A Central Washington University program aimed at BIPOC students has sparked debate online after clips explaining the initiative circulated on X. The clip has prompted debate online, with some users alleging the program excludes other students while others pointed to its stated goal of increasing outdoor participation among BIPOC students.
The video is a screen recording from what appears to be an informational discussion about the camping trip. The clip starts with a male professor saying, “So is this trip for everybody? No, not really. But there is a growing number of people who are younger and are from much more diverse backgrounds who typically don’t go to those events for a bunch of reasons,” he says. “So this is a BIPOC community event.”
While he sets up the slides for a deeper conversation into the logics of the camping trip, his female colleague shares that this isn’t a camping trip made to discriminate against anyone. In fact, it’s part of a broader program that has an initiative to help BIPOC students.
It’s called The Bronze Chapter and it is an outdoors group for the BIPOC community. “The Bronze Chapter is a wonderful outdoors group. The mission of the group is to increase the participation of BIPOC members in the outdoors. Historically, many BIPOC communities have not had the same opportunities for safe engagement with the outdoors.”
She continues, “Nick and I are here to extend a warm welcome and encouragement to BIPOC communities to come join us and engage with the geology we love so much.”
On X, This Camping Trip Was Seen as a Serious Problem
According to the presenters, the program is intended to encourage their minority students to get outside in a safe and exciting environment. Sadly, not everyone saw this aspect of the program as inclusive. Rather, they thought white students were being discriminated against.
When posted to a right-leaning X account, the conversation got heated. Many commenters criticized the program, became upset by the alleged discrimination. They called for lawyers to look into the camping trip and put an end to it. They also mentioned how the two professors leading the trip were white, asking if they would be allowed to attend themselves.
It was clear that the mission behind this camping trip was to include a demographic that is often left out of conversations, especially in science and the outdoors. Working alongside their peers, they would be able to comfortably put themselves out there and learn in a hands-on way.
Sadly, the point of that was missed in the X post. Many comments criticized the initiative in the comment section, which only made tensions run deeper. Some users claimed a civil rights attorney planned to examine the program.
The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the circumstances surrounding the presentation or claims made by commenters on X. The article is based on the publicly shared video, statements made during the presentation and online reactions.
