The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

University students of Georgia burned the books of a Latin author

2019-10-12T16:11:28.456Z


Videos on social networks show students gathered around a pyre burning copies of Jennine Capó Crucet's novel and laughing.


  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
  • Click here to share on LinkedIn (Opens in a new window)
  • Click to email a friend (Opens in a new window)

(CNN) - Students from the University of South Georgia (GSU) burned the books of a Cuban-American author at a stake after a conference in which she discussed with the participants the privilege and diversity of whites.

Jennine Capó Crucet visited the campus in Statesboro this Wednesday to talk about her 2015 novel, "Make Your Home Among Strangers," which students were assigned to read for their freshman course.

Multiple videos on social networks show students gathered around a pyre burning copies of the novel by Capó Crucet and laughing.

"This is where we are, United States," Capó Crucet tweeted this Wednesday after the incident.

  • The legacy of homicide and racism of the Western Hemisphere

One of the most infamous book burning in history took place in May 1933 when German citizens burned the books of Jewish authors to "eliminate the" Jewish influence "of German institutions, according to the Holocaust Memorial Museum website. from the United States.

The author says that the interaction with the students was hostile

Capó Crucet's novel is about a Cuban-American girl trapped between two worlds, her life as a student of a first-generation minority at an elite university and her family in Miami, which deals with immigration issues.

"I was asked in advance to give a talk on issues related to diversity and university experience, one of the topics I discuss in my novel," Capó Crucet said in a statement Friday.

During the question and answer part of his presentation, he says that a white student questioned whether he had the authority to address issues of race and white privilege on campus.

Jennine Hood Crucet.

The GSU student newspaper, The George-Anne, reported that the student accused Capó Crucet of generalizing that "most whites are privileged."

“What makes you believe that it is okay to come to a university campus, like this one, when we are supposed to be promoting diversity on this campus, which is what they teach us. I don't understand what the purpose of this was, ”said the student, according to the newspaper.

The writer replied: “I came here because they invited me and I talked about the white privilege because it is something real that I am really benefiting from right now even when asking this question,” according to the report.

"I answered the question with the same answer I quote in the essay and mentioned aloud that this moment felt like deja vu," he said.

  • This is Donald Trump's United States

GSU freshman Chloe Johnsen told CNN that the students began to shout and shout for and against the student's comment, and some shouted "Trump 2020" and others said the author was right.

Hood Crucet described the interaction as hostile, surreal and strange. He added that the students began to shout from one side to the other, but he asked the faculty to find the student who asked the initial question and other "equally annoying students" because "a compassionate and continuous conversation had to occur."

"We weren't going to answer these questions on a night of discussion," Capó Crucet said.

The campus of Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia.

Later that night, however, Capó Crucet said he had to change hotels because the students had gathered outside their original hotel and watched videos on the social networks of students burning their books.

"Nothing similar to the events at GSU has happened during any of my previous visits to the campus," he said, adding that he has given similar presentations at educational institutions such as Stanford University.

Students are protected by the First Amendment, says GSU spokeswoman

JaQuaylon Taylor, a freshman at GSU, who witnessed the burning of the book on Wednesday night, told WJCL-TV, a CNN subsidiary, who recorded a video of the incident.

“When I was filming the video, I was saying that this is crazy. This is crazy. I didn't expect this to happen at all. It's just not what it was supposed to be that night, ”Taylor said.

Jennifer Wise, a spokesman for the university, said in a statement that GSU does not plan to take any action against the students involved in the incident and that the burning of books was within the rights of the First Amendment of the students.

She said, however, that "book burning does not align with the values ​​of Georgia Southern or encourage civil discourse and debate of ideas."

PEN America, a literature and human rights organization, issued a statement about the book's burning on Friday.

"It is deeply disturbing to see a group of students involved in this type of behavior," said Jonathan Friedman, director of the freedom of expression project at the PEN America campus. “This symbolic gesture aimed not only to reject or refute ideas, but to erase the paper on which they were written… It is up to the university to educate its students about why book burning is so hostile to open speech and free expression".

Russell Willerton, professor and president of the School's Department of Writing and Linguistics, issued a statement on Facebook saying the department was "dismayed and disappointed by the uproar."

"Last night's discussion with the author became accusations of racism against whites," said Willerton's statement. "We affirm that destructive and threatening acts do not reflect the values ​​of Georgia Southern University."

Johnsen, the GSU freshman, told CNN that he did not believe the president's statement was sufficient.

“I don't think anyone's opinion will change. None of the people who burned the books were punished, ”he said. "I think behaviors like that and their actions and beliefs will continue to exist."

CNS Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.

Discrimination Books Literacy

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2019-10-12

You may like

News/Politics 2024-02-20T18:40:55.985Z

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-28T06:04:53.137Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.