Solutions for Racism Not Easy to Find

When I received President Jones's e-mail about the racial slur written on a student's whiteboard, I was not surprised. When I learned that it was written on P.R.I.D.E. Leader Shantell Scott's board, I felt awful because I could not fathom why someone would do this to a person who lives in the historically racial South. I wondered whether I would have the same feelings if the n-word was written on a non-Black student's board. How would that person have felt if confronted with the same situation as Scott? The most important question is if that person would know why it happened.Trinity College community, answer this: Why did it happen? If there is anyone who can answer this question without the obvious response of "racism, bigotry, prejudice, etc." then you may have a solution. Without answering this question (I cannot), we cannot find a solution. Perhaps there is not a definite answer to the actions we have witnessed on campus and universally. Bigotry has always existed. Is there a better solution to help us transcend that bigotry?

On that fateful Thursday, all I wanted to do was hide. I hid because I did not want my non-minority friends seeking my approval. I knew that they would want to prove to me that they are not narrow-minded. They would want to seek my acceptance. I have been in the same situation before at a fraternity/society on campus. It made me feel angry because they did not have to justify themselves to me.

Before I began any Trinity classes, I went to a Trinity College Alumni Reception in Manhattan. I met a black female Trinity graduate who warned me about the racism and the social class separation on campus. When she attended Trinity, she lived in "Financial Aid Dorms." (If you were on any shred of grants, you lived there for four years.) But she said that I should still go to Trinity and receive the education I desired.

My freshman year, the college had the Class of '07 go to Cinestudio and watch two mandatory documentaries, The Laramie Project and Racism on Trinity Campus. It scared me because the students (young adults who are the future of this nation) and faculty were the victims and/or the cause of the racial issues. Even though prejudice is all around and well-known, it only becomes a problem when there is an overt act of hate committed. This is my fourth year as an undergraduate at Trinity College. I've seen and heard racist and bigoted remarks. Twice on this campus I have been called a "black bitch." There was no need for my race to be an issue, regardless of my actions. As soon as race was brought into the arguments there was an intent to demean me. But I continue to walk down our Long Walk with my head held high.

I would rather have a safe and united campus than reside with peers whose plans are pointing fingers and fighting the good fight when the fight is unknown. If we cannot unite in a small community, then how will we survive in the great world? How can we unite in a way that goes above and beyond protesting and pointing fingers?

No one should tell you that you need to be outraged about this issue. The anger needs to come from within and not because someone tells you to take a stand. I have feelings about it but I have chosen not to allow it to ruin me. Shortly after the first incident, a minority student approached me and told me that I should not be smiling in such hard times as these. That student was one of the leaders of the protest. There is a significant difference between asking for support (and I feel obliged to be supportive) and destroying someone's good mood.

A good friend of mine, Joe Tarzi, wrote an article that displeased most of the Trinity community. However, I am very happy that I know someone who is on the same page as me. What I received from his article is how secure I am about my ethnicity and my culture(s). I am five eighths Black, one fourth Native American (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), and one eighth Jewish. Everyone has an opinion, but no one wants to listen. Joe Tarzi is not the problem, racism on campus is.