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The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

EDITORIAL: Condemn Racist Remark

EDITORIAL%3A+Condemn+Racist+Remark

On Sept. 19, Jackson Wagner (COL ’21) wrote “Can we call ICE on them” in the “Republican Hoyas Group” group chat in response to student protestors at a Georgetown University College Republicans event. Yet a full week later, GUCR still has not condemned the racist message.

Though the group chat is obviously not directly affiliated with GUCR, the organization nevertheless should take action as the largest club representing Republican students on campus. As the social building blocks on Georgetown’s campus, clubs have a responsibility to address such misconduct and educate their members in an effort to build an inclusive environment. 

Screenshots of Wagner’s comment to “call ICE,” referring to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, circulated online last Friday. In response, Hoyas For Immigrant Rights condemned his message in a petition that has since collected signatures from nearly two dozen student groups and dozens more individual students. On Monday, Georgetown sent a universitywide email to “promote civility” and affirm its solidarity with students without documentation. 

Meanwhile, GUCR has denied its association with the group chat, merely affirming that it will “continue to promote free expression on campus” in a statement to The Hoya. Instead of using this incident as an opportunity to educate its members and other students about inclusivity and respect for immigrant communities, GUCR has chosen not to acknowledge the racist nature of Wagner’s message. 

At best, GUCR’s refusal to address the racist comment implies a tolerance of the ideas espoused in the statement; at worst, it endorses such a comment as appropriate.

By refusing to recognize the harmful nature of a threat to call ICE, students of GUCR have failed fellow Hoyas without documentation and those who come from a mixed-status family. The threat of ICE’s deportations have real consequences for many students on Georgetown’s campus and their families. GUCR must condemn the message to acknowledge the harsh realities immigrant communities face. 

However, the group’s action must extend beyond simple condemnation: GUCR should take further action to educate members within its community to prevent future missteps. 

By initiating dialogue among Republican students, GUCR can send a message of inclusivity and civility that is more likely to resonate with those students. The club should make a genuine effort to understand the harm done through the comment and explain to students affiliated with the club how joking about calling ICE is offensive and threatening to immigrant communities. 

While HFIR and other groups on campus have commendably raised awareness around Wagner’s comment and provided support for those affected, GUCR undeniably has a responsibility to the students most closely associated with GUCR; the club’s silence on this matter is deafening.

Racist comments that invoke a threat to students’ safety should never be tolerated on this campus. In light of the harmful comment made, GUCR — as a representative of many Republican students on campus — must condemn the comment and move forward with dialogue within their own community so their members can understand the problematic nature of the comment. 

With its silence, GUCR is implicitly condoning the racism and xenophobia exemplified in Wagner’s comment; it is incumbent on all students, but especially those most closely affiliated with the “Republican Hoyas Group” group chat, to address the comment. 

GUCR’s lack of condemnation after the racist statement is entirely inexcusable. The organization must condemn the comment and educate its members to prevent such an incident from happening again.

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  • S

    SFS 2016Oct 11, 2019 at 10:03 am

    Lol

    Is it just me or is there nothing even remotely racist about saying ‘Can we call ICE on them’? ICE is just checking immigration status, not race..

    The leftist thought police has truly gone insane!

    Reply
  • R

    Rational Hoya 2021Oct 1, 2019 at 10:41 pm

    GUCR doesn’t represent Wagner and Wagner does not represent GUCR–he is not on the board of GUCR and no one on the board is his legal guardian.

    Was the joke in poor taste—yes, however, the environmental impacts that occur when illegal immigrants hop the border without going through customs introduces invasive species of insects and brings non-native seeds into America which can ravage the local populations of flora and fauna.

    Undocumented Hoyas who have come across the border illegally (not visa overstays but border tresspassers) have not gone through the criminal and health checks required–how do we know that they aren’t bringing Ebola or Zika or the Swine Flu or they aren’t coming into the U.S. after fighting for ISIS or Al Qaeda? These aren’t visa overstayers who have been vetted and then breached their visa rules.

    The nuances in Wagner’s comments might have been done in poor taste but there’s nothing “racist” in his comments because immigration status is color blind.

    Reply
  • H

    hoyalumOct 1, 2019 at 11:03 am

    the comment was many things, but does not appear to be “racist”. (weren’t the targets of the comment, ironically, “white liberals”, anyway?) Using the R word for something like this makes takes away from the seriousness of real racism.

    Reply
  • J

    John GillilandSep 27, 2019 at 6:06 pm

    creepy. thought policing is truly disturbing.

    Reply
    • N

      Not a xenophobic, racist trash humanOct 2, 2019 at 1:17 am

      Good to know that telling people not to be racist, xenophobic, or anti-immigrant is “thought policing”. Truly an illuminating comment

      Reply
      • C

        C’78 alumOct 8, 2019 at 4:20 pm

        Yes, telling people that they are not permitted to oppose illegal immigration is policing speech and thought. Only totalitarians believe that they have the right to suppress speech whether racist or not. Finally, these comments were not racist.

        Reply