<p>Usually I give teenagers some leeway for rash behavior or nitwit comments. I’ll think I’ll make an exception for Maya Peterson. I don’t know if she comes from a wealthy family, but she being a student at an exclusive 53K per anum prep school, I expect better than an attitude of ‘I am always right.’ What’s wrong here is that she doesn’t seem to realize that she’s the privileged and entitled person in this picture.</p>
<p>nypost.com/2014/07/01/black-student-president-resigns… </p>
<p>There’s some other reports stating this was done in the context of simmering racial tensions between the majority higher SES White students who fit the stereotype she was satirizing in that photo and Black/URM students there. </p>
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<p>Can’t assume she’s from a wealthy family. </p>
<p>Private day/boarding schools have had a concerted program of recruiting middle and lower SES URM students with full scholarships to diversify their student bodies. </p>
<p>One URM college classmate who attended a similar NE private boarding school was recruited after a year at Bronx Science. </p>
<p>Here’s the link: <a href=“First black female student-president at New Jersey prep school quits over 'offensive' photos of her mocking white classmates”>National News - New York Daily News;
<p>I don’t think this is a big deal at all and I think people are way overreacting. But I also don’t think it’s a big deal when White kids wear sombreros so I guess I’m in the minority here. </p>
<p>I don’t think we ever know the whole story, but this article mentions her other actions. It wasn’t just a picture. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/07/01/black-student-body-president-reportedly-forced-to-resign-after-mocking-white-peers/”>http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/07/01/black-student-body-president-reportedly-forced-to-resign-after-mocking-white-peers/</a></p>
<p>Actions that include a picture of her smoking pot sent to the dean and other pictures, also name calling. </p>
<p>Maybe the school had had enough of it. </p>
<p>Some African American students reported that they were called names, and the school shouldn’t tolerate that behavior on the part of the students who did that either. </p>
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<p>If this is the most she’s been caught doing drugwise, she’s a relatively light drug user by standards of private/boarding schools like Lawrenceville. I’ve heard countless reports from friends relatives who attended Lawrenceville and similar private day/boarding schools of heavy drinking, cocaine, MDMA(Ecstasy)/molly, etc.</p>
<p>Also, if that was considered a riot-act level offense at my LAC, most of my LAC classmates would have been guilty. Especially considering the extent of pot usage and the fact most didn’t bother to hide it when I attended. </p>
<p>Then again, one thing I also learned from my experience is if I had a choice of living near pot smokers or heavy drinkers. No contest…pot smokers all the way. At least they aren’t usually belligerent or get in your way when you’re minding your own business getting on with your day. </p>
<p>She was full-pay at the school.</p>
<p>I wonder where she will attend college in the fall and what if any impact this will have on the rest of her life.</p>
<p>I’m not really sure why this is relevant to anyone outside Lawrenceville and I’m kind of surprised that the story is being covered as heavily as it is (though seeing the sources for all these articles sort of explains why…)</p>
<p>But before this thread gets locked, I will add that the type of people to get offended by Peterson’s actions also seem to be the type of people that complain that minorities are “too sensitive.” Apparently racism is okay, as long as it’s not against white people.</p>
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<p>Where did you see that? None of the reports I read said anything on this either way.</p>
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<p>I doubt it, especially considering it happened just a few weeks before her graduation, many college admins are probably more understanding/sympathetic of the reported extended context, and Lawrenceville probably doesn’t want her admissions rescinded as it’d make them look more like the bad guys and hurt them in terms of college admission stats. </p>
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<p>Well-known higher SES dominated establishment NE private school which was originally all-White and male until the '60s and late '80s respectively juxtaposed with first Black and female class president who is willing to critique and satirize a portion of the dominant majority group who seem to have been making ongoing antagonistic comments about her from her election onwards, racial comments against URMs on campus, simmering racial tension between the two groups, etc. </p>
<p>In short, it’s interesting enough to be covered by the local and national press. </p>
<p>@warbrain I asked the same question on another thread. It must have been a very slow day at Buzzfeed. The Lawrenceville paper covered this back in March.</p>
<p>@MaterS She was ED for Wesleyan, and other than being a learning experience, I doubt this will have much of an effect on her.</p>
<p>Why is this news 3-4 months after the fact, and after Maya Peterson graduated from Lawrenceville. </p>
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First AA female president, not first female president.</p>
<p>And it seems the Lawrenceville school has had a long history of issues around race and gender even after it accepted their first Black and first female students:</p>
<p><a href=“What Happens When A Prep School's Black Student President Mocks Her White Male Classmates”>http://www.buzzfeed.com/katiejmbaker/what-happens-when-a-prep-schools-black-student-president-moc</a></p>
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<p>I doubt this factor would have hurt her for Wesleyan considering their very progressive campus culture and their possible long awareness with Lawrenceville’s history with URM and female students. </p>
<p>UK Daily Mail said she was full pay.</p>
<p>I thought everyone at Lawrenceville went to Princeton. :)</p>
<p>So it’s offensive to hold a hockey stick and wear a Yale sweatshirt, but it’s OK that “according to both black and white students, Confederate flags still line many boarding houses.” Sure. Makes sense.</p>
<p>If you want to see how this school is a microcosm of what’s going on in the country right now, read the article cobrat posted above (the quote above is from that source too). Basically, a lot of privileged white males–some of whom seem as anti-woman as they are anti-minority–are having a big fat tantrum about their previously unchallenged status eroding. Some of them are even alleging (wait for it…) VOTER FRAUD in the election that led to Peterson being president.</p>
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<p>According to the Buzzfeed article, the demographics at Lawrenceville are changing rapidly. In 2004, 70% of the students identified as Caucasian, while 13% were Asian, and black and Hispanic students made up 12%. By 2014, only 55% of 815 students were Caucasian, while 21% were Asian, and 16% were black and Hispanic.</p>
<p>This is both hilarious and sad, and it is absolutely the proper outcome in this day and age of oversensitivity to every humorous reference to race/gender/SES. </p>
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I thought everyone at Lawrenceville went to Princeton.
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Some go to Chapel Hill, then transfer to the UW for their P.hd.</p>
<p>It sounds like there may have been other things going on here, but I’m not seeing how that picture was offensive, and that applies even though I think that the equivalent done by a white student mocking a black female stereotype probably would have been. Context matters, and stereotypes of white guys as preppy aren’t and have not historically been remotely damaging enough to warrant taking offense at that very mild parody. </p>
<p>That being said, given that the study body elected her, I wouldn’t assume that the whole school was a hotbed of far-right racism. </p>
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<p>Not the whole school, but a critical mass of the very demographic she was satirizing in that picture were launching accusations of her election being fraudulent from the moment she was elected and has made racist remarks towards URM students which contributed to the simmer racial tensions on campus into 2014. </p>
<p>While it may not be the entire school, they seem to have a serious problem beyond the critical mass of the dominant majority feeling hurt for being satirized for their antagonistic attitudes towards her and those who don’t fit their ye olde Lawrenceville student profile. </p>
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<p>Or maybe they didn’t vote for her because she is racist and they suspect voter fraud because she is openly racist against the majority of students. </p>
<p>It’s interesting how this is being blamed on the other students. </p>