The University of California, San Diego is in the midst of a serious investigation regarding racist threats and actions toward minority students on campus.

Sometime in February, a fraternity threw an off-campus party called the “The Compton Cookout” which mocked black history month by inviting guests to “dress ghetto.” The African American community at UCSD became very upset. This was the beginning of a protest that would raise many eyebrows.

But “The Compton Cookout” was hardly the beginning of racist actions on UCSD's campus. The African American students at the UCSD, who make up less than 2% of the University's student body, have become the target of what seems to be racism. A few days after the fraternity held this party a noose was found hanging in the Universities library. Not long after, a white sheet that resembled a KKK uniform was found covering a statue on campus. Was this a threat to the African American students that they were not welcome or wanted at UCSD? The African American community at UCSD has held several rallies, and meetings to exercise their voice about how they feel on the issue of racism. About 100 UCSD students--most of them African American--gathered on the library steps to protest equality.

What’s next for UCSD? The office of Admissions says we will see change the diversity on the campus. Is this the answer to solving the “racial” problems? This solution will not likely defuse what seems to be a racial phase at the school. The chancellor of UCSD seems to only be giving answer’s that sounds decent to the public and media. Marye Ann Fox states in a campus newspaper “The President of the Black Student Union (BSU) and I also signed a mutual agreement that demonstrates our joint commitment to improve the overall campus climate for everyone.” This does not seem to give a resolution as to what can be done for the students who were offended and scared as a result of the actions of other students on campus. Many ask the question, when can we truly see this change happen?

This incident has damaged the college’s name in many ways. UCSD has lost the interest of many perspective students. We can only hope that the University California of San Diego can recover from the negative attention.