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STANFORD DOCUMENTS
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the ignorance, which most students have, of political terminology.
The BSU has had 20 years of training - most of y'all haven't. Here
are the definitions I use, just so you know from where I'm coming:
Black - an African person or a member of the diaspora of African
peoples throughout the world.
Persons of Color-any of the non-Caucasian peoples, including
Africans, Asians, Chicanos/Latinos , American Indians or other eth–
nic groups. Commonly called minorities, Third World people or
other inaccurate names.
Prejudice - to judge a person's attributes based on a set of precon–
ceived notions or stereotypes.
Discrimination - to treat an individual or group differently and
disadvantageously due to distinct arbitrary characteristics.
Racist - one who actively oppresses or mistreats a group of people
based on race .
Racism - to experience mistreatment or oppression based on race .
Institutional racism - racism perpetuated by the passive and active
action of a social institution. Does not require individual action to
perpetuate, but is experienced by individuals .
Progressive - a person committed to active change of a social sys–
tem to favor those on the bottom levels of a socio-economic system.
Conservative - a person committed to conserving present social
conditions, which favor those in control of a socio-economic system.
Activist-one who acts for change .
Reactionary-one who reacts to change.
Protest - to actively disagree with a policy or situation .
To be political- to use structured social forums, institutions and
organized individuals to impact a social group.
Passivity-the act of not responding to stimuli, usually in order to
preserve a favorable situation or emotional state.
You can argue with the BSU, but you cannot accuse us of not
understanding exactly what we are doing.
People thought I was the only black person yelling "racism and
protest" on campus, or worse, I was the head of a monolithic body of
black militants. The fact of the matter is that there are at least 700
people, of all races and backgrounds, yelling the same thing.
Unfortunately, the media like to single out one leader, and they
picked me. The BSU , MEChA, Students United for a Democratic
Education, Asian-American Students Association, Stanford Organi–
zation for Lesbian and Gay Equality and a few other organizations
on this campus are actually trying to change this campus.
