Is this book title offensive? Some protesters think so

The sit-in protest at Seattle University isn’t slowing down and controversies seem to be compounding.

Students remain camped out at the lobby of the Matteo Ricci College at Seattle University. They are holding a sit-in — but are also sleeping — in the lobby in groups of up to 20 people. They are sitting in shifts while their fellow protesters continue to take classes. They have said they will continue their protest through mid-June when the quarter ends.

Related: #DearDeanKelly protest occupies Seattle University office; demands dean’s resignation

The Seattle Times reports that Dean Jodi Kelly of the Matteo Ricci College — who protesters allege is racist and are asking to resign — recommended a book to one of the protesters. That book is an autobiography by author, comedian and African American civil rights activist Dick Gregory and its title is that one word we all know we shouldn’t use.

The students heavily objected to the recommendation since the book uses an offensive, racist term.

But upon hearing of the controversy, Gregory came out and publicly supported the dean. Gregory said he contacted Dean Kelly to ask about what happened. In a Twitter post, Gregory said that he would like his book to be required reading at colleges, and said he would foot the bill if Seattle University wanted to adopt it for its curriculum. Among his other statements, Gregory said that he will be 84 this year and has battled “true racism.” “Trust me,” he said. “This ain’t it.”

@splcenter #May17 pic.twitter.com/JZwNYB2zGz

— Dick Gregory (@IAmDickGregory) May 18, 2016

But KIRO Radio’s Ron Upshaw can see the point the protesters are making — overall. While he wouldn’t go as far as calling for the dean’s resignation, he does think the college should rework its curriculum.

“This program is sort of sold as an elite humanities program that is innovative and cutting edge and they recruit high-level students to enroll in this — there are less than 200 students,” Ron said. “And I think they raise a good point.”

One point, a student told The Times, is that they have read Plato in four different classes. Which begs the question: When they will read something more diverse?

“That is not the way they present it,” said co-host Don O’Neill. “Life is about tone. What did they say about white guys?”

The Times article quotes a student as saying, “The only thing they’re teaching us is dead white dudes.”

“The last time I checked, there’s some dead white dudes out there that had a profound impact on the way the world is shaped and you should probably want to study the dead white dudes,” O’Neill said. “Once you say there’s too many dead white dudes and you want this dean fired, wah-wah-wah — you lost me right there.

“If they have some ideas about some curriculum that they would like to add and they think would make their school better, I think that’s phenomenal,” he added. “Even if you want to do a little protest, that’s cool. But the moment you take people like Bell, or Edison, or Jefferson — those are all dead white guys but they are pretty important white guys.”

Ron suggested that Don may be missing part of the point, however.

“I think as a critique of the way the school is run, they have a point,” he said. “You go to school and you are sort of spoon fed the same thing over and over. I remember in college, unless you were specifically enrolled in an African-American studies program, or a feminist studies program, they don’t give you a taste of that.”

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