Meeting aims to tear down offensive flyer controversy once and for all
October 18Three groups and about 30 students gathered Tuesday evening to discuss racial stereotypes in the media and on-campus advertising. The meeting was the result of a Sept. 27 flyer put out by the International Club (I-Club), promoting a bake sale. The flyer depicted a stereotypical Asian man, commonly referred to as a "China man" or "coolie." The flyer drew outrage from the Asian Community at Tufts (ACT). The group's board sent an e-mail to the I-Club officers. "The flyer, which features a caricature of an Asian man eating a watermelon, mocks and degrades Asians as strange creatures," the e-mail read. "Rather than highlighting the richness of the cultures that I-Club seeks to represent, this image demotes the essence of being 'Asian' to the mere possession of squinty eyes and buck teeth." The e-mail also explained the caricature's origin in indentured Chinese laborers brought to the United States. "It was one of those images that could be made so much worse and when you look at some of the images from the days of Japanese internment camps," ACT board member Ivy Cheng, a junior, said. "We had to address it." The Tufts Bias Response Team, the administrative arm of the Bias Intervention Program was contacted as a result of the controversy. "The ACT approached us and told us what happened," senior Aarthi Ram, a peer educator with the Bias Intervention Team, said. "They took down the flyers, and we contacted the I Club. It was decided that this was simply due to a lack of knowledge and education." The result was a student forum, during which the three groups - the I-Club, ACT and the Bias Intervention Team - spoke about the controversy and its origins. The discussion began on the problem of bias in the media but soon turned to the specific incident on campus. "The whole idea behind this discussion was to make people aware of different stereotypes which have shown up over the years on the Tufts campus specifically," I-Club spokesperson Alexander Sultan-Khan, a sophomore, said. "It turned out to be more of a discussion on this one incident with the bake sale flyer." The flyer was created by junior Valerie Arias, the I-Club's advertising representative. She said she had "no idea" the image was offensive. "Before I knew about the background, there wasn't much thought put into [making the flyer]," she said. Arias took the image from Microsoft clipart. "I was in a rush and I found the image of the Asian child, and so I decided it was a cute kid," she said. "But now I understand that it's not cute, but very offensive." She said since she grew up in Puerto Rico, she had not been exposed to the stereotype. Cheng said the problem is common. "Many, though not all international students do not have an understanding of racism and how these actions could have an adverse affect on Americans as well as themselves since they are studying in the U.S.," she said. The discussion ended with an agreement that a lack of education was to blame for the flyer. "I don't think international students or American students get a broad enough education on these topics, it's the fault of educational institutions in general," Cheng said. Senior Terry Levine, another Bias Intervention Team peer educator, said the explanation alone did not solve the problem. "I don't think that I-Club had any bad intentions, they were just looking for an image to put on their bake sale sheet," he said. "If you just say they didn't mean to do it, it doesn't matter. It doesn't change anything or do anything for the future." Tuesday's meeting was the first step in making changes, Levine said. "We have to start dialogue and to make people think about issues in a way people haven't thought about them before," he said.
