Last weekend, several cultural groups sponsored the second annual Diversity Weekend. The weekend originated as a way to educate the campus about issues facing people of color on campus and around the world, as well as a forum for cultural groups to collaborate and share collective experiences. One of the events last weekend was a discussion entitled, “Why don’t white students attend cultural events?” While the forum did not provide a concrete answer, it took a step in addressing this important issue.
The question was first raised publicly by last spring’s Race, Culture and Ethnicity in Education (EDUC 57) class. The class put up a poster stating the question, and invited community members to respond. Respond they did. Over 100 students, mostly anonymous, wrote comments on the sheets provided. Comments ranged from thoughtful to defensive to blatantly racist to all of these things combined-which shows the complexity of these issues
About 30 students, many of them white, attended the discussion in the Cultural House on Saturday. While Assistant Dean of Students Joi Lewis, the moderator, did most of the talking, the attendance at the event showed that many people on campus care about this issue.
The cultural groups who organized this weekend should be commended for this effective event (as well as for the weekend as a whole). This forum provided a much-needed chance to follow-up on the controversy the poster created. Too often on campus students are roused to respond to something that then quickly leaves the spotlight.
The poster itself was also an effective tactic for raising discussion. Because it provided an anonymous forum, people felt comfortable expressing how they really felt. Only when people are honest can we uncover the issues that need to be addressed.
We would like to address a few of the issues that comments on the poster raised. One of the most common responses from white students was that they did not attend cultural events because they did not think they were invited. Several students wrote that the names of the events-like “Night of Blackness” and “Yellow Technicolor Tour”-specifically implied that whites were not welcome. The poster and forum themselves provide an answer to the question of whether white students are invited to cultural events-clearly, if cultural groups are asking why white students do not attend these events, than white students are invited. An event like Night of Blackness might not be focused on white students, but that does not mean that white students cannot participate, have fun, and learn something.
Several people responded to those who wrote that the event names implied exclusivity. One wrote: “It is amazing to me how the word BLACK can invoke such a negative response in people.” Another wrote: “Why can’t there be a Night of Blackness to which white people come? Do non-Scottish people feel excluded from the Scottish Country Fair?”
The poster was also filled with defensive comments from white students, such as: “I do [attend cultural events] and I resent the stereotype.” Others wrote that they did not attend because they did not have time, or because they do not attend any on-campus events. While these are legitimate comments, they miss the big picture. The question raised by the poster should not be taken as a personal attack; it should be taken as a chance to address this issue that affects our supposedly “multicultural” community.
Obviously there are some white students who attend cultural events, and no one is expected to attend everything. But these events provide a great opportunity for white students to learn more about different cultures or about issues of race and multiculturalism. If white students are not attending these events, it sends a message that most white students do not care.
Members of majority groups, especially historically dominant majority groups, always need to take the time and make the effort to listen to concerns of non-dominant peoples. Membership in a minority or oppressed group is always harder and more stressful than membership in the dominant group. That’s why those who are in the dominant group, and do not need to deal with that stress on a daily basis, need to make an extra effort to address multiculturalism in their daily lives, if that means attending cultural events, taking classes about multicultural issues or talking about issues with friends.
Several students of color wrote on the poster that they, also, did not feel comfortable attending these events, or joining cultural groups. While we do not feel qualified to address these concerns, the comments do raise more issues for discussion.
Finally, many white students wrote that they do not want to be identified by race, or they “don’t like all of these color designations.” White students should understand that they are able to ignore color because and only because they are the majority.