UCSD’s Caucasian Culture Club held a protest against the current campus culture on Library Walk today, citing a “toxic” climate that “makes it unsafe to express [their] beliefs.”
Over 50 individuals participated in the demonstration, carrying various banners reading “NO MELANIN?? NO PROBLEM!!”, “WHITE IS ALRIGHT!” and “CRAVIN’ CAUCASIAN.”
CCC President and appointed organizer of the protest Nathaniel Forrest spoke with the UCSD Guardian about the intentions of the demonstration and how his group has mistakenly been deemed a racist one.
“By promoting a doctrine of love, acceptance and tolerance between ethnicities here on campus, the university has generated an atmosphere hostile to our organization … which, from an outsider’s perspective, can seem intolerant of others,” Forrest explained. “We feel threatened by this student culture. They call us intolerant, but who’s the intolerant one? We are demonstrating against the intolerance of a supposed “tolerant” student body in favor of tolerance for our own beliefs, which therefore makes us the tolerant one.”
Forrest defended the CCC’s inclusive nature by pointing out that the organization accepts members “of a variety of skin shades, ranging from ‘sunburnt red’ to ‘over-roasted marshmallow.’”
But despite his arguments, Forrest recognizes that the CCC could have the potential to be “micro-racist,” as micro-aggressions can be hard to define, and assured the Guardian that all people and groups are micro-racist in their own way, making the CCC no different from any other organization on campus.
Fellow protester and CCC member Kevin Crowe also commented on how the organization’s seemingly racist persona was all a big misunderstanding.
“Our organization has some faith, and we like to spread that faith through building projects,” Crowe told the Guardian. “It used to be, construct a cross here, an overworked student forgets some rope there, and no one got hurt. But it’s unfortunate for us that sometimes a rope resembles a noose, and that, especially in this drought, wooden crosses tend to ignite when dry.”
Despite superficial similarity in name to the Cross-Cultural Center, Forrest denied any involvement or affiliation between the groups.
“We keep getting applicants who just aren’t up to our standards. I don’t understand why we keep getting mistaken for the Cross-Cultural Center, and we would appreciate it if they addressed this issue.”
Correction: Nathaniel Forrest has informed us that the correct spelling of the organization’s name is not Caucasian Culture Club, but in fact “Kaucasian Kulture Klub,” a stylistic choice intended to “harken back to the Teutonic origins of the organization and many of its members.” The Guardian apologizes for this error.
