Can anybody figure out which college or university this is?

All of them?

I'm a "person of color." It's a delightful shade of pink.

Happened to me at Columbia - probably because I lived in the Bronx.

I *just happened* to be assigned a "colored" freshman adviser. He was great and very conscientious - although I was the only white kid ever seen in his office or waiting room.

... and it's funny how "colored" is pejorative, but "of color" is somehow chic. Just shows how arbitrary the whole thing is.

I would say that this is an example of prejudice against albinos. Alibinos, even thoughthey cannot allow themselves to be exposed to the direct rayse of the sun, are not vampires and should not be treated as second class citizens.

I personally don't care if birds of a feather want to get together, EXCEPT that the University would squash a white-student breakfast. So yes, it is racist.

The Marine Corps is so reactionary. They make everybody stand in the same yellow footprints and do the same number of pushups. When are they going to get the message about separate but equal?

When are these people going to march for the right to be treated differently? It seems that is the new goal.

Lord, could we just STOP with the specialness already? Who the hell CARES what color someone is?

While promoting tolerance and diversity, which keeps the cash rolling in, they practice favoritism and segregation, it's an absurd policy of course, but, so in line with the rest of crazy crap that passes for normal in this country.

Wouldn't surprise me if it was my own university, I'm pretty sure they do that. And yes, of course it's racist, what else is new about universities today? :-)

My cousin received an invitation like this, must've been nearly 10 years ago when she was a Freshman journalism student at Temple.

She was invited to join an organization for black journalists. My cousin is Irish, and like Amy is "the color of fresh Wite-Out."

Like Ben David, I assume the invitation was based on geography. My family is from Darby, a borough outside of Philly which has a black majority.

Wow, I didn't know that Amy was a Redditor.

If anyone can find that thread again, there's some interesting reading in the comments. Mainly, everybody suggested that the OP should go.

Oh, not to make any kind of social activismisty point. Just because it's college, and there's free food.

it's funny how "colored" is pejorative, but "of color" is somehow chic. Just shows how arbitrary the whole thing is.

I have always found this fascinating. Once a word actually assumes the full meaning of its predecessor, most particularly the negative connotations, it must be changed.

Crippled
--> Handicapped
--> Disabled
--> ?

Negro
--> Colored
--> Black
--> African American
--> Of Color?

Did I forget any?

Back on topic: of course this is racism, and should be protested as such. If this is allowed, then there ought to be the NAAWP and the White Congressional Caucus.

As Jerry Pournelle once wrote: if you wanted a color-blind society 50 years ago, you were seen as a flaming liberal. Today, say you want a color-blind society, and the liberals castigate you as a hopeless reactionary. But that's still what we need: it is absolutely improper for any institution to take any notice of the skin-color of people it interacts with.

Even if you're the color of my legs (wear sunglasses if you don't want to be blinded), you could still go to this. Just be sure to wear red shoes, yellow socks, blue pants, a gold belt, a green shirt, a purple sweater, an orange hat, and as many bright-colored accessories as you can cram on. Then defy anyone to look at you and not proclaim you a "person of color."

My color is close to Alabaster with shades of pink. I count too right?

I'm pretty close to #FEE8D6. Since I'm not #FFFFFF I'm a person of color right?

I had a friend who went to one of the offshoot of a a big college that used to be the campus for black students. The NAACP offered him a scholarship based on that - and rescinded it when they found out he was Russian and the color of porcelain. I had another friend, a white South African immigrant, who called himself "African American" on all the forms because that's what he was. And a friend from the Caribbean with gorgeous black (#5E2612?) skin, he knew he wasn't "african american" (being neither) so he marked his race as "caucasian" the first time he filled out a college form (since he didn't know that meant white).

Well, I'm a color, in the traditional sense. I am black (or brown since we are talking about ACTUAL color).

I think the discussion is too focused on who was invited versus the purpose of the breakfast. I don't think I ever went to a person of color breakfast in college, but I also grew up around a lot of Alabaster, shades of pink or wite-out colored people. However, the purpose of the breakfast is to get to know other people who have a darker skin complexion, because once you hit the classroom, it's unlikely you'll see them again. It's not that they aren't there, but I was an Economics major. I think at max, I would have one other person that was black in the class.

Personally, this wasn't an issue for me. However, for people who have only been surrounded by only blacks their entire life, stepping on a college campus is already daunting. Then looking around the classroom and thinking and/or believing that they don't have anything in common with the people there because of their skin color, because that's the way they were raised. They can't break down their stereotypes until they get to class. They are less likely to get involved when they think they are the only one black person there.

I always thought of it as a club that had any other like interests. I tended not to agree with the premise, so I didn't attend. And yes, white, Alabaster and any shade of pink would be an appropriate color to attend the breakfast.

Yeah, Nikki, that makes sense. I have experienced that in China and for that matter in Germany. You just want to be a round your own for a while. Not al the tiem, but now and then. it's like a church or some cultural organization. If that's as far as it goes, it's fine.

In today's society, racial preference trumps everything else. A shining example of racial preference is Affirmative Action--which has shafted millions of deserving white people of jobs they qualified for, as well as millions of deserving (qualifying grades, transcripts) white students of their rightful admission into colleges. People like to sugarcoat this shafting of white people--they call it "diversity".

Honus Wagoneer

Heh, when I was a college I went on an orientation trip. It was one of those generic get to know you trips, you know, cabins, canoes, and ropes courses. There was also a special orientation for the women of color.

... at the SAME TIME as the all-college orientation. So they couldn't go to both!!!

How idiotic is that? You basically segregate people from the beginning! Why bother even HAVING integrated schools?

I can understand the desire to congregate with people who you can relate to -- college and life in general is replete with examples of it -- especially in a wildly new place and culture. I don't take issue with that, per se. However, this wasn't for those who 'grew up on farms' or 'survived public education' or 'were born in New York' or 'enjoyed Bill Cosby's Fat Albert cartoon.' It is explicitly about race, or to be specific: non-white.

The assertion with the premise that it is just a way to find people you can relate to is flawed simply because the assumption it contains is this: non-whites relate to non-whites better then they can relate to whites. The idea itself is racist but moreover I dispute it on the grounds of simple common sense: who you relate to is a matter of interests and culture.

I would be very interested to see the reaction if 50% of the people who showed up were from the lower end of the melanin scale. If it follows the (sadly) typical pattern for these type of events, it will be unpleasant with more than a few blatantly racist reactions on the part of the invitees.

Oh for the days when we can see the 'people of color' embrace King's 'quality of character, not color of skin' approach as well. Somehow, I doubt it'll happen on a liberal college campus: there's too much investment in the victim-hood mentality and academic double-standards (and hypocrisy).

That college welcome breakfast is official racism. It excludes people "not of color", and presumes that "people of color" need a special orientation to understand what college is all about. Possibly, they will have a chance to relax and have "conversation, connections, and camaraderie" in an atmosphere free of the white racists who make up the rest of the student body (sarcasm).

Our government is the model for this. The Congressional Black Caucus is a proud, openly racist organization, which is part of our government at the higest level. Is it possible to have greater irony?

The CBC is not merely organized to consider the supposedly special interests of their "black" constituents. They won't admit a "white" congressman to membership, regardless of who he or she represents.

The Congressional Black Caucus is an official group of congressmen and senators. They require black skin to be a member.

===== Quote =====
Wikipedia [edited]: The Black Caucus allows only black members.

Representative Pete Stark (D-Ca, White) tried and failed to join the Black Caucus in 1975. Stark: "I felt we shared an interest to help people in poverty. Half my Democratic constituents are African American. The Black Caucus voted no. They said that I was white, and they wanted the group to be limited to African Americans."
===== /Quote =====

Politico: Whites Not Allowed
--> politico.com/news/stories/0107/2389.html

===== Quote =====
[edited] In January 2007, Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN, White) pledged to apply for membership in the Black Caucus to better represent his 60% black constituents.

Although the bylaws of the Caucus do not make race a prerequisite for membership, former and current members of the Caucus agreed that the group should remain "exclusively black."

Rep. William Lacy Clay, Jr. (D-Mo., Black) is the son of Rep. William Lacy Clay Sr. (D-Mo., Black) a co-founder of the Caucus. "Mr. Cohen asked for admission, and he got his answer. He's white and the Caucus is black. It's time to move on. We have racial policies to pursue and we are pursuing them, as Mr. Cohen has learned. It's an unwritten rule. It's understood."
===== /Quote =====

- -
Above, I have put "black" and "white" in quotes in some cases, because my view is that race is not important, identifying people by race in a political context is in itself racist, and people cannot be reliably identified by race. For example, is Obama "black" or "white"? What are all of the measurements and weightings that would go into that calculation?

I have listed the party affiliations of congressmen in the form (D-Mo., Black/White) as a mockery of our current politics of race affiliation.

The university is just much more interested in recruiting students who are not white. I went to UC Berkeley for undergrad (let's just leave off all the Berzekeley jokes, the campus is quite different from the city) and diversity is something the university cares a lot about. My take on it is that a prestigious university has enough draw that they don't have to court all students and can focus on the groups in which they want higher enrollment. It doesn't piss me off at all, I just think that's the way it is until we don't have such stark racial differences in academic achievement. (I'm not saying that this practice will necessarily result in less stark differences.)

I'm white, and was just accepted to two graduate programs - UCLA and Berkeley. I didn't choose Berkeley partly because I went to the accepted students orientation, and by talking with other students discovered the program had hosted several other special events for the accepted students of color. I figured, OK, they aren't as interested in me as these other students so I'll go elsewhere. But it doesn't make me indignant or angry at all - they can choose their priorities and they are just fine with losing students like me as a result

http://www.thebostonlawyersgroup.com/events/

WHO: 2010 Summer Associates of Color Employed by BLG Member Organizations

WHO: Law Students of Color selected to interview at the 2010 BLG Job Fair, Attorneys, Legal Recruiters, Law School Deans and Career Services Administrators

WHO: Attorneys of Color from BLG Member and Non-Member organizations

WHO: 3L Students of Color, Junior Associates of Color

Meet the Partners of Color Reception-
Networking reception where attorneys of color have a unique opportunity to meet and network with partners of color in an informal atmosphere.

WHO: Attorneys of Color

Since I'm such a bizarre blend of genetics (and hair dye!) I can pass for Jewish, light-skinned Hispanic, and some varieties of Eastern European. I go to a lot of these events and eat the free food before ducking out. I also mark biracial on all of my EEO forms.

When I was in college as a computer science major, the classes were attended mostly by guys. A class with 20 males and 4 females had a lot of females compared to most classes. I'm female, but this didn't bother me.

On the other hand, if they'd had special get-togethers for females only... Well, I guess it would have depended on how they acted, but sometimes when people treat women differently, it's that nicey nicey thing where somehow you feel not as good as the people who ran it.

I'm kind of pinkish white myself, and maybe it's different for people who are minorities by skin color. But I think I'd have been uncomfortable if I'd been treated differently.

If I were creating an admission's form I'd put the options for race as:

Human____
Other___________________(explain)

There was a revolutionary war figure, I don't recall who it was, who said in opposition to slavery:

"Whatever his gifts, it is no measure of his rights."

That refutation to all assertions of some form of inferiority, has not to my knowledge, ever been well countered.

I have no use for the concept of race, I care about two things: Character and Capability. Anything else is just a distraction from the two things that actually matter.

A friend of mine tried to start a "White Students Association" at his college. He took the constitution of the Black Students Association and simply went through and everywhere it said "black" he replaced it with "white" and other changes of the same sort as necessary, then went to the administration with this proposed constitution. Of course they promptly rejected it as racist. But the Black Student Association was an official, college-sanctioned and funded organization. Amusing, no?

If a group of black people want to form a club based on race, I have no problem with that. I've never had any desire to form a white people's club, but if someone wants to, why is that different?

Though, I have to admit, when I spent time in the Middle East, I was very happy to find white Europeans, Canadians, and Americans of every stripe. Even far-right evangelicals. Of course, I would have been equally happy to meet black Americans, it was more about cultural reference than about color per se.

"People of colour" is a ridiculous phrase. I am wearing a white shirt and I notice that my "white" skin is actually not even close to white, so I guess I am also a "person of colour."

If I were some other colour, I'm pretty sure I would find this kind of condescension offensive and irritating. In the end, it's not really helpful to anyone.

I felt that way at times in Japan, but it was mostly a matter of language, not ethnicity. Japan is the most polite place on earth, the coldest place on earth toward outsiders, and one of the warmest and most hospitable places you can find. All at the same time.

It just depends on what groups you are a part of. I'll go out on a limb and say, for most college students, it is going to be the same. If people are strangers, all you will see are the superficial differences. The university is wrong to group students this way. It is almost as if they deliberately try to promote racism.

I am a former Marine, college graduate, IT professional... Caucasian is incidental to my identity, being nothing I earned or did.

"A friend of mine tried to start a 'White Students Association' at his college. "

The company I work for was, for a while, sponsoring race- and ethnicity-based employee affinity groups. There was one for black employees, one for Hispanics, one for Indians, one for Asians, and so on. At some point, someone must have asked why there wasn't an affinity group for white employees.

So they chartered one. But at the first organizational meeting, literally no one showed up. The organizers (HR people) asked around and found out that, without exception, all of the white employees they surveyed regarded it as a trap. That was the end of that.