"Why do you think the black kids all sit together?" I cringed at my friend Sam's question. Sam and I roomed together one summer. He is a student at Vanderbilt. "Consider that question from a different angle," I responded. "Isn't it possible that they wonder why all the white kids sit together?"
Sam and I had a number of similar conversations throughout the summer. That fall, he e-mailed me that our discussions led him to register for two classes about race. By the middle of the semester he joined a volunteer program where students "adopt" a prison inmate and spend time with them each week in their cell. Sam and the inmate, who was black, grew close during their weekly visits. Gradually, Sam's understanding of the black experience in America changed. Today he speaks openly about what he calls his "racial journey" which led him to understand concepts like "the invisibility of privilege." "My mind was opened up to the other side of America," he says.
The best advice I received as a freshman was to attend a meeting or become a member of a culture club of which I am not a member. I took the challenge and though I can't claim to be a member of the Vietnamese Club or Iranian Culture Society, I profited from the experience of going to their meetings. I may never understand what its like to be black, but I've been to a Pan-African Alliance meeting.
Experiencing, even briefly, life as the only person of my race in a room is a feeling every white person should know. As a straight male I may be unable to know life as a homosexual, but I've been to a Tufts Transgendered, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Collective meeting and heard from those who do. The more we surround ourselves with those different from us, the easier it becomes to see how similar we are. Since race is such a sensitive subject, there are bound to be those who argue against the benefits of attending a club meeting whose culture or race is not your own.
Some argue that cultural groups only contribute to the divisions that separate us. In response, one must consider students who arrive at Tufts from communities of very different racial or cultural makeup than Tufts offers. Cultural clubs offer a chance to connect with a community more like home for such students. Others claim that simply attending a meeting is a superficial way to bring together our racial and cultural differences.
Though I agree with this argument, I also believe that the road to racial and cultural understanding is forged by small steps and an open, proactive attitude. Attending a meeting of a club of which you are not a member is one of numerous proactive efforts one can make. To anyone who writes off the challenge as ridiculous or worthless, I dare you to try it. Those who reject the values of the challenge are generally those who could benefit most from the experience.
Tufts offers a false world where diversity is created by an admissions committee and people of different nationalities, religions, and races are brought together. The world beyond the Hill is different. Beyond college campuses lies a world where people often segregate themselves according to their differences. Newton, Dorchester, and Chinatown are a few of Boston's divided pockets, but the same phenomenon exists in each of our nation's cities.
This may be a natural way that we surround ourselves with those who have a similar history, eat similar foods, and share similar values, but segregation poses a threat to the American experiment as it allows ignorance to sprout. Riots in Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict in 1992, and Crown Heights in 1991 show how destructive divided communities can become.
Despite the influence that communities or "society" has over levels of tolerance, individuals are ultimately responsible. Increasing tolerance is not necessarily about converting Ku Klux Klan members to the Rainbow Coalition. It is an ongoing process inside each of us that requires constant attention. Unless we seek out opportunities and individuals that expand our understanding of those of different races and cultures, we are bound to let the narrow halls of ignorance limit our path.
In my opinion, Sam was not racist, he simply grew up with a certain perspective and had never been challenged to think beyond it. To his credit, however, he dared to explore issues from new angles and expose himself to concepts other than those he acquired growing up. Sam made a conscious decision and, as a result, underwent a transformation. There is no place like college to undergo such changes and those who do not seek out opportunities and ideas that challenge their understandings miss out on college's greatest potential.
