Zach Cheema requested that Quietly Editor Eric Morales respond to his argument. Eric’s response follows Zach’s submission, below.
 

By ZACH CHEEMA

I would like to make a counterpoint to Erik Morales’ arguments that appeared in The Mac Weekly.

First, I agree that there could be more domestic students of color on campus and that the school could do more. As a domestic student of color, I understand why this is an issue. However, in my opinion, simply having a small domestic student of color population does not mean that Macalester is not “diverse.” If the number of minorities is the only way we measure diversity, then that is pretty hollow. After all, numbers are just numbers. There are other facets of the Macalester student body that reflect diversity. Macalester has a student body from (I think) all 50 states, which is impressive considering the small student population. Geography alone plays a major role in shaping character, so obviously not everyone coming to Macalester has had the same hometown experience.

Also, for a liberal arts college, there is considerable socioeconomic diversity here. I know students here who represent both the far ends of the spectrum and places in the middle. Most people (not necessarily Morales) talk about how Macalester students are spoiled, rich kids. Do you really think it’s any better at other liberal arts colleges? We can’t compare students’ socioeconomic backgrounds here to the real world, because a liberal arts college (or college itself, for that matter) isn’t the real world. We can only compare ourselves to other liberal arts colleges.

Finally, regardless of color, most students come to Macalester with an open mind, hoping for something different than high school. Most people who come here are genuinely interested in meeting different people and learning about different cultures. After all, not many colleges have as many students who go to Africa for study abroad. This attitude differs highly from A LOT of other colleges. Other colleges that I visited claimed “diversity” because of a large minority population, but there was no interaction between the groups. How can that be diverse? Also, the international students of color were much more homogeneous than at Macalester and were largely indifferent about leaving their comfort zone. Overall, I’m not saying that Macalester can’t improve in terms of diversity, but sometimes, numbers aren’t as important as mentality.
 

By ERIK MORALES

The boat is gently tossed side-to-side as it continues to stride for the horizon. Looking back, time waves from the mainland as its hands indicate that the sun will set soon. Each wave appears motionless as if it is hiding something … something that I am searching for. Why hide it? It is inevitable that it will surface to breathe; surface and unveil itself. Suddenly, there is a disturbance in the waves. Could it be? There is something…I ready the harpoon…the commotion draws closer… is it the white whale?! I toss the harpoon and…it is another student response…hmm…still no response from the administration…

Let me get this out of the way first. This space will not turn into the “Dear Angry Radical Militant Mexican” column. When I stated that I wanted a dialogue to occur, I meant for something to occur campus-wide. Talk to your professors, staff, deans and other students about your opinions. Join the Lealtad-Suzuki collectives, cultural groups or attend Soup and Substance. The only way change can occur, or solutions can be found, is if the Macalester community comes together to collectively address these issues.

I will now address Zach Cheema’s concern regarding my articles. Since “numbers are just numbers” when considering diversity, why count the amount of students here from each state or the amount of students ranging in different social classes? If we can count them, why can we not count the amount of minorities (or for this context, the lack of)? I agree that diversity is an engulfing term that extends beyond racial categories. Since Mr. Cheema claims that Macalester already has people from all 50 states and different classes, how about we focus on recruiting some Black and Tan students?

The assertion that this “isn’t the real world” confuses me. You mean to tell me that everyone who has been criticizing my articles took the red pill? Okay, I give up. Take me to Morpheous. Let me guess, Black man on campus…hmm…Janitor? Chef? Physical Plant? Security guard? Awww…it was the dishwasher in the back of Café Mac all this time. Seriously though, I can agree that this is not the real world. Where else can you find such an absence of minorities? I walk a mile to Midway and suddenly feel overrepresented.

As for the “mentality” of the campus being open-minded, I would bluntly disagree. Allow me to tell the story of Republicans that I knew when I was a first-year. I ate lunch with them daily as we conversed about various issues occurring in the United States. Relax, I am not a Republican. However, I enjoyed the dialogue. The free exchange of ideas and the arguments they produced intrigued me. Too bad it did not intrigue the campus when one Republican chalked pro-life statistics and statements around campus juxtaposing the pro-choice statements. He received threatening e-mails, phone calls and was harassed in Café Mac. The best one I heard was “Your views are not accepted here. You should leave Mac.” Keep in mind that was the best one. No wonder why all the Republicans I befriended transferred within a year. Last semester, the MacRepublicans posted flyers around campus to advertise their meetings. Within minutes, they could be found in a nearby trash can. Is this being open-minded or did I need to look that up in www.webster.com?

The waves are still and I wait. It has to come up sometime.