Have you heard of Affinity Graduations? They're graduation events that honor the achievements of students specifically along the lines of race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. And WWL's Newell Normand isn't a fan.
Normand said he thought graduation ceremonies were supposed to be a rite of passage celebrating one's accomplishments, not to celebrate one's culture.
"I did not understand that we were celebrating culture instead of accomplishments and we seem to have lost sight about what that is about," Normand said. At public universities, tax dollars help pay for events like this and that's a 'ridiculous expectation,' Normand said.
Who decides who's oppressed on any modern college campus and who's not? Normand asked. The events are in dubious legal standing, he added, saying this:
You can't defeat racism by promoting racism.
Harvard University is offering an affinity graduation for Jewish students after the school was rocked by anti-semitic allegations. “Rather than acknowledge the harmful ways in which Harvard DEI has contributed to campus antisemitism, the university further marginalizes individuals into groups of race, ethnicity, and religion,” Harvard Divinity School student Shabbos Kestenbaum told the National Review.
Newell said affinity graduations prove it's time for Americans to "get a grip."