Claremont Independent

Last Updated: 3/12/08 Section: News

The Washington Post's Offbeat column recently nominated Debra Wood, Dean of Students at Scripps College, for its "Idiot of the Year" award. The nomination was a response to her emotionally charged letter condemning the ASCMC Class of 2010 for its February 2nd "White Party." The White Party was conceived as an imitation of rap star P-Diddy's annual event. Attendees dress in all white, which appears neon with the use of black lights. Promotional materials depicted DJ Timbo, the disc jockey hired for the event, against the backdrop of two African-American women in bikinis. Dean Wood, however, found the party's theme and advertisements to be racist and sexist. She revealed her alarm in a heated letter to CMC Dean of Students Jeff Huang and the entire student body at Scripps. "It harms not only women and African Americans, but all of us here at the colleges and undermines our educational efforts," she said. Ms. Wood also argued that the invitations exemplified the improper use of free speech and had not been approved by CMC's administration. She then called for a boycott of the event: "[Display your] anger and dismay to the CMC Class of 2010 through appropriate ways - such as not attending the party, writing letters to the class leadership and/or student news papers, and refusing to tolerate this kind of treatment of members of our communities." Prompted by CMC's Dean of Students office, Isayas Theodros, president of CMC's sophomore class, responded to Dean Wood's allegations with an email of his own. It said, "As the president of the class of the year 2010, I am fully aware that I represent not only my class, but also the Claremont colleges as a whole and as a result would never encourage or endorse something with a malicious or racist intent. Additionally, because I am African American, the idea that I would support the exclusion or objectification of the black race does not add up." He also confirmed that the graphics on the fliers had no affiliation with the title of the party and were strictly a product of the DJ Timbo's promotional album from the past. "Dean Wood's email was a knee-jerk response that was ill considered," says Brad Walters, ASCMC President. "The fact that she involved all of the students, staff, and faculty of her college was ineffective, pointless, and downright mean-spirited. . .professionalism, courtesy, and reason could have prevented this entire problem." Her rant had the opposite of the effect she intended. The turnout was "excellent… (Dean Wood) publicized it better than we ever could," said Theodros. The event was a success, attended by over 1000 students. Nevertheless, her letter incited several negative rebuttals. Tim Scarne, who performs as DJ Timbo, the central figure of the controversial poster and impetus for the event, demanded an apology from Wood, making the following statement: "I'm concerned that if she doesn't respond, that she stands on her ground that I'm a racist, and I am not," he says. "Isn't this person supposed to know about Constitutional law and libel?" It is uncertain how these circumstances will affect future 5-C relations. Prior to the White Party, "my experience interacting with the administrations of the other four colleges has been almost universally positive," says Walters. The exceptions have always arisen as a result of poor communication and oversensitivity to political correctness." Dean Wood could not be reached for comment. • Aanchal Kapoor is a freshman at Pomona.

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