(Cross-posted at Daily Dispatches)
I feel like there’s been a lot of news lately regarding race relations and the role of minorities on campus, from APSC’s UC seat rejection to Christopher Abreu’s guest column. I know many of these topics are contentious, and as responsible students we should consider all sides carefully. But I am grateful for one thing — the overwhelming response to the column is actually eliciting a response from students. I’ve seen a lot of criticism and oversimplification for his column (and if the DP is monetizing their traffic they are probably having a field day), but I wonder if it took something like that to get students to engage in these discussions. From the comments, it seems that there is a pretty hefty population who would prefer to ignore these issues and sweep it under the rug. That only silences and pents up the hurting voices, who can only go on without knowing that there is support. So I spent some time thinking, what is the least I can do? I feel very fortunate that my experience at Penn has been largely positive. But I decided the least I can do is get angry. I’m not pointing fingers, I’m not criticizing the establishment, and I’m definitely not getting angry at any single person or phenomenon. Racism and any sort of sociocultural barrier is steeped in so many complicated factors that I can’t responsibly blame anyone. But I think I can at least not stand for it. I’m going to get angry; I’m not going to sit by idly. Apathy is widely regarded as the curse of our generation. We may move forward economically or technologically, but until we remember what it is like to have empathy for our peers, I don’t know how far this generation will go culturally and socially. So let’s calmly get angry, face the problem, and then move on…