Here at the Emerald, we have a 90-year history of archives that we can examine for the sake of institutional knowledge and historical framing. Here’s a glimpse of that Emerald history with a weekly feature, giving you a look into what was happening this day in the past.
We’ll be trying to find stories and headlines inherently relevant to situations that persist today, as well as the occasional oddity we find in our past.
April 5, 1996
April fools’ trick angers minorities
This racial prank is one of many recent harassment incidents aimed at ethnic groups
Doug Irving | Emerald archives
Twelve years ago, the Emerald reported that students of color in power received a rather shocking April Fools’ Day prank over spring break. According to the April 5 report, many “visible” students of color received a false email that told them their affirmative action financial aid was discontinuing in the fall. The report was a longer feature that said this was just the latest incident in a series of other racial harassment cases. This opinion editor was forced to pause to discover this curious story in the Emerald’s and University’s history. @@checked AP style of April Fools’ Day and e-mail@@
They say that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Not in this case. It’s hard to imagine today’s students of color receiving anything of the sort that these students in history got. And it’s easy to imagine the wide community response that would rise up against it.
This day in University history (April 5, 1996)
Franklin Bains
April 3, 2012
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