A group of young conservatives on the University of Texas campus implemented a game called "Catch an Illegal Immigrant Game", but they recently cancelled it in fear of retaliation from campus officials and counter protest.
Rules of the game:
1. Members of the group would walk around with signs that read "Illegal Immigrant"
2. If any student on the campus "caught" that person and turned them in to the student group they would receive a $25 gift card.
The chairman of the group acknowledged that the game was over the top, but hoped to spark discussion on illegal immigration. A Latino group, the Librotraficantes handed out signs so students could collect the gift cards. The vice president of diversity at the university warned that the students participating would be exercising their right of freedom of speech to the detriment of others. He goes on to say that they are creating an environment of exclusion and disrespect among students, faculty, and staff. This isn't the first time this group has used controversial tactics on the campus, the also held an "Affirmative Action Bake Sale".
Is the media bringing attention to this because immigration is a big topic that many are discussing, or would they have reported on this because of how harsh it may seem?
Do you think this was appropriate, or a little too much?
Read the full story over at USA Today --> http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/19/texas-illegal-immigrant-game/3642223/
Good post, I have not heard this story before reading this. To answer your question, I definitely think that this "game" was a bit too extreme. While I think it is a good thing to bring attention to illegal immigration, I do not this this is the right way to do it. As far as the media's involvement, I believe they brought coverage to the story because of the harshness of the game.I certainly agree with the school's statement that the game will essentially single out a particular group of people, and in reality these people most likely are not illegal immigrants. There are definitely other ways to bring coverage to an important issue, and these other methods do not involve "catching" someone for an award. Good post.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very unfortunate event this group tried to be a part of. The issue of immigration reform has been front and center in our politics ever since the last Presidential election. The Senate has acted but unfortunately no action has been taken by the House of Representatives. This game of theirs is vastly offensive and is detrimental to their organization. If they were serious about any sort of policy discussion regarding immigration reform their actions have made them seen very immature. I doubt any other organizations would be willing to sit with them and talk about the issue. The media is there because this is a fairly big school and it's a sensational story. They know people would definitely watch this reporting. Ultimately, I think the actions of this conservative group are detrimental to their cause and reputation within political circles.
ReplyDeleteThis is an extremely harsh tactic to spark immigration talks and extremely disrespectuful to foreign students and faculty . There is a more positive way to inform people about immigration and spark talks on immigration reform. Students shouldn't be awarded for turning in an immigrant and running a family life
ReplyDelete