I need some guidance about the racism I'm encountering in college

[Northstarmom]

You are in college to get an education and to fulfill your dreams, not to teach ignoramouses not to be racist. The college administration, not you, are the ones responsible for broadening students' minds about racial issues.

Given the climate that you describe -- which is existing due to administration's lack of assertiveness in confronting racism -- I also am doubting that you are getting graded fairly.

Please do yourself a favor and get out of that hostile environment.

[emeraldkity4]

What the OP is describing is very uncommon. H and I and our sons went to overwhelmingly white colleges and did not experience the kind of things that the OP describes.

Overt racism is so rare that The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education lists each month incidents that have occurred on campuses across the country. Experiencing overt racism isn't something that one should expect while going to any college except possibly Bob Jones College, which didn't even accept blacks until a couple of years ago.

My mother who attended the same high school in Seattle( in the early 50's) my daughter is graduating from next month( PLEASE DEAR GOD), reported that her school had several interracial couples which was unusual in that time.
I really don't know what those couples experienced over 50 years ago & I know Seattle is a long way from Florida but I think the UW would love to have you and they have a very good medical school

[StephenR]

Dlp, unless you want to work in the near future as a diversity awareness facilitator, you really should transfer and leave this backwater school in your wake. As I read this thread I thought about all the faculty and administrators who probably think it's a good thing you're attending their school because of how your very presence will enrich the educational experience of white kids who attend. The problem is, you didn't sign up to to this job and now that you're doing it you aren't getting paid to do it.

I'm not kidding about this being a job. You have named your college in your posts and I wouldn't be surprised if some major stuff is about to hit the fan as a result. Some prominent folks in Kansas are probably embarrased and ashamed of the behavior of some of you schoolmates towards you. I think there is a good possibility that school administrators will try to get you to stay by lightening your financial load. It's also possible that this could result in a ton of racist backlash against you personally.

It could get exciting but if all you want is a college education, in a school that isn't stuck in the 1960s, maybe you should take a pass on these hayseeds.

[coggirl]

I understand and respect your perspective, however, it is very different for the majority of people today.
In the eighties, I observed these same tactics and continue to see them today in colleges and K - 12 programs. What is being described is overt racism. It is not subtle. The incidents are in-your-face and confrontational.
When we put aside the financial concerns and lack of support by the student's family, we are hearing the description of racism directed at someone who is not an athlete, but simply pursuing the American dream.
To say, this is not typical denies the experience of the student. For whatever reason, the student wanted to attend this college. The school offered opportunities that she wanted to pursue. The racism experienced is the issue.
It appears that she can work through the financial challenges and the nonsupport from family, but is overwhelmed and hurt by the racism. Others are validating the student's experience. Apparently, this is not new at KSU, but moving to another school or state is not the solution. When the normal path of dealing with the problem of racism was ignored by the university, the issue became an adult challenge in 2008.
When we remain silent and say this happened in the sixties; while the media tells the story of Sean Bell, DNA prison releases, and the continued stratification of the democratic primary election is an ostrich approach to racism.

[StephenR]

"Apparently, this is not new at KSU, but moving to another school or state is not the solution. When the normal path of dealing with the problem of racism was ignored by the university, the issue became an adult challenge in 2008."

How do you know that moving isn't the solution for this student? We can't be certain if the main problem for this student is racism at KSU or simply the question of how to get a college education in a civil environment. It is for this student to decide what the most important problem is that needs solving.

[alessandro16]

Have you considered going to a HBCU?

[Dlp108]

mom2three-I had teachers in high school who hated even the n word being used amongst African-American students. They didn't tolerate it and sometimes question the use of it. Even I don't understand. There are some international students who say "wow, I though that problem was long gone in the united states and I just laugh. I am heavily considering transferring to a state that has the regional program where I can get instate tuition being from Florida, Maybe HBU but I want diversity but just people who look like me. I'm half Hispanic also and speak fluent Spanish is it would be amazingly just to have a very diverse student body like high school.

TheresaCPA- WOw, did you know that we have a manadorty class called EXPOS I and II it replaces the normal freshmen and sophomore english classes . It serves as a way to get people to recognize diversity because the cooperate world has seen to many "racist students coming from Kansas Universities" I found the class uncomfortable because it made me share racial issues I've had in the past like walking into Hollister and being told that black people cant afford it. Which my mom was ****ed about and went to speak with the manager. It was so predictable when we did a section on "white privilege or racism" So all the white kids talked about how they have had white privilege in their life's before and all the minority students talked about how they've been undiscriminated against. I earned good grades in that class because I wrote with passion when I explained that everyone is equal and I wish everyone would think so, because after all we are all equal, white black or blue.

cottonwood513-Lol I def want to put that as my status on facebook.


I understand that me moving to another state and going to another school is not going to solve the problem because it wont. I would just be running away from it to be somewhere where I don't experience this issue anyone. Other black students have lived in kansas so long that they have become immune to what the non minority population think of them. They dont care or notice as much as I do coming from places where races wasnt in the back of my mind ALL THE TIME!

[Dlp108]

A HBCU isn't diverse....I think.

[spideygirl]

Life is WAY too short! Get outta there! I think it is admirable for you to even contemplate sticking it out. However, despite the fact that your environment clearly needs you, you do NOT need it.

I have NEVER seen the kind of stuff you have had to deal with. On the other hand, I have always lived near major cities on both coasts. I mention this to reinforce the good news that what you are experiencing is not the norm. It will be easy for you to find a better place and to put this behind you.

Regarding having a mom who does not put you first...Ouch - so sorry to hear that! I had a similiar situation (not exactly, but same bottom line). In my 40's I am still trying to figure it out. I was a pretty ambitious kid and had to sort of create my own world (making up for a lack of nurturing?). It took lots of efforting and too much having to be tough, but I ended up with an incredible life and a nature that if I may say so is much more giving than the average person's. I don't think I would have chosen this way to develop compassion and the ability to emotionally connect to people, but I am appreciating the silver lining in my situation.

When you have a family of your own, being present and loving towards your own children will be very healing.

[khrushchevtm]

I would go to UT. Bias? Maybe.

Transfer and make something great of yourself. Any major speech could be prefaced with "Thanks to the students of KSU for helping me to accomplish my goals." etc.

In all seriousness: leave the environment which causes you grief. You'll get tired of trying to change the campus + earning a college degree. Being in a nurturing environment would be best. Being in a place where you don't feel the need to be on the lookout 24/7 would be best.

This is NOT typical of major colleges. Maybe A&M, but college station is a lost cause.
A&M blackface - Google Search

Even at UT-Austin, this attitude isn't prevalent.

I find if you UP the caliber of student, you find people to be more open. The truly great student (affluent, intelligent, etc.) does not have such close-minded views of the world. Their studies bring them in contact with other cultures and ideas. If you're paying for college yourself + lower income with a good Academic record, surely you could transfer to a higher-tier U.

Part of the reason which I chose to go to Cornell is that, although a bit low for cultural diversity, the students are more open, accepting, liberal than most. Next year they have a no-loan policy for those making under 75,000. They are need-blind.

If you make the cut, I'd say go for it. Under no circumstance must you go to an HBCU. It is not your only choice. You have many choices. Staying is one choice; you've kept up with it for a year, but is it REALLY worth it? Is it? Leaving would make a huge statement. Try and gather publicity. Embarrassment has been known to bring about greater change than complacency. You may not want to mar the university's name, but what would be more of a wake-up call than millions of eyes looking in scrutiny? It'll send the message that this behavior is NOT normal nor is it tolerated; that's just me thinking aloud again. It all depends on what you want. Justice? Vengeance? An education?

[Northstarmom]

"
I understand that me moving to another state and going to another school is not going to solve the problem because it wont. I would just be running away from it to be somewhere where I don't experience this issue anyone."

However, thank God that this is a free country and you are free to move to a place where you aren't experiencing the kind of racism that you are experiencing at KSU.

As a student, your job is to get an education, not end other students' (and possibly faculty's) racism. If you want to be a crusader against racism, then do it after you get an education that prepares you for that important mission. After obtaining a transfer, you also could make public the reason for your transfer. That would embarrass KSU into addressing the issue for the rest of the students including those whom it is letting down by allowing them to act and think in such a racist manner.

While others are suggesting places like UT, I don't recommend that because you are a Floridian, and Florida has good, diverse, public universities that you could attend for far less than you could attend UT, where as an out of stater, you'd be unlikely to get need-based or merit aid, and you'd also have to pay the higher tuition costs that out of staters have to pay.

If you have the stats to transfer to a private college that guarantees to meet 100% of students' financial need, go for it. Such colleges tend to be among the most difficult to gain admission to. They also tend to have zero tolerance for the kind of behavior you've experienced.

All HBCUs lack excellent funds for scholarship aid, so I doubt that you'd find any HBCU affordable.

In addition to being the black mom who attended predominantly white universities, taught and consulted at HBCUs, and has sons who attended predominantly white institutions, I also have been a diversity consultant and have mentored lots of first gen college students. I hope you'll seriously consider my advice.

I had dinner last night with one of my mentees who about 15 years ago left a midwestern college after encountering racism including among the students. The worst thing, though, was that a professor falsely accused her of plagiarizing. Student was first gen college (similar to you, too, in that she had no family emotional or financial support for her education), and in skin tone as black as one could be. She also probably is a genius. I think the prof saw her skin color, but didn't see her brilliance.

Student --a midwesterner-- ended up transferring to FSU, graduting from there, and getting into NYU's creative writing MFA program. Now, at age 35, she consults internationally and recently was awarded a prestigious Harvard fellowship.

I'm convinced that she's now doing so well because she transferred to a university where her brilliance was recognized.

[soulturtle]

I am a black student who grew up in a small (and overwhelmingly white) town in southern Kansas, who is going to be a senior in a college in St. Louis next year, and I just wanted to put my 2 cents in. To be honest, I'm shocked to hear that such overt racism is going on at K-State. K-State is a school that I was very close to going to, and in the end, I chose not to go not because I was afraid of racism there, but because I knew it was a notoriously politically conservative place, and I didn't think it would mesh well.

Lots of people from my high school went to K-State, and when I was still in high school, I never experienced such direct racism. In fact, I have trouble finding instances where I experienced any sort of racism, subtle or obvious. I guess that makes me either extremely lucky, or extremely oblivious. Sure, there were many closed-minded people, and some of them were probably secretly racist, but it was honestly not something I thought about a lot. I found enough people who were open. I always felt like my school was a typical Kansas high school - not in a particularly affluent or particularly poor neighborhood, but in fact, about as mediocre and non-remarkable as you can get. My family originally lived in New York City, and moved my siblings and me to Kansas in part so that we would have a better chance at success, and because my mother's family had grown up there. And indeed, it was an environment in which I was able to thrive.

However, this has obviously not been the case for you, and I'm very sorry that you had to go through this in a state that I to some degree still call home (even though I wouldn't want to live there in my adult life, for unrelated reasons). Not all Kansans are like that; there is a growing population of people who are more open-minded, and this can be seen in places like KU, and in things such as the fact that we've had a democratic governor for the past several years. Compared to some other states that have previously had a reputation for closed-mindedness, I think that Kansas is far in the road to joining the 21st century. Manhattan, Kansas (the city in which K-State is located) is considered to be the most conservative (and therefore, the most-likely-to-be-racist) town in Kansas, so as far as Kansas goes, this is pretty much the bottom of the barrel. I say these things only to be fair to the people in Kansas who are really trying hard to catch up with some parts of the rest of the country.

But I know that this information is not necessarily useful for you. So, I would suggest, as other posters have, to just get out of there. Especially after hearing your story, I am very glad that I didn't go to K-State, and there's no reason that you should endure that. Please make every effort to go someplace where you can truly thrive. However, if for some reason this is not an option, then I would just say that K-State is a large college, and especially from my experience, I know that there are people there who are more progressive and open.

[LMNOP3037]

You need to get out of that hostile environment. There are many wonderful colleges out there (especially in the north) that encourage and nurture diversity.

[hannie27]

Add me to the 'I recommend you transfer' list. Sounds like all you've been doing is fighting to move ahead in your life, go get yourself somewhere that people will see and appreciate it. Write this year off and move on!! You will never look back with regret for doing so.

I am a mom of a HS student. Our public HS is diverse in a sneaky way -- not as obvious on the surface. Our diversity is mostly economic: super preppy rich/Ivy league-bound kids, and than many 'country' families where it's rare a member has made it to college. In the mix are "some" black families, and they,too, run the economic diversity gamut.

I have recently been involved in a sport where the problems and underlying tensions were exposed and brought to the surface. Racism, reverse-racism and on and on was an ugly reality that played out on the sports team.

Here's what I learned: we all have a LONG, LONG way to go. I believe everything the OP put out there. Racism in my school was so close to the surface it only took a small incident to break open. But, I never really saw it until I lived it.

My goal for my D's senior year is to encourage our admin to start some serious diversity training in our schools. Maybe they have programs, but they are not enough, or not good enough. We all have to start talking about this with each other more and more and more, and it needs to happen at the HS level.

Good luck to you.

[Nester]

Dear Hannie,
The Anti-Defamation League has a special curriculum and trained people to work with schools on issues of tolerance and fighting prejudice and stereotyping. I believe that they will go into schools without cost. The telephone number of the ADL branch that serves Virginia is (202) 452-8310. If you call them, I think they will be very responsive and willing to help you.