After an off-campus party, “Compton Cookout,” at University of California, San Diego, mocked Black History Month on Feb. 15, UCSD administrators arranged a two-hour assembly on Feb. 24 regarding the inexcusable incident.

The situation further ensued just a few days later when racially insensitive language was slurred on a student-run television program.

About 1,200 students attended the assembly, with more than half to rightly leave the auditorium to stage a peaceful rally outside.

A party that encouraged students to act and dress in racial stereotypes cannot be repaired with a mere two hour talk about how wrong the students were.

Chancellor Marye Anne Fox said, “We cannot prevent the kind of deplorable events that have happened—and may happen again—but we can ensure that our students feel supported and respected so that they can succeed.”

USCD can prevent such awful events by enforcing stricter consequences for such actions. Students cannot feel supported and respected if they can not even be ensured that something like this will never happen.

USCD officials say that out of 23,143 undergraduates at the university, only about 1.6 percent are African American. This is the lowest percentage in the UC system.
Obviously, the UCSD administration has more to do than simply “heal” the situation or do damage control.

It has to restructure the philosophy and message of its university. USCD must also reconsider that type of students it is admitting onto its campus.

There must be punitive actions for this event, whether it is by suspension, having this event dated on students’ records, or students who took part in the “Compton Cookout” to publicly apologize to other students who were offended.

Greater sensitivity towards racial diversity must be the standard in the institutions of higher learning.

over seniors, and underclassmen continue tracking the days until spring break.

Such aspects of school life remain the same over decades, but education undergoes changes every moment. However, the most profound change should occur at home.

The truth remains that parents shape the educations of their children more during the few hours at home than schools can all day.

The decision to instill decent study habits and reduce procrastination lies in the hands of parents and not teachers.

Therefore, when society laments the crumbling of education in California, the complaints should be directed mainly at home.

At the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex near downtown on March 19, President Obama addressed this very issue.

“Parents,” he said, “you can’t complain about the schools and complain about the teachers, but when your child comes home, they’re playing video games and not doing homework. . . .”
Obama often grows more passionate when discussing education, and his opinions are reasonably stated.

Interestingly enough, Intel Chairman Craig Barrett felt it necessary to comment on the deterioration of education in his opening speech at the 2008 Intel Developer Forum.
“The only way to get hope and opportunity going forward is through education,” he said. “Recognizing that is the key to the future.”

These keys are difficult to procure, but they do exist. The reason for their scarcity is the rarity of their creation.

After all, parents must take the time to care enough to create working keys to the future.