Oppressing the Oppressors

Amanda Wynkoop

WRH 315-01

Dr. Timothy Ray

Critical Analysis 1

February 6, 2008

Oppressing the Oppressors

The article I found entitled, “Diversity Program Creates Division” by Kathy Boccella is an example of propaganda through the utilization of interrogating questions and brainwashing at an orientation activity at the University of Delaware. It serves as a good example of how political and racial propaganda are highly at play in today’s society, especially in non-diverse settings.

This past fall, University of Delaware freshmen showed up to college for the first time and were confronted with a very controversial orientation activity carried out by the dorm RA’s. The activity aimed to bridge the gap between cultural differences at this overwhelmingly white university, yet some of the exercises encouraged unsettling feelings and caused many of the new students to feel very uncomfortable. Students were required to write down “stereotypes of different ethnic and religious groups and publicly give their opinion on issues such as gay marriage and affirmative action”. They were also rated on their responses to questions about their sexual and cultural beliefs. One student asked his RA if he could skip the question on sexuality, but she replied “I’m really going to need you to answer that”, and the two sat in silence until he finally wrote something down. In one particular exercise, the students were forced to go to different sides of the room depending on whether they agreed or disagreed with statements about gay marriage and affirmative action. In another session, students were forced to step forward or backward depending on their response to ideas about race and sexual identity. The interviews were planned to be held twice a semester, so that staff may evaluate students on their “level of change or acceptance”. Students stated that they felt pressured by the RA’s to agree with the ideology that all whites are oppressors and minorities are victims, regardless of whether they truly felt this way or not.

The audience that this article appeals to consists of college students, prospective students, their parents, and also university faculty. It may also be addressing individuals who have experienced racism or discrimination first hand, or those who may be involved in the attempt to abolish prejudices altogether. This type of article would not pertain to or interest an audience such as young children, business men, or even elderly people simply because they would not relate to it as well at this particular time in their lives.

The purpose of this article is not only to inform readers about the University of Delaware’s latest diversity program, but also to show how offensive the program was and to highlight how much controversy it caused. Although the author tried to sound non-biased in her explanation of the situation, it is clear that she disagreed with the way in which the activities were carried out. Her true feelings are apparent in the way she emphasized all of the negative aspects of the program, yet didn’t mention one positive feature about it. This shows that the true purpose of the article is in a sense a form of propaganda in itself, even though that is exactly the topic it is addressing. Rather than allowing readers to formulate their own opinion on the situation, the author forces them to feel the same way she does, which is a prominent strategy used by propagandists.

The use of pathos was strongly at play in this article. It can be seen in the accounts of the situation given by students themselves who expressed distressed feelings towards the program. In one example, a student who was identified in a write-up as one of the “worst” claimed that she was “tired of having diversity shoved down her throat” and that “the questions that were being asked were nobody’s business”. Another student said that the exercise caused a lot of separations between fellow students, and the whole situation was really uncomfortable. These comments show how irritated the students became when asked these extremely personal questions, and also how uneasy the RA’s made them feel. If a person read this article and put them self in the same situation, then they would likely understand how the students felt and would probably have the same reaction.

Logos is a rhetorical strategy which appeals to logic and reasoning. It is noted within the article that out of the 20,000 students who attend the University of Delaware, a whopping 83% of them are white. Without full knowledge of the circumstances at the college, many would assume that racial and diversity issues probably exist, however in reality that is not the case. According to both students and administrators, “there are few racial problems on campus” proving that the orientation exercise aiming at reconciling cultural differences was not really necessary. The fact that the RA’s were so persistent in getting answers to those prying questions reemphasizes the absurdness of the program, especially because it was never needed to begin with.

This article also makes good use of ethos, which calls on the reader to react according to their ethics and morals. Most would agree that it is unethical for a complete stranger to ask such personal questions and demand a clear cut answer in return. The RA’s made it their business to know everyone’s private beliefs on such sensitive issues dealing with religion, sexuality, and race. The students at the university felt completely judged according to their morals. In addition to appealing to ethics, ethos is also a strategy authors use to make themselves seem more credible and believable as writers. At the end of the article, the author included 6 actual examples of the type of questions the RA’s forced residents to answer. This contributed well to her ethos as a writer because it showed that she was not simply stating her opinion that the orientation exercises were far too personal and prying. Rather, she proved the nature of the program by citing true evidence of the questions asked.

The article was written in the fall of 2007 which is prime time for high school seniors to be applying to colleges and choosing the one that suits them best. The time it was written was appropriate since it may have possibly influenced prospective students’ impression of the university. This is an example of kairos because of the article’s appropriateness in regards to the surrounding circumstances.

This article is a great example of propaganda because of the way the RA’s carried out the orientation activity. They strongly pressed students to adopt university-approved views on many sensitive topics, accept a specific set of dogma, and take a strong stance on an issue regardless of whether they completely agreed with it or not. They attempted to force white students to believe that they were all racist and homophobic and that they should change their views immediately. This reflects the strategy propagandists use to create a belief system that everyone should abide by. During some orientation sessions, the term “treatment” was used which makes the program seem as if its purpose was to train and brainwash students to conform to the idea that they were all white oppressors, rather than to provide a positive learning experience.

As a result of all the controversy, the new orientation program at the University of Delaware has been abolished. The method they used to eliminate racism and prejudices was not only inappropriate, but also ineffective. If they still feel that exercises of this nature are necessary next year, then it might help to create fun activities in which members of different ethnicities and backgrounds can interact with each other. This way, the students would be able to experience cultural diversity without the unnecessary personal questions and uncomfortable atmosphere.