What are your thoughts on the O’Neil incident?

Anonymous junior
“I think that O’Neil was just doing an innocent act. She wasn’t doing it with the intention to cause harm.”

Anonymous freshman
“It was kind of shocking because I didn’t really expect to see that on a campus like this. I thought the atmosphere was good enough for people to not act like that.”

Travossia Gardenhire, sophomore in mass media
“[…] the times we’re living in, it’s like a thin line you’re walking on when you’re putting different color face paint on.”

Charlize Easter, sophomore in mass media
“I’m not surprised that something like this happened, and especially that a staff member showed their ignorance because students show their ignorance all the time because they’re students and that’s perfectly fine. They might not be educated, but someone with a PhD – it’s not an excuse.”

Anonymous junior
“I feel like as someone who works at an institution of higher education, she should know better and have the resources to know better – no matter what her department is teaching overall.”

Anonymous freshman
“Her dressing up as Michael Jackson wasn’t an issue for me; it was the fact that she did the whole zombie face was unnecessary. And for her to say that she didn’t know, which I find it ‘bs’ to be honest with you. She even has a PhD, so she knows she probably didn’t intend to do any harm but should of known better.”

Anonymous senior
“All those teachers that were there and didn’t say anything, I’m also mad at and feel like no one is saying anything about everyone and putting all the blame on her. The people who were in the dance didn’t think it was wrong; the people who were there didn’t want to be like, ‘Hey girl, don’t do that.’ Also a big problem that I have because it’s clearly not just an isolated incident; obviously there’s a whole group of ignorance going around in this.”

How did this make you feel?

Anonymous junior
“Honestly, when I first saw her, I looked at her, I was like ‘Oh cool, it’s Micheal Jackson’ and then went about my day.”

Anonymous freshman
“I felt like it was pretty clear she was not trying to be a zombie if that was her statement, even if her intentions weren’t to do blackface. I think that is something you shouldn’t stand for regardless.”

Travossia Gardenhire, sophomore in mass media
“I didn’t necessarily feel offended by this because I kind of saw the Micheal Jackson look, but then I saw the face paint and I’m just like its tricky. I would say it’s good to get your research done before you just go on and throw face paint on.”

Charlize Easter, sophomore in mass media
“It’s very frustrating that it comes to the point where some people aren’t even confronted with their ignorance, if that makes sense. They don’t see their ignorance until it’s pointed out to them and they can’t do it themselves. It’s not our responsibility to point out that they’re doing wrong; they should know that they’re doing wrong. America has a history of just avoiding its history, and that’s not okay. It’s supposed to be a safe environment.”

Anonymous junior
“I feel like this was very annoying and very stupid, and reflected poorly not only on Washburn but on our students and our staff. And I feel like her excuses of not having the time to blend her makeup or not knowing any better were stupid.”

Anonymous freshman
“I wasn’t really angered by it; it was more like a stupid mistake in my opinion.”

Anonymous senior
“I don’t really have strong feelings about it like other than that it was wrong and she should of known better.”

How would you like Washburn to handle the situation?

Anonymous junior
“Probably handle it with a warning but nothing further.”

Anonymous freshman
“I kind of feel like, not to be harsh, but she should be made an example of.”

Travossia Gardenhire, sophomore in mass media
“Give her a six-week suspension. She got to go to a racism class so she can get her knowledge up. And she got to do a couple more things; ’til she does those things, she can’t come back and teach.”

Charlize Easter, sophomore in mass media
“I don’t want to say she should be fired because I don’t think anybody should lose their job. This isn’t the first incident Washburn had with racism and microaggressions and discrimination against their minority population on campus; last semester – the spring semester, in the dormitory – someone hung a noose, so it’s not the first incident of Washburn be being ignorant, but nothing’s gonna change. It’s just gonna keep happening if people are just pushing it under the rug and letting it go, but if her getting fired is going to make a statement, then make a statement but also don’t just make a statement and then let her go and don’t do anything to change it. Conversations need to happen; change needs to happen. There shouldn’t be just one group of people that don’t see it and then one who sees it and then doesn’t say anything. The only way we’re gonna get hurt is if we say something and I’m tired of having to be careful with my words because it makes other people uncomfortable. Like we should be making people uncomfortable. That’s the point of the conversation, is to make people uncomfortable because they don’t see their ignorance.”

Anonymous junior
“I definitely think that she should at least be placed on administrative leave for a while because I don’t think she should be teaching people if she thinks it’s okay to dress up as a Black person.”

Anonymous freshman
“At first I was thinking a slap on the wrist, but she has a PhD and she was the dean of something, so she probably could lose her job on this. I could see that being a justifiable step in my opinion.

Anonymous senior
“I think they need to have more training for professors that are not of color; at least on how to be a better person if they don’t come in with that knowledge.”

edited by LeSha’ Davis, Aja Carter