Fri 14 May 2004
The latest campus controversy has made the Eagle.
The Ku Klux Klan won’t be holding a cookout in town.
However, an alphabetical snafu on a flier inviting music students and faculty to the annual music department picnic, called the Kechley Krazy Kookout, gave some people on campus that impression.
It also provoked in some students the feeling that they were surrounded by ignorance and insensitivity to the painful issue of race.
The purpose of the flier was absolutely not to offend or be hurtful, said David Kechley, 57, Williams College music department chairman, who is taking responsibility for the mix-up.
Kechley has held the cookout at his home every year for a decade, he said, and the name has never been a problem. But this year’s flier, which was e-mailed to about 50 staff and students about a week ago, used the acronym “KKK” to describe the event.
…
Black students who talked with The Eagle didn’t believe the incident was wholly innocent. More likely, it was an ignorant mistake, they said.
Megan Saffold, 20, a junior from Tacoma, Wash., said, “It’s very insensitive. I can’t say it’s an honest mistake. Stuff like this happens on campuses all the time.”
The whole article makes for an interesting read. Morty apparently sent out a campus-wide letter about the incident. Is that posted anywhere? Stuff like that really ought to be. It would be fascinating to read all the campus wide letters that were sent out in, say 1954. History is a topic that ephblog should spend more time on.
May 14th, 2004 at 12:31 pm
Ask and ye shall receive…
May 12, 2004
To the Williams Community,
For several years the Music Department has held an end-of-year cookout at the home of Chair David Kechley. It’s been called the Kechley Krazy Kookout. An e-mail invitation was sent this year by a department staff person. The person added the name of the event’s initials, which, of course, are KKK.
It is clear that this was done with no bad intent. The purpose, in fact, was the playful one of drawing attention to the alliteration. The person who made that addition now realizes how unsettling the presence of those letters are to members of our community. No one could feel worse about that outcome than this person already does. Apologies have been sent to those who received the message.
This occurrence is clearly unfortunate. While it happened without malice, it provides an opportunity as a college to acknowledge again publicly the importance to Williams of racial and ethnic understanding. Be assured that the College’s commitment to making our campus community open and welcoming is unwavering.
Sincerely,
Morton Owen Schapiro
President