rir206: I wish you’d started a new thread, rather than piggybacking onto this one.
The quote from the student in your link: “More recently, over the summer I was given a general task to think about diversity at Swearer–to think about why the students who work at the Swearer Center tend to be a certain way, and how to confront the commonly held conceptions of Swearer as a place for white people who want to “do good” without thinking about structural issues. I took this on because honestly, as a person of color, I don’t think that’s what the Swearer Center is. I came to Swearer in the first place because I knew it would tackle those systemic issues. It encouraged me to think about my longevity, not just do canned food drives.”
This student is saying that there is a “commonly held conception” about Swearer – but just because outsiders believe something, doesn’t mean it’s true.
And then she says “I don’t think that’s what the Swearer Center is” – IOW, that stereotype, like many stereotypes, is wrong. In fact, she believes the center does tackle systemic issues. So your very link answers your questions.
I’m not a current student at Brown, so I can’t tell you from personal experience what happens to white students working towards social justice. I don’t have personal experience of the motivations of people who volunteer through the Swearer Center. But based on what I know about Brown, I would think that any student interested in socio-economic disparity could find a place to do that on campus. I know several current and very recent graduates who were very devoted to and passionate about political issues, and they are/were very involved (and they are not students of color). However, Brown – like many other campuses – does have an issue around what I’ll call (for lack of a better term) self-segregation. Students do tend to form affinity groups based on their color/ethnicity/background. This was an issue when I went to Brown decades ago, and is an issue today.
Your son might be interested in this: https://news.brown.edu/articles/2015/11/structural.