Davidson College in North Carolina has sparked debate with the introduction of a new policy that requires all student-athletes to watch an anti-racism video.
Freedom of Thought and Discourse (DFTD), an alumni group championing free thought and speech on campus, alleges that mandatory viewing of the video, "I'm not a Racist...Am I?", is 'offensive, divisive, and personally insulting.'
According to BNN, Kenny Xu, a Davidson alum, DFTD board member, and congressional candidate, has voiced his criticism against what he perceives as the forced imposition of Critical Race Theory (CRT) on students, advocating for a reevaluation of higher education's direction.
For its part, Davidson College has responded by saying that the video beneficial for all student-athletes as way of confronting new ideas and beliefs, hoping that students will critically engage with the content.
On its website, Davidson includes a Racial Just Statement, which asserts that the college stands "in solidarity with our Black students and colleagues. "The next, continuous step will be translating what we learn to what we do in our individual practices," the post states. "Approaches and programming will include support groups for students struggling with the impact of systemic racism, as well as outreach events to increase awareness of these issues and visibility of the services that are available."
