This evening I was tooling eastbound along I-8 from San Diego into East County, passing San Diego State University on the right, just as I have done hundreds if not thousands of times over the years. The last several years the campus edge along the freeway has been adorned with a large electronic sign, flashing information about SDSU ongoings and upcoming events a few seconds at a time for passersby to see, even if only subliminally. "TUESDAY VOLLEYBALL 8 PM," and the like. A large e-vertisement for a moving but linearly captive audience.
Many San Diegans will remember the installation of the sign (with the opening of Cox Arena, if memory serves) as slightly controversial, especially to the Del Cerro residents across the freeway who complained of the outlandish night-time light in their otherwise residential community. The details are now a bit fuzzy, but I seem to recall finger pointing about SDSU as a State school ignoring local sign ordinances, a lack of a hearing and approval process for the public, etc. I believe SDSU agreed to have the sign off after a certain time of night.
The sign tiff has been quiet the last few years, although the bad will created may have been a precursor to larger animosities SDSU seems to regularly face with the neighbors over its redevelopment and expansion plans. That’s for another day.
Frankly, most people who drive I-8 probably don’t think of the sign too much anymore. In my case, well, it may catch my attention that a certain musician is playing Cox Arena, or something of that sort. Tonight, however, it definitely caught my attention. I was moving at a fast enough pace that I likely had only time to see two or three messages. And, there it was, no mistake, as I did a double take and then looked at it hard and long enough to know it wasn’t my eyes:
"BACHELORS DEGREES AWARDED TO MINORITIES"
What, I thought, is that supposed to mean? Is that SDSU’s idea of a recruitment tool?
Ok, I have no idea if this was the last of a series of messages, Burma Shave-style, in which I missed the set up, so the ending was lost on me. Yet, what could the message(s) have possibly read prior? And, given that drivers-by are likely to see only one message, regardless of intent, each one has to be taken as stand alone.
It might as well have read:
"BACHELORS DEGREES AWARDED TO FEMALES"
Up until tonight, I thought that Bachelors Degrees were awarded to anyone that a) was admitted to the university, and b) successfully completed the required coursework for a degree. I even thought that was the rule, regardless of race. I’m glad SDSU has straightened me out on this.
But seriously, the possible cultural, social and political commentary resulting from such a singularly inane message boggles the mind. I don’t know where to begin or end.
First, I’m absolutely GLAD to know that SDSU is not denying degrees to minorities…that would be unconstitutional. But, maybe the school is trying to say that other schools are not following the law…are not as accepting of diversity. So, are we to think that the SDSU sign, given the room for more letters, might be clearer like this?:
"DEPENDENT ON YOUR RACE, YOU MIGHT GET DENIED A BACHELORS DEGREE AT OTHER SCHOOLS, BUT NOT HERE."
I don’t think so. Let’s further assume that the following is not what is meant, although it could clearly be construed as such:
"BACHELORS DEGREES AWARDED TO MINORITIES ONLY"
Obviously, they don’t mean that either. So, it follows then, that this is what is meant:
"BACHELORS DEGREES AWARDED TO MINORITIES TOO"
Come up with another explanation. Email me here. In the morning, I’ll ask SDSU what the heck the message means.
August 24th, 2007 at 12:00 am
An interested reader noted something similar:
“It goes along with the one I saw last week: Girls can major in science. Of course it didn’t say math, because that would be silly.”
August 24th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Barry I can think of two possible explanations regarding the SDSU sign.
A) Fraternity prank. This was aledgedly JFK’s original idea to explain the Berlin wall. I’ve done plenty of frat pranks while at college, and this is a great way to obtain college immortality. Call Dr. Lewis at USD for more info on those.
B)Census data shows that whites are the minority in California, and SDSU may be trying to get some diversity. Since it was seen on the eastbound I-8 heading toward east county mabye they were trying to appeal to that demographic. Lets face it east county is much more attuned to reverse discrimination than the rest of San Diego county. If SDSU were trying to get blacks and hispanics, there are billboards along the 94 and 5 south past downtown that would attract that demographic.
August 24th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Jack Beresford from SDSU explains:
Barry, It’s great to hear you noticed our sign! As you suspected, the freeway sign message consisted of two frames: SDSU RANKS NO. 11 FOR MOST BACHELOR’S DEGREES AWARDED TO MINORITIES We’re proud of our success with minority students but also in terms of increasing graduation rates for all students. In fact, we ranked #14 in the country amongst public universities for bachelor’s degrees awarded in 2005-06 (6,478 degrees awarded). Here is some additional information on our ranking by Diverse Issues in Higher Education: SDSU Ranks No. 11 For Most Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded to Minorities SAN DIEGO (Friday, July 13, 2007) — San Diego State University ranks No. 11 in the nation for bachelor’s degrees awarded to minority students, according to an annual survey released by the publication Diverse Issues in Higher Education. San Diego State awarded 2,436 bachelor’s degrees to minority students during the 2005-2006 academic year, which was 38 percent of the total degrees awarded. It also represented an 8 percent increase in degrees awarded to minority students from the previous year, when SDSU ranked No. 14. Diverse Issues in Higher Education based its survey on preliminary data for the 2005-2006 school year provided by the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). San Diego State also ranked among the top 25 in the United States for awarding bachelor’s degrees to minority students in these academic programs: No. 9 Psychology No. 10 English Language and Literature/Letters No. 12 Mathematics and Statistics No. 15 Social Sciences and History No. 21 Area, Ethnic, Cultural and Gender Studies By ethnic category, San Diego State ranked in the top 25 for bachelor’s degrees awarded to Hispanics (No. 8) and Asian-Americans (No. 20). The diversity of SDSU’s student body continues to grow. Among first-time freshman admitted for the fall 2007 semester, 46 percent are students from minority groups, up from 45.6 percent of freshmen admits for fall 2006. Diverse also ranked San Diego State No. 61 in the U.S. for total minority master’s degrees awarded in 2005-2006, representing 25 percent of graduates. SDSU ranked among the top 50 for awarding master’s degrees to minority students in these academic programs: No. 18 English, Language and Literature/Letters No. 24 Area, Ethnic, Cultural and Gender Studies No. 40 Health Professions and Related Clinical Services No. 30 Mathematics and Statistics No. 43 Physical Sciences No. 44 Computer and Information Sciences and Support Systems By ethnic category, SDSU ranked in the top 50 for master’s degrees awarded to Hispanics (No. 30), Native Americans (No. 35) and Asian American (No. 41). San Diego State University is the oldest and largest higher education institution in the San Diego region. Since it was founded in 1897, the university has grown to offer bachelors degrees in 81 areas, masters degrees in 73 areas and doctorates in 16 areas. SDSUs more than 34,000 students participate in an academic curriculum distinguished by direct contact with faculty and an increasing international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. For more information, visit http://www.sdsu.edu. ###
August 24th, 2007 at 12:00 am
I would say that certainly explains it. Thanks, Jack, for responding!
I could do a Rosanne Rosanna Danna here, and say “Never Mind,” but this was too much fun to pass up. It does still beg the question of the misinterpretation that can be left with the probable many who only see the second portion of the message…or any other multi-part message — when they are zipping by at 65 plus.
That said, it is noble for SDSU to weigh in and set me straight.
August 25th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Barry
This all boils down to you having a What Da Fu– moment on the freeway, doesn’t it? I can’t believe I over analyzed this.
August 25th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Chris, if that’s a nice way of asking, “Barry, doesn’t this come down to you being a doofus?,” well, sure, that’s definitely part of it!
On the other hand, I don’t think anyone — including you — over analyzed it as much as had some fun with it. Even given the unintended message possibly sent by SDSU with the second part of the real overall message, such accidents happen in advertising frequently…and it’s often worth a bit of comedic analysis.
I could also ask what is it about modern society that we’ve become so PC, that it is often assumed government institutions are going overboard to be “correct”?
Does that make us conspiracy theorists? No, it’s more likely that we’ve become used to assuming the worst. Either way, I will offer a mea culpa about ASSuming.
Jack Beresford also emailed to let me know that SDSU would be more careful about how they “split frames” on the sign in the future.
August 25th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Barry
We all have What da Fu– moments on the road. I nearly rear ended a guy trying to figure out what his licence plate read. I saw the sign too, and it made me think “what da fu–” Thanks for giving me the opportunity to have some fun here. I hope you didn’t loose to much sleep trying to figure this one out.