Tendai Musakwa Opinions Editor

My blackness is inescapable. It penetrates each and every facet of my Vassar life, soliciting not-too-subtle extensions of “solidarity” that are expressed through comments ranging from the obtuse, “I once dated a black guy, you know,” to the more forthright and narrow-minded, “Aren’t you glad you are here?” To me, this has shown that as much as we would love to tout Vassar as a prejudice-free environment, the sad truth is that this College has not yet reached that idealized state of being free of discrimination.

Typically, racial discrimination is regarded as the negative treatment of a person based on their race or ethnicity. I would argue, however, that using race as a basis for social interactions can also be regarded as discrimination. Using this definition, Vassar cannot be regarded as a campus that is free of prejudice.

The social scene at the College is divided along racial lines. Black students seem to form friendships primarily with black students, and the same applies to Latinos and other students of color. The cliques formed from these friendships are not necessarily exclusive, but they are restrictive enough to make it difficult for students of other races to join them. The fact that students of color form such cliques reveals something amiss in the College’s social dynamics.

Some people would assert that minority students associate primarily with each other because they share much in common. This argument is flawed, as minority students have diverse interests that are not superseded by their racial commonality. If Vassar students were to form friendships based only on common interests and not skin color or ethnicity, the College would have far fewer race-based cliques.

I contend that the reason minority cliques exist is that minorities feel more comfortable around each other. Minorities at Vassar value racially-grounded relationships because they are a source of support within an unsupportive culture.

Various examples illustrate the existence of this unaccommodating culture at Vassar. Last year, Vassar’s Moderate, Independent, Conservative Alliance caused outrage with its publication, The Imperialist, by printing cartoons and an article that a large number of minority students considered racist. In addition, there are instances in which black students and even professors have experienced what they term racially-motivated conflicts with security. These conflicts show that even though Vassar has gone to great lengths to reduce racism on campus, some aspects of College life are still unaccommodating to individuals of color. We must do all we can to make this College more inclusive to all members of our community.

Racial tensions at Vassar are also expressed in classrooms. For example, in an English course on James Baldwin that I am taking, the class is divided along racial lines. My black classmates are seemingly pitted against the rest of the class and discussions are often marked by tension. At times, these discussions end with angry back-and-forths between students, prompted by outcries against alleged racial insults. The fact that Vassar students cannot discuss race issues without becoming antagonistic highlights severe racial tensions within the College: This is a problem that must be addressed.

Racial tensions at Vassar can also be seen outside of the classroom. The restricted interactions between members of different racial groups at Vassar indicate the lack of communication and distrust between them. In social spheres like Matthew’s Mug, there seems to be an automatic clustering according to race, even among those people who apparently are not friends. The fact that members of the community group according to their different races exposes the racial tensions at Vassar.

These tensions are so acute that they have led to racially motivated acts of vandalism. In numerous instances in the past, the All College Day mural has had to be taken down after racial slurs were scrawled on it. This shows that uneasiness concerning racial issues still exists at Vassar.

A subtler racism also exists at Vassar and this is expressed in numerous aspects of College life. For example, minorities are expected to conform to stereotypes of the particular race with which they identify. Many minority students express their frustration at being typecast by fellow Vassarions. One example reported on by The Miscellany News in the fall of 2005 was a public complaint made by a black student. At a rally against racism held in the College by a group called Students Allied for Equity and Justice, members of the Vassar community continually typecast him as a basketball player because of his skin color. This is only one example of many complaints about stereotyping made by minorities at Vassar.

Minority students also encounter off-handed racist remarks from fellow students, a condition that various African American/Black, Latino, Asian/Asian American, Native American (ALANA) groups are trying to address. The current situation is inexcusable and must be dealt with if we are going to create a campus environment in which all students feel welcome and accommodated.

Vassar has come a long way in producing a campus that is inclusive of all students. Nevertheless, we can still do more to create an environment free of racism. A first step would be to acknowledge that there is an underlying racism at Vassar—ignoring racism and pretending that it does not exist will not help us get rid of the scourge of bigotry. Rather, it fosters it. The second step would be to discuss the problem in an effort to find out why there is this concealed racism at Vassar. Only through such a discussion would people be able to understand their internal biases and slowly unlearn them.

Efforts to combat racism need to come from both minorities and the majority. ALANA students must realize that by excluding themselves and forming cliques, they are fostering a racially divided campus. Minorities also need to stop conforming to stereotypes and then crying foul when others typecast them. White students, on their part, need to do more to reach out to minorities and stop (perhaps subconsciously) stereotyping them.

Racism still exists at Vassar. It is about time that we start thinking about the causes and solutions to this problem.