We really believe that the students who wrote, produced and acted in Gaieties had no intentions of hurting their peers’ feelings. In the same light, we think they would say that we didn’t come to Gaieties “looking for trouble.” What started as different groups coming to Memorial Auditorium for the same reason — to share our love for Stanford and unify the student body before Big Game — ended with all parties involved feeling hurt and misunderstood. On the one hand, many students of all backgrounds felt alienated by the portrayals of various sub-groups in our student body. On the other hand, those who enjoyed the show don’t necessarily feel like they have done anything wrong by being able to take the show lightly and enjoy Gaieties for what it is. And honestly, this isn’t a rare phenomenon; every day, people come to very different conclusions about the same subject. That is not the point. The point is that these moments are not ones to simply let pass by and repeat themselves year after year. It is an opportunity for each group to understand where others are coming from and to learn and grow from these different perspectives. We hope tonight’s Town Hall sponsored by Ram’s Head, 7-8:30 p.m. in Roble Theater is a start.

What compels us to write this article now — just over two months after 36 residents of Ujamaa decided to walk out of the show in protest — is not just because we as a school haven’t fully fleshed out what the intentions of Gaieties are and should be, but also because we see this unfortunate instance of misunderstanding as a part of a broader campus problem. Gaieties is just one of many instances that have made students of various communities feel disenfranchised at their own school. Often unwittingly, the words and actions of others can make students of particular groups feel pushed to the fringes of campus and unable to comfortably express that aspect of their identity. That is certainly articulated in Ujamaa, but it is far from the only place where similar sentiments are expressed. The disagreement about the content and nature of Gaieties, then, is a symptom of a campus culture that does not engage issues of diversity as well as it could. The University can and must do a better job in making sure that students don’t let instances like these pass by without real discussion. Moreover, the University has an obligation to make sure students do some soul searching while they are here to understand their own identities and how they participate in race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation and all other aspects that compose one’s identity.

This isn’t the first time students have disagreed about how diversity is handled on campus. It’s not even the first time Gaieties has been a catalyst for this debate. But it is the first time in a long time that the University is in a position to make a statement by supporting the virtues of diversity it so passionately espouses. The last time might have been 1989, when, after a series of instances of perceived racial insensitivity, Stanford published a report entitled “Building a Multiracial, Multicultural University Community.” In the first section, “A Vision for Stanford,” the report underscores “the need to reach deeply to the underlying causes below the hurtful symptoms, so that the learning process results in fundamental change.” It also emphasizes “the need for immediate and continuing action to achieve durable results.” We couldn’t have said it better. Unfortunately, many of the recommendations of the committee were left under- or un-implemented. It is saddening that we are asking for the same things this report recommended before most of us were born. It’s really an indictment of the school’s past willingness to drag its feet and let pass by another opportunity to bolster meaningful diversity education beyond FACES and Crossing the Line. But today is another opportunity to make good on the promises of that report of 21 years ago and on the type of education Stanford advertises in its admission brochures. It will take strong leadership from the very top of this University, and we are counting on you for just that, President Hennessy.

Yvorn Aswad ’11, Catherine Howard ’11, Autumn Williams ’11, Robbie Zimbroff ‘12

Ujamaa House RAs