Word: jiving
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...that he often offends Asian American students by "randomly" greeting them in East Asian languages. But even more telling was Cheng's remark to a Crimson reporter writing a story on the letter that "you wouldn't do that to every Black student, try to speak to him in jive. Why should you try to greet Asian students in various Asian languages...
...jive" was never the national or cultural language of any nation or ethnicity, let alone the language of a Black student's family or their nation of origin. Never mind that speaking in other languages represents an honest attempt at multiculturalism by Americans, vilified the world over for their lack of appreciation for other cultures. Never mind the fact that "jive" is a hopelessly dated cultural anachronism...
...Cheng, you wouldn't try to speak to a Black student in "jive." But if Dean Epps thought he knew enough about a given student's background to deduce a language they or someone in their family might speak, and greeted them in that language, it would be no more insensitive than greeting me in Russian or asking me if I speak...
Assuming a Black student speaks "jive" is not the same as assuming a Chinese American student speaks Chinese. Neither the letter nor Cheng explicitly said that Epps ever, for example, addressed a Korean student in Japanese, although it vaguely refers to a greeting made "so insensitive" by Epps to a Filipino student. Admittedly, the latter would be an insensitive error, in certain contexts. But it hardly even approaches the suggestion that "jive" is a Black national or cultural language and that students should be greeted...
...jive" reference and the sensational accusation regarding the director forces me to be suspicious of other claims the AAA makes, and whether their leaders truly understand Epps' role, or the significance of "insensitivity...