A Teachable Moment

          Alexandra Wallace, a junior at UCLA, posted a 3-minute video blog on YouTube which would forever change her life. In the video Alex ranted about the customs and manners of the "hoards of Asians" on campus. Wallace, in her video, comments about Asians talking on cell phones in the library during finals period. Many of them were trying to get a hold of relatives to see if they had survived the deadly earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan. It gets even worse, Wallace goes on to mock an Asian accent and ethnic slur in order to show her version of what Asian students said on their cellphones in the UCLA library: "Ohhh. Ching chong ling long ting tong."

The video which Alex titled "Asians in the Library" went viral on YouTube and Facebook almost immediately and drew half a million views the weekend it was posted. Other UCLA students, including Asian American students, soon retaliated with hateful response videos on YouTube. However despite all the negative attention and overwhelming outcry of angry responses from the Asian community, the school failed to react and use this incident as a teachable moment.

In a statement, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Janina Montero explained that Wallace’s video rant did not violate the Student Code of Conduct. She went on to explain that the university does not punish free speech, and that the administration has “no intention of pursuing a discipline matter.” In another statement the administration, in an attempt to defend their decision after being scrutinized by the UCLA student body, explained that:

 “The bar on free expression is very high. However offended one might be with the comments that were in the video the fact remains that campus policies do not punish free speech. They punish hate speech.”

This incident was a perfect example of a 2011 version of an act of outward discrimination, hate speech, and profiling. However, because this incident occurred on the free world of expression on YouTube the University was unable to prove that Wallace was in violation of the student code of conduct, and she was let off the hook with only a slap on the wrist. The administration’s lack of response spurred outrage within the UCLA student body and Asian community and responded with hateful and threatening videos to Wallace and her family.

This incident could have been used as a teachable moment on two levels. Today, we are so quick to login to our Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube accounts and rant and rave about whatever or whoever we want at the moment that we forget about the repercussions that may come of our actions. Because of this widely accepted norm of freedom of expression that we have grown so accustomed to on the Internet we have forgotten the idea of proportionality and how what we say and do on the internet, even if posted anonymously behind a computer screen, can haunt us forever.  This incident could have been used as a teaching lesson for generations to come to understand that there is the need for proportionality, especially in the age of the Internet in which anything and everything can go viral. As we have seen with Wallace’s video, the Internet has no boundaries, and college students and young children in general are prone to saying or doing inappropriate or embarrassing things. However, at the same time we see that college students also have the most potential and opportunities for personal growth and learning. Colleges, in turn, have a responsibility to educate their students to be able to grow and become the most accepting, well-rounded, tolerant, and successful individuals possible.  This incident not only brings to the surface the need for proportionality on the Internet but also the role of the University.

UCLA law professor and noted First Amendment scholar Eugene Volokh weighed in on this issue by stating that:

“The premise of the American university (and, I think, American self-government more broadly) is that people need to be free to express their views," Volokh wrote, adding that implementing that premise meant "boneheaded statements have to be as protected as more well-reasoned statements."

However, I think otherwise. The whole point of a college education, or education in general is to prepare and teach students prescriptions and proscriptions of how to act in the real world, and UCLA has clearly failed at it’s most important job with regards to the incident involving Wallace. Her remarks made throughout the video, as ignorant, and “boneheaded” as they might be, were clear and explicit acts of hate speech, discrimination, and profiling. The University of California at Los Angeles, prides itself on its diversity, however when it comes to promoting tolerance to acceptance among their diverse community they completely missed the mark. In this case, racism, discrimination, and profiling, even if performed by a female college student cannot be justified through freedom of speech. As a result of the laxed response by the administration, they have opened the door for more behavior like this to occur, and that is exactly what has happened.  Thousands of hateful and threatening responses were sent to Wallace and her family forcing her to withdraw from the Unveristy.

The Univeristy should have used this moment to express the need for tolerance among racial and ethnic diverity in the Univeristy by either inviting students to participate in a diversity program which would promote tolerance and acceptance among the diverse student body, or by disciplining Wallace, to set the precedent for future and current UCLA students to demonstrate that this type of behavior is unnacceptable and will not be taken lightly by the administration. Whichever option they choose, the University must ultimately step up to the plate and take a stance on this issue after all this negative attention that this incident has received, and show its commitment for teaching all students tolerance and acceptance to be able to become peaceful, successful, and well-rounded members not only of the University but most importantly of our increasingly diverse world.