Letters to the Editor | Diversity session opens eyes to reality

I’ve talked to numerous people about the recent guest editorial in The Miscellany News (“Orientation diversity session falls short of intended goals,” 9.7.07 issue of The Miscellany News), and many of us feel that it was misguided, premature, and offensive. For someone who has been on campus a day to say that the letters detailing discrimination on campus are invalid is belittling the experiences of people who have faced various forms of discrimination, oppression and Othering on campus.

The author of the editorial pointed out that the admissions page of the College Web site claims the campus is “very accepting” and that “diversity of opinion is respected.” That means nothing. The College admissions site is first and foremost advertising, and certainly the campus is more accepting than the world outside the “Vassar bubble,” but that does not mean it is free of discrimination.

“So why need a session that describes discrimination on campus?” I say, why not? If it would cause people to reflect on how they interact with people based on race, sex, gender, class, etc. Perhaps this freshman thought it was ironic, but I don’t. After one day he decides that Vassar is free of racism and sexism—after a year, I can easily say that Vassar is far from free of racism, sexism, classism, ableism or any other oppression. And Vassar has more than its fair share of materialism and superficiality.

I would also argue that Vassar is not that diverse of a community. I grew up in a small town in Georgia and there was more diversity than on Vassar campus; that people find more diversity here than at their homes speaks more to their homes than to the diversity at Vassar.

I went to the diversity session as a freshman. It was awkward, it was long, and it made some of us uncomfortable. And you know what—that’s good. Because truthfully it doesn’t matter if you felt uncomfortable for 45 minutes, some of us feel uncomfortable on and off the entire time we’re at Vassar. Vassar is not an oppression-free zone. Everyone brings their prejudices, privileges and oppressions with them. Tiny brick walls can’t keep that out; people must confront their own privileges if they really want to lessen the discrimination on campus.

—Royce Drake ’10