana's version of the ACLU) eventually did something uncharacteristic. They got involved on the side of Mr. Sampson.

The result was, frankly, surprising to me and many other cynics in this area. It seems the chancellor has officially apologized to Mr. Sampson. Here is the PDF version of the letter, Sampson received.

But in my opinion, this is not enough. If I had any say whatsoever, the union leadership and entire Affirmative Action Office at IUPUI would be re-educated. Additionally, I would require both AAO officials that took this overzealous and ill-conceived action to meet personally with and officially apologize to Keith Sampson as part of (and in front of) an open forum open to all students. If they refused, I would fire them.

How these idiots ever got a degree, is beyond me. But that's another post.




Addendum:

Upon further investigation, it appears that AAO Director Lillian Charleston has retired in the time since this case played out. For her bio, take a quick peek here. Note that her studies were centered in Urban Studies, where much of this kind of thinking is taught and glorified.