'Trinity Joe's' Solutions Unacceptable

I am highly offended at the views represented in Joe Tarzi's response to the Mather protest last Thursday evening. To be told that we were too "passive" and not aggressive enough is what angered me the most. If we had walked into Mather threatening to "kick the ass" (as Tarzi says) of the person who wrote the racial slur, it would have stirred up more negative feedback than anything else. I wonder how those who felt the protest interrupted their dinner would have felt if we personally approached every non-minority student to ask if they were the racist who wrote the slur on Scott's board so that we could incite violence toward them as a reaction. What if they came out with a broken jaw or arm because a group of us decided to jump them to deal with the situation? Which would have interrupted the Average Trinity Joe's dinner more, I wonder?Each person who chose to walk out of Mather during this rare moment of unity at Trinity is part of the problem.

Each person who chose not to hear us out is part of the problem. Each person who refused to extend their hand to greet us or got up and moved when we sat at a table on that side of Mather is part of the problem. Each person who feels we did not react violently enough is part of the problem.

If we had walked into Mather on Thursday and caused a violent riot of a scene against an act that reflected the racism many of us minority students deal with on campus, I am sure that many who are part of the problem would have said, "There go those minority students again! They can't even handle themselves in a respectable and self-controlled manner." We handled ourselves in the best way possible. We stood our ground and tried to make the Trinity campus more aware that we, too, are people and deserve to be respected as a human being with emotions.

We should not, in any way, shape, or form, have to listen to someone call us a nigger, a homo, or anything other than our name and be forced to just deal with it. None of us on this campus have the right to label anyone a WASP, dumb-blonde, cracker, spic, or faggot. Put yourselves in the shoes of the victim and see things from the minority side of the table and then decide if being called a nigger should be an acceptable part of everyday life that we just have to deal with.

Tarzi's response to the protest defends the use of racial and stereotypical slurs on this campus, and in the world. His response tells me that it's okay for Trinity students to not show respect for their peers and professors who are different from them.

I am sure that many Trinity students question our purpose in marching. Maybe the reason these students don't care is because they don't think racism affects them directly when it really does in the long run. Every member of this campus becomes the victim when it comes to racism -- college is supposed to be about exposure to different people -- but Trinity has a color barrier that is difficult to penetrate. We are trying to tear that wall down and build relationships with different people. I understand that you will find racism everywhere in the world, as Tarzi says, but on a campus as small as Trinity, we should be closer to one another instead of fearful of each other.

I am embarrassed by the views that all the Average Trinity Joes share. But I am proud of our dedication to inform this campus that racism is still an issue. I am even more proud of the way we conducted ourselves during the protest. Let us remember that this is only the beginning.

Our fight for solidarity does not end here. As for all you other Joes out there, I hope you think about what you'd rather experience: having to listen to your faculty, advisers, and peers speak out for five minutes about a major issue that is prevalent on this campus and could affect you, or be approached in a threatening manner to admit whether you are one of the people who uses the racial slurs. Activism doesn't make everything an issue. Racism is the issue, and activism is our only solution.