#TheRealUW is being told it was easier for me to get accepted because of the color of my skin. It’s looking around in a lecture hall of more than 300 students, and realizing I am one of two women of color present. It’s having a white guy run his dirty, greasy hands over my hair for five minutes at a party without asking my permission. It’s being mistaken in an honors class of 15 for the only other black girl in the room. And the worst part? #TheRealUW is experiencing all of this while still in the midst of my freshman year, while knowing that some of my peers have experienced much worse in the same amount of time.
It is not the responsibility of minority students to educate their white peers about how to be decent human beings. First and foremost, our priority is to GET an education, not to GIVE an education. Shame on UW for placing such a large responsibility on minority students to help educate their ignorant white peers.
–Betty Nen
