Some thoughts on collegiate racism.
So many things have been going on recently but I find myself becoming increasingly frustrated with “the way things are.” I go to a private liberal arts college that as an institution continues to ignore or sweep racism and prejudice under the administrative rug.
I cannot be happier that the college—at the insistence of the QSU and their numerous allies, including faculty and staff—has begun to address incidents of homophobia on a fairly consistent and proactive basis as evidenced by the various all-campus emails made by both the student-led College Council and our college President. Yet this necessary and appropriate attention is not likewise bestowed upon race-related issues present within both the student body and the institution as a whole.
In fact, “issues” may be too mild of a word. Racism and racial prejudice continue to be a pervasive problem on this campus. The origins of Claiming Williams have disappeared, perhaps intentionally, from the event with only those either affected or intimately connected to its precursor Stand With Us. The incidents—one in which the harassment of a minority student culminated with that individual’s mother being pissed on (yes, you read that right)—undoubtedly undermine the progressive image it so desperately tries to project. Not publicizing the exact reasons for Claiming Williams’ not only leaves students to craft their own often-misguided assumptions of its necessity but illustrates the reluctance of Williams to admit that they do indeed have a persistent problem with race.
Williams College’s dedication to the semblance of diversity prevents the open and honest discussion of inequality and marginalization especially when it comes to racially motivated incidents. The necessary discussion requires the administration to both admit there is a problem and take appropriate measures to rectify the situation. The college’s policy of circumspection also applies to issues of gender, among others. The furtive handling of the harassment of several female students by a now-dismissed security officer placed the institution’s brand before that of justice. Justice for the victims goes beyond the removal of a specific threat or perpetrator: the climate that allows such behavior to go unchecked for any period of time necessitates community-wide examination. Concurrently, measures must be put in place not only to protect students from those in positions of power but also from the abuse of their peers.
As wonderful as I find Claiming Williams, it only reaches those who want to be reached. The event amounts to a band-aid on an already infected wound. The marginalization of people of color continues to fester while some praise the increased diversity of the student body (a point that is debatable, to be honest). Statistic diversity alone neither reduces nor eliminates racism. As I call for honest conversation, I am also cognizant that many members of the Williams community are either indifferent or simply do not care. Racism, in their minds, doesn’t affect them and I am not so sure that they can be convinced otherwise.
Unquestionably, the concerns of many students of color may seem minor to some in comparison to other racial incidents at other colleges and universities. Comparisons to historical examples of racial oppression or the assumedly separate and more pressing plight of women and LGBTQ in an effort to dismiss so-called minor incidents of racism continue the derailment of any conversation about race. These attitudes, expressed even by those who profess solidarity and/or their own supposed social liberalism, further reflect the necessity of greater action to be undertaken by both college officials and the student body. Downplaying the significance of race on this campus silences those affected by racially motivated acts. The morally convenient belief that racism and prejudice only arise out of hateful or deliberately harmful intentions ignores their more insidious manifestations—such as the deceptively dangerous logic that someone’s race solely explains that individual’s presence at Williams as opposed to their own efforts as a high-achieving student—that equally work to maintain white supremacy. Only within an extensively racially insensitive climate can the experience of the Williams’ student of color be trivialized in this manner.
I also write this knowing full-well the risk of being labeled one of those people of color, who cannot simply be satisfied that I was let in to a prestigious institution such as Williams; some will undoubtedly see me as an overly-sensitive black woman who cannot move beyond race and graciously accept the (false) idea of post-racial America. That being said, to allow the harsh reality of apathy and thinly-veiled contempt to silence my voice or the voices of others would not only indicate complacency with the treatment of minorities but allow the college to continue in its self-imposed blissful ignorance of racial issues in particular.
In mentioning the College’s recently proactive stance on queer issues, I admonish the administration to understand the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexuality and the transparency necessary to deal with each effectively. To not give each issue equal credence ultimately undermines any attempt to improve the experience of all present and future students.
