A commissioner of the undergraduate student government publicly
apologized Tuesday on behalf of his office for placing what some
said was a racially offensive advertisement in the Daily Bruin
earlier this month.
The Campus Events Commission of the Undergraduate Students
Association Council was promoting the $2 movie
“Barbershop” showing later that week.
The ad that ran featured Buckwheat from the early 20th-century
series “Little Rascals” holding a pair of shears and
making the comment, “Ice Cube is da bomb! OTAY?!”
Buckwheat was characterized as a naive, black child on the
series.
The ad was enforcing stereotypes in the black community that the
film “Barbershop” was condemning, said Kelly Wynn,
Chief of Staff of the Cultural Affairs Commission and director of
the Black Pre-Law Society. Wynn added it was especially offensive
to see the ad at the beginning of Black History Month.
“I am offended that … someone who is black had to see it
to call it out as offensive,” added Cultural Affairs
Commissioner Robbie Clark.
Given the history of the image and what he called its
irrelevance to the ad’s content, Campus Events Commissioner
Ryan Wilson said he asked that changes be made to the ad before it
was submitted to the Bruin. But his instructions were not followed
by the staff member designing the ad, he said.
In response to a “handful” of complaints received
from fellow USAC councilmembers and students, Wilson published an
apology this week.
“The notions conveyed within the ad do not reflect the
views and opinions of the commission,” Wilson said in the
apology.
Councilmembers discussed the ad at the USAC general meeting
Tuesday night. Some said part of the blame should fall on The Bruin
for running the ad.
“This should have gone all the way up to the
editors,” said council administrator Rick Tuttle.
“If things like this can get into print, that says
something,” he added. “We have all been let
down.”
But, because of the hundreds of ads The Bruin receives weekly,
it’s inevitable for some questionable ads to get through,
said Editor-in-Chief Cuauhtemoc Ortega.
And those who submit potentially offensive ads “carry much
of the blame,” he said.
The Bruin does not publish some ads. Many of the rejected ads
stereotype people by their race or ethnicity. The editor-in-chief
usually does not examine ads unless they are brought to his
attention by the Advertising Department.
The ad was not brought to the attention of Business Manager
Jeremy Wildman either.
But in examining the ad, Wildman said he didn’t know what
was offensive about it.
Wildman added that most ads coming from a USAC office generally
do not raise concern.
“They’re usually sensitive … and we defer to their
judgment,” he said.
The Campus Events Commission has published offensive material in
the past. Last year, some found the portrayal of Native Americans
in a film calender produced by the commission offensive.
Wilson said he is “not pointing fingers” and taking
preventative measures.