Debates in the Technician

Nate Gay's original article expressing discomfort at the idea of an African American Cultural Center.

James O'Keefe's letter written in support of Nate Gay and voicing "popular" campus sentiment against the African American Cultural Center.

In particular, the columns of Nate Gay and James O’Keefe voiced significant discomfort at the opening of the new multicultural center.  These two columnists insisted that the strident black pride that inspired the new center was an example of “reverse racism” and an angry attempt to keep racism alive long past its expiration date.  These columnists insisted that racial discrimination in America had long ended and that “exclusionary” expressions of black pride, like the building of the multicultural center and black beauty pageants, only served to perpetuate racial tensions that should be long dead.[1]

Rebuttal from Leslie D. West of Nate Gay's views and defense of the Ebony Man contest and the African American Cultural Center.

Leslie D. West refuted the views of O’Keefe and Gay in an impassioned guest column response that argued for the continued existence of subtle forms of personal as well as institutional racism that continued to denigrate African American students in all aspects of life.  West argued that African-American centric events and institutions like black beauty pageants and the multi-cultural center inspired needed expressions of black pride in the face of continued, small indignities that constantly reminded African Americans of their supposed inferiority.  West argued that the new African-American center was not a space of exclusion, but one where students of all races and ethnicities were equally welcome to come and debate continued issues of inequality.[1]