ABSTRACT
When a student refers to a noisy group of fellow students as ‘water buffalo’ it might reasonably be assumed that it would give rise to some discussion and perhaps even a little bewilderment. When the noisy group of students were black females it might also be assumed that it would arouse some argument and debate. The fact that the student who uttered the words should be subject to a prolonged investigation and, indeed, suspended might well produce some surprise and even perhaps beggar belief. This is the tone of the critique undertaken by Kors and Silverglate concerning this affair and it has entered the dictionary of PC as an example of the absurdity that is said to be at its heart (Kors and Silverglate 1998).
