Photo credit to www.greekhouseoffonts.com
In the wake of recent outrage and protest over failure to indict the officers that shot and killed Michael Brown and choked Eric Garner to death, Zeta Sigma Chi, a multicultural sorority, hosted a discussion revolving around the idea of unearned advantage and conferred dominance, otherwise known as white privilege. The event “I 2 Am UWM” was held the Monday before Thanksgiving. Although the turnout was not large, the dialogue was.
Inspired by Harvard student’s Kimiko Matsuda-Lawrence “I, Too, Am Harvard” photo campaign that highlighted the voices of black students at the college (following a white student writing an editorial for The Harvard Crimson in response to affirmative action titled “Affirmative Dissatisfaction”), the women of Zeta Sigma Chi led a presentation on the cognizance of race. “There should never be a burden in being black, or being ‘other’,” one member said.
They began by explaining the “I, Too, Am Harvard” campaign followed by a definition and outline of the history of affirmative action. Although UWM is not one of 14 universities currently implementing impetus to ensure equal collegiate admission, it does uphold an equal opportunity employment policy for faculty, staff, and those afflicted with mental illness. They also listed recently released admission statistics of this current academic year. Presently, over 69 percent of students identify as white. Despite that, UWM has the most diverse student body across the state.
A “Raise your hand if…” portion also took place. Examples included: “Raise your hand if people mispronounce your name”; “Raise your hand if you go semester to semester wondering about how to pay for school”; “Raise your hand if you are a first-generation student.” The segment also included statements involving altering one’s mannerisms in order to not be judged, and being discouraged by academic faculty or authority to go pursue a particular field. The inquiries continued.
The dynamic of the room was diverse. Present at the event were men and women of all different colors. One attendee was a 2011 alumnus and Africology minor and a white male. Four academic advisors were also present.
After the slideshow presentation, introductions began. Then, people were broken up between two groups, the academic advisors and the students, discussing experiences regarding systematic oppression (institutionalized racism), discrimination, and the pressures of proving one’s identity or the lack of having one.
“Every day I feel like I am living in an identity crisis,” ZSC member Kennia Coronado said. Coronado expressed her frustration of no longer fitting in with their ethnic culture because of her nationality, but not feeling “American” because of her ethnicity.
A sorority member shared her experience of smoothing her name out for others to easily pronounce, of unwillingly allowing her high school physics teacher to give her a nickname in class. Currently a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the 89-year-old Radiologic Technology Program, she recently learned, according to her professors, she is one of three Hispanic students ever admitted into the program, and the first to identify as Mexican. All three students have been accepted within the last five years.
There are many issues facing minority students on campuses across the world. According to Jürgen Habermas, a German philosopher familiar with studies on student protests and politics, silent outrage is usually the most justified form of expression because minority students do not know what to do and the importance of allowing a safe space to discuss and learn about what privileges one may have are not accessible. Presently, that is changing. Protest has broken out and been paralleled across the nation. Youth are at the forefront of marches and rallies. Larger dialogues about these matters need to occur on this campus. Zeta Sigma Chi started the conversation.
One of the members of the sorority ended the presentation on the necessity of creating these discussions.
“Have those uncomfortable situations,” she said. “Find a voice for yourself.”