2008 Woodie Awards
A person's value should be based on experience, not color
A View From Another Campus
Issue date: 3/26/07 Section: Viewpoint
Stephanie Raposo
Daily Collegian
(Penn State)
(U-WIRE) UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - You're probably white. If you're reading this, considering the demographics of this campus, odds are you aren't a student of color. If you are a student of color, thank you for supporting the Collegian's only non-white columnist.
I am tired of feeling uncomfortable, of feeling like when I walk into a room all eyes are on me. I am sick of having slang thrown at me profusely or a hip hop topic being brought up at random.
Stop assuming I grew up in the hood, know how to dance or I know dangerous people. Sometimes I feel like people of color are the circus of Penn State - all eyes on us while a lighter crowd is surprised by our every action.
I was recently at a fraternity house where white kids pressured students of color to "do something." Brown people are not at Penn State to entertain. I was also in a discussion group recently during which a black girl shared her experience of a fellow Penn State student (who was white) being surprised at her success on an exam because she didn't do as well as the black girl. Are black students expected to perform well, but not as well as white students? Something has to change.
Contrary to what some people may think, there is diversity among those individuals considered minorities. If you know one individual who is black, that does not mean you know all black people. If you get to hear one Hispanic person's opinion, that does not make you an expert on all Hispanics. Not all Asians are technology majors and not all Jewish people are penny pinchers. Not all white guys with greek letters on their shirts, ripped jeans and worn baseball caps are racist jerks and not all blondes with tights and Ugg boots are sorority girls.
I think the biggest social problem on this campus is the fact that people take their senses too seriously. They treat people in the same manner they would a traffic light.
If the person looks like me - green. If they are doing something I might be interested in - yellow. But if they look completely different than I do and they're doing something that I would never do - red.
Daily Collegian
(Penn State)
(U-WIRE) UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - You're probably white. If you're reading this, considering the demographics of this campus, odds are you aren't a student of color. If you are a student of color, thank you for supporting the Collegian's only non-white columnist.
I am tired of feeling uncomfortable, of feeling like when I walk into a room all eyes are on me. I am sick of having slang thrown at me profusely or a hip hop topic being brought up at random.
Stop assuming I grew up in the hood, know how to dance or I know dangerous people. Sometimes I feel like people of color are the circus of Penn State - all eyes on us while a lighter crowd is surprised by our every action.
I was recently at a fraternity house where white kids pressured students of color to "do something." Brown people are not at Penn State to entertain. I was also in a discussion group recently during which a black girl shared her experience of a fellow Penn State student (who was white) being surprised at her success on an exam because she didn't do as well as the black girl. Are black students expected to perform well, but not as well as white students? Something has to change.
Contrary to what some people may think, there is diversity among those individuals considered minorities. If you know one individual who is black, that does not mean you know all black people. If you get to hear one Hispanic person's opinion, that does not make you an expert on all Hispanics. Not all Asians are technology majors and not all Jewish people are penny pinchers. Not all white guys with greek letters on their shirts, ripped jeans and worn baseball caps are racist jerks and not all blondes with tights and Ugg boots are sorority girls.
I think the biggest social problem on this campus is the fact that people take their senses too seriously. They treat people in the same manner they would a traffic light.
If the person looks like me - green. If they are doing something I might be interested in - yellow. But if they look completely different than I do and they're doing something that I would never do - red.
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