Students debated both the merits and shortcomings of diversity at Tufts in a heated forum at Hillel on Monday while a panel of seven students spoke on their college experiences with race and identity. With a handful of administrators in attendance, the "Discussion about Race at Tufts" was described by junior Rachel Jones as the "first step" towards easing racial tension on campus.
Jones, a member of the liberal student magazine Radix and an organizer of the event, said the discussion was important as a launching point for solving problems of racial divide. The sentiment shared by many in attendance was that Tufts is cosmetically diverse but internally segregated.
"Our community has become divided. We want to work to resolve that," Jones said, emphasizing that "when part of our community is wrong, we're all wrong." She and junior Lou Esparza, the event's other coordinator, said that the risks taken by participants in "talking about these issues outside of their own communities" were impressive.
The evening began with slam poetry by Candace Gomez and Chinua Thelwell, the co-editors of Onyx, Tufts' black literary magazine.
Student panelists from a range of backgrounds then addressed the audience. The speakers
were passionate and sometimes emotional in their short presentations, and many drew murmurs of agreement and applause from the crowd.
Senior Kat Cheung, the opening panelist, talked about her participation with the Tufts Community Union Senate's Culture, Ethnicity and Community Affairs (CECA) committee, where she said she was identified as the "queer voice" on the Senate. According to Cheung, most people think that "queer means white."
"Race and sexual orientation are not often talked about" together, Cheung said. Although she has always identified herself as a representative of the gay community, Cheung, who is biracial, said she has only recently begun to identify herself as a person of color.
Senior Mike Ferenczy took a different line from most panelists, and while he admitted to being ignorant of racial issues before coming to college, said he couldn't understand the anger expressed some friends when he began writing for The Primary Source, Tufts' conservative journal.
Ferenczy said. He was frustrated by what he said was a lack of respect for straight white voices on campus.
"Somehow, being a white straight male makes you less legitimate, and [people think] you can't relate to the human race. That's unacceptable - everyone can empathize. You can't live someone else's life, but we've all felt pain or been ridiculed," Ferenczy said.
Senior Alwin Jones, who spoke later, said that subtle racism permeates the campus atmosphere and is pointed more at minorities. Jones, originally from Guyana, cited the typecasting of minorities in classes and said that he has been told repeatedly by various English professors that he is "lyrical" and "rhythmic," and that his "work on paper is not as good as [his] performance [of his work]."
Minority groups are unfairly criticized for living or hanging out together, Jones said. "No one asks DTD, 'Why are you living together?'" he said, drawing chuckles from the crowd. This later drew a comment from audience member and DTD president Dan Kramer, who said there are "a lot of stereotypes about my house." Jones responded that he did not mean to imply anything about DTD in particular.
Several speakers addressed the difference between the appearance of diversity and the realities of life on campus. One such student was sophomore Ariana Flores, who said that segregation at Tufts is visible.
"The desire to interact with other groups is there. I don't know why it doesn't happen," Flores said. Flores thinks Tufts should work on diversifying its curriculum and require students to take courses on different races and cultures.
Sophomore Nik Abraham agreed, but said the lack of interaction between culture groups is not unique to Tufts. "I hear the same comments from people at other schools," Abraham said. "Minorities are competing for the same [resources]; they're fighting for particular causes instead of working together."
Sophomore Laura Herszenhorn said she was chosen for the panel not because of her race, but because she is Jewish. She focused on "identity," saying that Jews have a "shared history and culture." Herszenhorn said she has not encountered "institutional racism, but [has noticed] racial and cultural divides" at Tufts. She thinks that issues of religious prejudice sometimes take a backseat to issues of racial prejudice.
"There are stereotypes and [there is] anti-Semitism. But somehow we [Jews] are not allowed to be upset," she said.
The administration has taken legitimate steps to counter stereotypes in the wake of Sept. 11, said senior Sarah Yamani, a panelist and the president of the Arab Students Association. She applauded the University for taking efforts to protect its Arab students, citing the fact that Tufts is one of the few Boston-area schools where no Arab students returned home. This helped produce Yamani's optimism about the future of race relations on campus.
"The beauty of America lies in the variety of its cultures, and that beauty lies here at Tufts also. Let's work together to keep it that way," Yamani said.
After the student panelists finished speaking, moderator Armand Mickune-Santos opened up the floor for discussion and questions from attendees.
Students asked questions about diversity training for faculty and followed up on Flores' ideas about mandatory classes on race.
"If a science major has to take a history class, and a history major has to take a science, then all students [should have to take classes about race] - race applies to everyone," one student said, garnering applause from the group.
Many students agreed that a skit or workshop on race should be incorporated into the freshman orientation program. One participant said that if the "Why No Means No" program can identify rape as a problem, then a program about race could raise awareness about racial tensions.
That could help combat hate crimes, which Dean of Students Bruce Reitman said he fears might not be reported because students think nothing will be done. "I urge you to report [these incidents]," he said. Reitman said that while perpetrators are rarely apprehended, there is a "usefulness" to reporting hate crimes, if only to "create dialogue" on campus.
Afterwards, organizer Rachel Jones said she was satisfied with the event and received positive responses from students in attendance.
"I was really happy with the dialogue. I felt like people talked about the issues; they weren't just glossed over," Jones said. "It was a good first step."
Jones said the event's organizers will have an evaluation meeting and discuss hosting another dialogue before the end of the semester.
"I wish the room would have been overflowing. The people who weren't there would have benefited from the discussion," Jones said.
The "Discussion about Race" was organized by Radix and Onyx, and paid for by the Dean of Students Office.
