OPINION & EDITORIAL
Diverse racial experiences at UW
Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.
Also by Bassey Etim:
- Religion: Does it benefit society? (November 29, 2007)
- Do Democrats take minority votes for granted? (November 15, 2007)
- It's the media, stupid: Political coverage misleads (November 8, 2007)
Related Stories:
- Minorities suffer failing system (October 18, 2005)
- Holistic admissons advance UW goals (March 7, 2007)
- State horrible for blacks (January 25, 2006)
- Race as an admission factor leads to diverse student body (January 28, 2003)
- Education system fails black pupils (October 8, 2007)
by Bassey Etim
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
"So are you in football or track?"
Wait one moment, my African-American friend. Before you sarcastically admit to being a Kenyan long-distance runner in a nasal Midwestern accent, consider these statistics.
Out of 28,217 undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin in 2004, just over 3,000 were minorities. Only 688 were black.
There are few students who wouldn't like to see more diversity on campus. While there is no single clear solution to UW's racial woes, the problem won't go away by refusing to think about it. Among the most articulate defenses of this campus' prominent "blame minorities for every racial problem that ever existed" school of thought are as follows.
"So, wait, you really think racism still exists?" (Especially popular among those who have never run into a black person sans the barrier of a car door or TV screen.)
"They bring a lot of it upon themselves. You guys talk about it too much." (Yes, racism would end if we would all just shut up about it already.)
"That's not MY history." (Damn. You've got me there. If only I had realized humans couldn't live for 200 years.)
Quite frankly, crying foul at every perceived injustice wears a bit thin. "It's because I'm black, ain't it?" seems to be the most feared response to a question at any frat party. Next time you're having a moment of clarity just before you puke your brains out off a balcony onto unsuspecting bystanders, glance around for this. Listen closely and you'll realize you haven't heard such carefully worded questions and answers since the second presidential debate.
The first step to bridging the racial divide on campus would be for all of us to just have a little empathy. Nobody's perfect. If you are getting acclimated to the dorms as the only black guy on your floor, and you're being treated like a museum exhibit, let it ride. Put yourself in their shoes — these are mostly sheltered kids venturing into the real world for the first time, and a little curiosity is natural. They'll soon realize we're all the same people, just different pigments.
If you feel like the black guy on your floor bit your head off for asking a simple question, put yourself in his shoes. Imagine hearing people whisper about your presence for weeks, or every time you meet someone new being asked what project you're from, what team you are on, or if your dad was a sports star. A few years of this would make anyone a tad sensitive to questioning. It was more likely an annoyed guy blowing off some steam at the wrong person than an example of the volatility of an entire race.
A little empathy would go a long way in understanding arguments for affirmative action as well. If you're against it, consider your reasoning. Do you really believe those on the other side of the argument are so irrational and self-interested? However idealistic our country's mottoes may be, racial bias is built into the system. If you are capable of thinking about the issue rather than blaming genetics, how can disparities be explained in modern times?
Affirmative action is a necessary program for universities because capitalism gives us all different starting conditions.
It's as if one group of people was largely forced to begin a race 20 yards behind another. If one group is disproportionately disadvantaged due to poor school quality, having to support family during high school and coming from families without the experience of sending a member to college (among a laundry list of others), guess what happens — fewer of them make it to a university.
As a large and respected school, UW should offer a diverse experience that goes beyond the ethnic studies requirement. What kind of service would UW and the state of Wisconsin do for their students by sending them through high school and college without exposing them to any more than one or two ethnic minorities? How many students have graduated thinking they were ready for the real world, only to ask the black guy in the office what project he is from?
Diversity is not only a nice thing for a university to have, but it is critical if UW expects to graduate students capable of working with a wide array of individuals. Yes, we would all like to live in a color-blind world, but it won't become that way by ignoring racial problems. Sadly, too many UW students oppose the very programs that can bring about the color-blind world they wish to create.
Bassey Etim (etim@wisc.edu) is a sophomore majoring in journalism and political science.
Anonymous (October 12, 2005 @ 2:14am):
That's pretty disturbing if someone is dumb enough to ask a random black guy "what project are you from."
Anonymous (October 12, 2005 @ 3:26am):
Bassey, you certainly make a valid point. The problem is that, after so many years of race baiting-by blacks AND whites-people have largely kept to themselves. It's hard to get anyone, black, white, etc., to mingle. Fifteen years of political correctness has finally put everyone on edge.
The first thing we need to do is to accept the fact that we live in a world that is increasingly becoming diverse. Next, we need to accept the fact that we will always disagree on one thing or another, whether it's the cause of the problem or what the solution should be. Third-this is the hard part-we need to accept the fact that there is plenty of blame to go around. Not all the prejudice in the world should be conveniently blamed on white heterosexual Christian males. There are many of these guys who have done their part make this world a more hospitable place for everyone. And you don't have to be white to be racist, or heterosexual to be a bigot, or male to be a sexist, and so on.
Yes, we minorities must take on some responsibility of our own. It's our world too, and we have a big job ahead of us. And the next time we encounter a straight white guy, let's give him a chance to show his true colors. You'd be surprised just much people open up to you if you show a little kindness and sincerity.
Anonymous (October 12, 2005 @ 6:12am):
This column has only been written about 100 times before, so I guess it never hurts to have a 101st column on "diversity" at UW. About the only difference between this column and the other 100 is that Bassey honestly sets forth his "solution":
"Affirmative action is a necessary program for universities because capitalism gives us all different starting conditions."
No, Bassey- the problem (at least in Wisconsin) is that GOVERNMENT-run elementary, intermediate, and secondary schools are failing minority students in this state and particularly in Milwaukee. UW can not- and should not- admit high school students that lack the proper preparation. It is unfair to both other qualified high school students with proper preparation and the under-qualified students themselves, as they're being put in a situation without the tools to succeed academically.
The solution to this is not race-based discrimination against qualified students (a/k/a affirmative action) as Bassey suggests, but rather improvement to the public schools. School choice would be a good start. Ultimately, control of public schools needs to be taken out of the hands of teachers' unions, who have ruined schools and run up some big bills on the taxpayers in the process.
Anonymous (October 12, 2005 @ 12:07pm):
Mr. Etim writes: "Affirmative action is a necessary program for universities because capitalism gives us all different starting conditions." But then why not have affirmative action on the basis of economic disadvantage rather than skin color? Not all whites and Asians are rich; not all African Americans and Latinos are poor.
Anonymous (October 12, 2005 @ 1:09pm):
Overall I thought this was a good article. I especially like the part about empathy and being able to stand in the other's shoes. However, I disagree that affirmative action is the right way to create diversity in a colorblind world. It seems to me that affirmative action only creates resent between races. As an article mentioned last year, if we are going to have affirmative action, then schools should clearly outline separate standards for admittance. If you are white, you need this score. If you are a minority, you need this score. While I agree that diversity, ideally would lead to the best learning environment, it's natural for humans to flock to their own kind. The university should do more to get the races intermingling. Finally, I think applying affirmative action to college and professional/graduate school addmissions is a cop-out and only gives the appearance of society attempting to solve a very difficult social problem. If we were really dedicated to social equality and true diversity, then we need to focus on correcting the problem where it begins--not waiting until college admissions to try and bridge a social gap, that by that time, for the majority of minorities has become virtually impossible to overcome. These are my thoughs, any feedback??
Anonymous (October 12, 2005 @ 1:13pm):
What's said here applies to all the Big 10 Schools. Congratulations on a well-written essay.
UW Alumnus
Anonymous (October 12, 2005 @ 2:54pm):
Good article. I agree with the author, but think he should elucidate, or elaborate more on the idea that capitalism puts African-Americans behind in the race to education and economic prosperity. It's a good point that could be missed by those who don't know their histoy too well.
Anonymous (October 12, 2005 @ 5:41pm):
Thanks for writing this. The newspapers should be doing more to educate people on racism, especially on this campus.
Anonymous (October 12, 2005 @ 7:30pm):
This article implies that the color of one's skin automatically connotes economic and social disadvantage. That is not a safe blanket assumption to make.
Diversity, again, is set up as a hollow golden calf.
Anonymous (October 12, 2005 @ 11:59pm):
When diversity is created through affirmative action, it only results in self-segregation and subtle divisions. If you look at how various races stick together at UW-Madison it's if our motto was "seperate but equal". Luoluo Hong admitted it when she resigned, affirmative action creates social barriers between blacks, whites, asians and hispanics. To overcome these, the overbearing contraption of affirmative action should be dismantled and attention must be shifted to the improvement of public education in inner cities.
