Georgia State Student Organizes White Student Union


For decades white people have been down trodden, stereotyped, racially profiled, discriminated against and seen as inferior. They need to have their moment in the sun and receive the accolades and respect they deserve. They need an organization where they can encourage, uplift and give one another the racial esteem other races have taken from them. Okay, that’s sarcasm.  Georgia State University freshman and Alabama native, Patrick Sharp isn’t saying those words verbatim, but he insinuating that because the fairer skinned race is becoming outnumbered, they need to organize and “celebrate white identity”. In bold font and all caps, printed at the top of the flyer is the phrase, “IT’S TIME”.

It seems odd for Sharp to feel the need to create this group considering the history of the European American. True, there is a Black Students Union and an Asian Students Union at GSU. The reason those groups are necessary is because those races are often underrepresented in American institutions. Whites have almost always been the majority. They have usually been in the positions of power and usually made the rules.

When the flyers for the White Students Union first began circulating the campus, many immediately linked this group with the Klu Klux Klan or some other organization promoting white dominance, but Sharp debunks those comparisons. “You know, to say this is some closeted or curtained white supremacy, it’s pretty — and I’ll go ahead and turn their words around on them — it’s pretty ignorant and close-minded,” Sharp said to 11 Alive News. “It’s a pride organization. It’s a cultural organization. What we have is not hate for any other group. Whites are becoming a minority. We have a voice, we’re unique people, and we have every right to make that voice heard.”

According to 11 Alive, GSU is 38 percent white, 35 percent black, 12 percent Asian and seven percent Latino. Based on the statistics, whites are still the majority.  With that being said, Sharp and his group still have the right to exist. Vice President of Student Affairs Douglass Covey spoke about the controversy. “Any group that wishes to seek recognition must meet the standards of alignment with institutional mission and non-discrimination,” Covey said. “And any group which wishes to exist informally, without institutional affiliation, certainly is free to do so, just as a right of their citizenship.” In order to be formally recognized as a club by GSU, Sharp has to go through a complete application process. Racial tensions are still high, but Sharp is hoping no one judges him prematurely. “What we are is an organization that just loves where we come from,” Sharp said. “We love our heritage, we love our ancestries and we have a lot of pride in that.”

What do you think about Sharp’s idea to create the White Students Union?

 

Picture source: http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwfhb/fhb.html

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