Liberal WaPo columnist slams 'triggered' Yale after report on 'racist' party invitation: 'Do some growing up'
Ruth Marcus writes that the biggest challenge to law school campuses is how to deal with 'grievance culture'
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Liberal Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus slammed Yale Law School students and officials who became upset over a party invitation sent by another student they claimed contained "pejorative and racist language."
In a Thursday op-ed, Marcus ridiculed the "grievance culture" of the students driving the backlash to second-year law student Trent Colbert's invitation to a Constitution Day party, and declared that, although they may be the best and brightest students, they needed to do some growing up.
"Sup NALSA, Hope you’re all still feeling social! This Friday at 7:30, we will be christening our very own (soon to be) world-renowned NALSA Trap House . . . by throwing a Constitution Day bash in collaboration with FedSoc. Planned attractions include Popeye’s chicken, basic-b--ch-American-themed snacks (like apple pie, etc.) . . . Hope to see you all there," Colbert's invitation read, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
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The invitation was sent to students belonging to the Native American Law Students Association (NALSA), of which Colbert is a member. He also belongs to the conservataive Federalist Society.
Marcus explained that although the term "trap house" was described in the Urban Dictionary as being "originally used to describe a crack house in a shady neighborhood," but "has since been abused by high school students who like to pretend they’re cool by drinking their mom’s beer together," it still ignited a firestorm that spread to students outside NALSA.
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"Within minutes, as reported by Aaron Sibarium of the Washington Free Beacon, the invitation was posted on the group chat for all 2Ls, or second-year law students, of which several asserted that the invite had racist connotations, and had encouraged students to attend in blackface," Marcus wrote.
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"I guess celebrating whiteness wasn’t enough," wrote the president of the Black Law Students Association on the chat. Marcus noted that she also claimed the Federalist Society "has historically supported anti-Black rhetoric."
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Within 12 hours, Colbert was summoned to meet with associate law dean Ellen Cosgrove and diversity director Yaseen Eldik, who told him they received multiple complaints of "discrimination and harassment" over the invitation and instructed him to apologize.
Colbert recorded the conversation secretly, which revealed Eldik claiming that the Federalist Society was "triggering" for some students because of "oppressive" political affiliations.
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"Sorry, but if you’re triggered by the Federalist Society, you don’t belong on a law school campus," Marcus wrote.
Colbert resisted their attempts to send out an apology note to students, but the administrators later sent out their own note condemning the "pejorative and racist" language in the invitation.
A later conversation between administrators and Colbert appeared to include veiled threats to his future as a law student, although the school denied that it intended to discipline him.
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The Free Beacon's report has set off a firestorm of criticism of the school amid wider debates about liberal intolerance for opposing view points.
"But that’s not the biggest challenge at Yale or at other law school campuses. It’s how to deal with a grievance culture in which every slight, real or perceived, is greeted with outsize demands for disciplinary consequences. There is — or should be — a distinction between sophomoric provocation and outright racism," Marcus wrote.
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"These students may be among the best and brightest, but they also need to do some growing up," Marcus wrote.