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R E C E N T L Y

Battling stag/nation
By Jill Priluck
Radical hag Mary Daly stands up to Boston College for forcing coed classes
(03/17/99)

Pimps and Ho's
By Isaac Zaur
One college's theme party is another man's ethical dilemma
(03/17/99)

The fabulous kingdom of gay animals
By Susan McCarthy
A biologist offers the first vision of a tantalizingly diverse natural world: Not all animals are straight arrows
(03/15/99)

To sir, with love?
By Susanna Stromberg
It looked like sex, but maybe it was just old-fashioned teaching
(03/12/99)

The monk, the philosopher and the cynic
By Chris Colin
Christopher Hitchens torpedos the harmonious dialogue between philosopher Jean-François Revel and his son, Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard
(03/10/99)

BROWSE THE
IVORY TOWER
ARCHIVE

_______Raging against "the Machine"
WHEN A CONGOLESE STUDENT RAN AGAINST THE WHITE GREEK ESTABLISHMENT FOR UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA'S STUDENT GOVERNMENT PRESIDENCY, THE CAMPUS WAS FORCED TO CONFRONT ITS HISTORY OF RACIAL STRIFE.

BY JULEKHA DASH | Confident, articulate and an honors student at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, Fabien Zinga seems like an ideal candidate for student government president. But if the recent flurry of racist messages is any indication, not everyone thinks this black pre-med student belongs on the ballot.

In the lobby of Burke Hall residence, Zinga plays a message he received during the height of his campaign efforts. A male voice whispers, "Fabien, nigger we're going to hang you from a tree."

The college senior recently reported this and other harassment phone calls to campus police. In addition, 12 of the 14 wooden campaign signs the Congo native posted around campus were defaced with racial and other epithets.

"I must tell you that when I first received these calls I was very, very scared," says Zinga.

Lt. Beth Turner of the university's Department of Public Safety says the matter is under investigation, but will not comment any further. Harassing communication is a misdemeanor, with possible punishment ranging from one day to one year in prison, she says. University officials say they may also involve the FBI. Although no one is arguing that such racial slurs are everyday occurrences at the University of Alabama, Zinga's case has stirred debate about racism on campus and a secret society of elite white students called "the Machine."

Zinga thinks the Machine might be behind the threats. According to university students and faculty, the group is composed of members from the oldest white fraternities and sororities and has historically dominated campus politics. Like Yale's Skull and Bones, the Machine has an extensive history on campus but it is even more elusive. Because no one will admit to being a member of the Machine and those fraternity and sorority members associated with it are the ones who often claim it's merely a myth, some have doubted the group's existence. But most conversations about student government or Greek life inevitably yield several references to the Machine and its influence.

Some students have not only doubted Machine involvement but the truth of Zinga's harassment claims. But others say the harassment of students who oppose Machine-endorsed candidates is nothing unusual. In 1993 the university shut down the Student Government Association for three years after student Minda Riley -- a white sorority member but not the Machine-endorsed candidate -- was allegedly attacked by a Machine member. And in addition to Zinga, another student government candidate in this year's race claims to have received phone calls threatening physical harm.

N E X T_ P A G E .|. Political Machine: Steppingstone to state politics