E. Alex Jung
Eugene Alex Jung (usually known as E. Alex Jung or 'Alex Jung'), CC '07, was an active and well-known student at Columbia, majoring in anthropology. He was a co-founder of AdHoc magazine and later served as its Editor-in-Chief, Chair of the Student Governing Board, Co-president of the Columbia Queer Alliance, and was a leader in the 2006 SHOCC demonstrations. Jung has also developed a close personal relationship with Jewelnel Davis, University Chaplain, while working as a Chaplain's Associate.
Jung wrote columns for the Spec that covered a range of topics: free speech, the Columbia administration, hate crimes, gender and sexuality, and the Manhattanville expansion. His columns on race, however, were the most controversial. Some consider his columns to be similar to those by Nell Geiser, a former Spec columnist.
In a Spectator column on April 26th, 2007, after suggesting that all too often "the responsibility [for facilitating dialogue] falls on marginalized people for not 'reaching out" or being too 'confrontational'", Jung rhetorically offered to "dance for [readers of the Columbia Daily Spectator] kabuki-like with chopsticks in [his] hair".
Contents
Views on race
Jung believes we live in a "system of whiteness". He has written that some white people, including some of his closest friends, are anti-racist lovers of justice. However, he believes that whites as a group are complicit with systemic racism.[1] He believes that white people, as a generalization, are unaware of their supposed privilege[2] and resistant to discussing race issues[3].
Furthermore, Jung believes that the Core Curriculum focuses excessively on the ideas and works of white men.[4]
| Preceded by Hector Chavez |
Chair of the Student Governing Board 2005 - 2006 |
Succeeded by Sakib Khan |
References
- ↑ "To turn an oft-heard phrase around, some of my closest friends are white. They are anti-racist lovers of justice, wholly non-representative of their group."
- ↑ "It's a generalization, of course, but not a superfluous one to state that white people at Columbia (not only of course) never think about the conditions of their privilege."
- ↑ "Race is not an issue for most white people quite simply because they don't feel its weight. When a critique of white privilege alights on their shoulders, white people quickly cry reverse racism."
- ↑ "Du Bois writes about the deluded Western belief that 'every great thought the world ever knew was a white man's thought.' What better subtitle for the Core Curriculum?"
External links
Jung's Spectator column
2006
- September 6 - Sheeny, Shiny Illusions
- September 21 - Civility and its Discontents
- October 5 - Keep Your Head Up
- November 2 - That's Hot. You're Not.
- November 16 - Clear as Mud
- November 30 - Why Do the White Kids Sit Together?
2007
- January 25 - Twinkies & Oreos & Coconuts-Oh My!
- February 8 - Everyone's a Lil' Bit Gay
- February 22 - Master of His Domain
- March 29 - A Token For Your Thoughts
- April 12 - Family Matters
