To The Editor,
(Monday) evening, the night of the 25th of November, I sat in solidarity with students of color at Baker University Center in the wake of two recent tragedies — first the killing of Michael Brown of Ferguson, Missouri and the lack of justice for his killer, Darren Wilson, and the killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice at the hands of a Cleveland police officer.
According to Ohio University’s 2010 Campus Diversity statistics online, Caucasian students comprised around 80 percent of the school’s population. Assuming these statistics are accurate in 2014 — which a look around campus can confirm — OU is not a diverse place. Practically speaking, most friend groups are segregated at OU, and plenty of Caucasian students have never interacted with students of color in a genuine way.
Caucasian students at OU need to make a conscious effort to free OU of hatred. If we are not active in making OU more inclusive, we perpetuate the rule of white supremacy. This effort to stifle hate necessitates active listening, cooperation, respect and love from Caucasian students. We need to make OU a space where students of color can be heard and not talked over. This means taking an African American studies course, it means listening to students of color when they speak in class, and it means a lot more than that. It means acknowledging your privilege, declaring yourself an ally, and opening your ears and hearts. As long as OU remains predominantly white, it is the responsibility of white students to end racial injustice.
I heard one of the deans mention something about “the Bobcat family” supporting each other as a sign of encouragement, regarding the solidarity in Baker Center on the night of the 24th. I wholeheartedly agree that Bobcats should support each other, and yes, students came together at Baker Center on the 24th, but a look at Yik Yak and Unseen confirms that members of “the Bobcat family” believe more in hatred than in solidarity, and that some Bobcats are not allies, not family. Yaks like, “Ignorant black people in Ferguson hurting police officers, firefighters, and even reporters. And they wonder why cops are so cautious around them,” and Unseen comments like “All y’all in baker are ignorant. Facts>skin color,” demonstrate that the Caucasian space of our university remains ignorant and hateful, not supportive. The former comment had four downvotes and the latter had seven upvotes at 3:30 a.m. on the 25th. Yik Yak and Unseen do not speak for the majority, but they do reveal just how deeply prejudiced some members of our community are.
White students must divorce themselves from hate speech and fight back against those who speak it. White students must confront the racism of their white friends and peers, but most importantly, white students must authentically confront their own prejudices.
You must believe that black lives matter to be part of my family. White students need to be allies, not oppressors. We need to listen.
Michael Mayberry is a sophomore studying English in the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University.
