Professor David Woodard, the same Clemson professor who responded to the See The Stripes Campaign by dismissing it as "fascism" is conducting "research" that has members of the community understandably concerned. I received an email from a friend about an "exit poll" conducted here during the recent election. I'm sharing what she's written about her experience voting on November 4th.
I guess you can say it was a typical election day for me. I am a liberal who has lived in South Carolina for almost 10 years. I was taking my five-year-old son with me for the first time so he could see me vote. When I go to the polls, I am used to seeing more Republicans than Democrats on the ballot. I am also used to these Democrats losing the race. Not only do I live in South Carolina, I live in one of the most conservative parts. I have accepted this and vote anyway, knowing that it is my civic duty. On November 4th, 2014, as I exited the polling station with my son I was stopped and asked to complete an exit poll. This was the first time I had ever been asked to do an exit poll so I will admit I was kind of excited. I hear about exit polls all the time on the news so I was happy to be able to say I had taken part in one. The first couple question were typical: "Who did you vote for…?," "When did you make up your mind…?," etc.
Then I got to this question:
Over the past few years, blacks have gotten less than they deserve: Agree Disagree
I paused for a second and looked around. Others were filling this "exit poll" out so it had to be official, right?
I continued to other questions like:
Blacks are getting too demanding in their push for equal rights: Agree Disagree
And:
It’s really a matter of some people not trying hard enough; if blacks would only try harder, they could be as well off as blacks: Agree Disagree
After I answered the questions, I handed it to the young woman who had given me the poll and asked who I could talk to about the questions or where I could find the results. She stated "You can contact Dr. Woodard at Clemson University, he is publishing a paper about it." I was instantly confused because I thought she was going to give me a name of a governmental agency in Columbia that must be in charge. No. This was a faculty member at the institution I not only work at, but have a degree from. Why would Clemson University be supporting such questions being asked at a poll? Can anyone just stand at a polling station, hand out questions and call it an exit poll? And honestly, the most glaring question to me is what type of research is this? Some of the questions are offensive in nature and the questions aren’t even about me, because I am White. But Black people voted in this election as well, and were asked these same questions. A person could literally have just passed four confederate flags on the way to vote only to be asked if "Blacks" are too demanding for their push for equal rights?!?
There are so many questions and the only answer I have is from Dr. Woodard, whom I did email. He stated the same as the young woman handing out the questions. He would be presenting and writing a paper about the poll in January. I know there are other people who took the poll and were offended and as confused as I was. Concerned citizens must stand up to people in our community who don’t seem to realize the impact these racist questions will have, especially on people of color. We were told this was an exit poll, not a survey about race, and that in itself is deceptive. Yes, Dr. Woodard has freedom of speech and what he did might not be illegal. Does that mean we shouldn’t speak up when we see something that isn’t right? I might live in a conservative state where my candidates don’t always win but that doesn’t mean I have to keep my mouth shut about issues that matter to me and directly affect my community.
~Amber Lange
On November 5th
WSPA interviewed Woodard explaining his "research."
Issues like this are exactly the type of thing I think a campaign like See The Stripes aims to address. Am I really living in a place where a professor can summarily dismiss a program aiming to initiate conversations about race and then months later potentially offend an entire community by asking racially insensitive questions under the guise of "research" and see no issues with it?