The purpose of this blog is to anonymously collect stories from current and former Colgate students about their experiences with discrimination on campus. In light of recent events on campus, it is necessary to collect these stories as a first step toward ending the silence. These stories will serve as one of the most powerful forms of evidence to enact real change on campus.
Please post stories about your personal experiences with racism, sexism, homophobia/heterosexism, religious intolerance, etc.
Instructions:
- Leave a comment to this post.
- At the end of your comment, please include your race, gender, and class year.
- Remember: Unless you choose to sign your name, posts are anonymous.
- Please respond to the poll questions
Please spread the word about the existence of this blog. Let us ensure that images like the ones displayed here are acknowledged as a part of our past, so that we can move forward into the future.
Okay, I'll be the first to post. The experience I remember the best happened my sophomore year. I was hanging out with some men on a sports team here at Colgate. We were discussing classes and one of them referred to his professor as a "Nigger". He clearly saw the terror in my eyes when that word left his mouth and he immediately apologized and explained that he said it because she was a bitch and he hated her, not because he hates black people.
ReplyDeleteMulti-Racial, Female, 2009
Being able to confront the racist person is so important. Honestly, if a racial slur was made at me, i wouldnt let this person walk away from me unless i find out what his or her name is. In high school, i knocked over a white guy's bookbag and he called me an inappropriate word. I followed right behind him arguing him as he ignored me until we walked right past the assistant principals office. I told him what had just happened and he immediately pulled the guy over. 2 class periods later, I was called into his office and there the guy was , apologizing for the racial slur. Now whether he meant it or not, it makes a difference in that the next time someone accidentally bumps into him, he'll think twice about what he might say. Confronting is key; dont let someone like this walk away from you and dont walk away from the issue, no matter HOW common it may be.
ReplyDeleteI do remember, once, I was going home and I had gotten on the cruiser. At the next stop several girls got on and some of them were yelling. They had been drinking, I don't know how much, I was sitting in the row behind them. One of them proceeded to call the bus driver a Dyke because she was going too slow. She kept repeating it. then she startled yelling that they should all burn in hell. she said some other things, but I cannot remember what exactly, and none more offensive than what she had said at first. They got off at the next stop.
ReplyDeleteWhile I am in no way minimizing the intolerance that so many people have to deal with, I feel like having the focus of this site to be people sharing stories of intolerance does not help us "move forward into the future". Why not share stories of times when someone stood up or share actions that individuals/groups/the administration can take to move toward change? Instead of having a negative focus on the past, let's join together in a proactive focus on what we can do now and in the future so events like this don't happen again.
ReplyDeleteFemale, 2011
Collecting stories from the past can be an important step toward action in the future. One of the major problems with how situations on campus are handled right now is that the administration is addressing these issues as particular incidents of hate crimes, rather than stepping back and looking at the campus culture as a whole. In addition to some ideas for new policies and ways to handle these situations, having this collection of stories will add to the case that this is a Colgate issue, not just an issue with the particular individuals who wrote these heinous things.
ReplyDeleteFemale, 2009
There have been many things I have observed (from sexism to homophobic to racism comments)happening at our institutions that I do not feel comfortable with. I've heard racists jokes and stereotypes of African Americans being disabled or less capable of doing good in school, etc. People being called "FAGS" just because of their appearance or just because. I am not happy that some of my friends don't feel comfortable with their persona and embracing who they are because we all have the need to classify a person as such and such or tend to let generalizations/prejudices control our perceptions of other people different than us.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that needs be improved is the selection of faculty members. There are several departments here where professors are very very conservative and are not willing to have the kind of dialogs we need in a liberal arts college. Some of them are not even well prepared to teach the courses they teach, and that's a major problem to me because if a professor does not care about what he/she is teaching, that will definitely affect my interest and grades on the class. In addition, there's not much diversity when we look at our "great professors." And because they are so great, I'm considering to change my major!!
When I came to Colgate, I definitely had a different perception of it. That has change a lot as I have become aware of many social issues we need to work on. Social life in college is essential to the experience I'm looking for because learning does not only happen in the classroom, it happens everywhere you go. Each day is a new experience, there's always something new you learn! However, the situation is difficult when many people are not willing to understand your background, you culture,...things that are just different!
ReplyDeleteAnd this tends to lead to social seclusion, where your peers are a limited group of students that have a connection with you. Well, it's time to get out of our comfort zone because things are not easy outside the Colgate bubble. Do your own research, get to know what's happening in the world, interact with people of different religious groups, ethnicity, backgrounds, etc. You are not going to die, but to learn things you would not have been exposed to otherwise. I remember one day someone heard me speaking Spanish on the phone, and the guys comes after and asks me, are you Mexican? and I was not offended, but I was in shock to know that this person didn't know that there's a whole continent (Latin America) that speaks Spanish, not to mention Spain in Europe (although they speak Castilian Spanish).
And by the way, do not make generalizations of people based on their skin color because let me remind you that during European colonization, many people were conquered which then resulted in a mix of races. For example, in Latin America there were mixes of Indigenous w/ European, Indigenous w/ Africans, European w/ Africans, etc. So the issue is not just black and white, it's more complex than that...and I invite you to research these things and as critical thinkers analyze the many stereotypes that tend to control our mindsets.
Thanks,
Class 2011
I have found that some of the best class discussions have been in classes where the students have been liberal and the professor conservative. While none of the professors have changed my opinion on the topics discussed, it has offered me insight on controversial topics. I have gone from "how can anyone possible think that way/be a conservative" to understanding the other side. To me, thats the point of a liberal arts college.
ReplyDeleteThere is no point in sitting around and debating a topic everyone agrees on. In such cases its not a debate, it is the equivalent of a mental circle jerk. So firing a professor just because he is not liberal really does nothing for our student body.
Male, mixed, 21, senior
I have a story to contribute that has to deal with a more subtle form of racism that may go on a lot in classes or at lectures and larger discussions on campus. While many of you may not understand how exactly this may play into racial discrimination on campus, I'd just like you to be open to interpreting this as such and also to think about situations in which a similar thing may have happened somewhere that you have been.
ReplyDeleteI am a female student of color and was apart of a panel discussion a while back. With me on the panel were several other students of color who were women, as well as a couple of white male students. We each had a chance to present our particular views on the subject and afterward, the audience asked questions to anyone that they wanted on the panel. All of the questions asked were directed towards the two white males on the panel. If one of the people of color did respond, they usually tried to get a word in after the white students spoke. Sometimes, the white students on the panel spoke and before anyone else on the panel had a chance to address the question, another person was called on to bring up a different topic.
While none of this was intentional, this is an example of a different image of racism that few may notice but that is definitely ingrained, particularly in that type of a setting.
Black, Female '09
My name is Max Weiss, I’m Caucasian and I am a member of the Class of 2011
ReplyDeleteI will never forget the night of November 4th, 2008 for as long as I will live. I will never forget where I was, whom I was with or how good I felt when I heard Anderson Cooper say, “CNN projects Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States.” That was a moment of personal pride for I had spent the second semester of my freshmen year, my entire summer, and this past fall helping the Campaign for Change. I let my grades suffer and spent my vacation working long hours for no pay to make sure that Barack Obama would be our next President. I was also very proud of my country because before the afternoon of November 4th, 2008 I feared that my countrymen would succumb to the “Bradley Effect” and validate the racist and xenophobic attacks from the Republican Party. But when I was phone-banking that afternoon, I heard person after person tell me “I already voted and I voted for Barack Obama.” On November 4th Americans said no to the failed policies of the last eight years and to the campaign tactics that seek to divide us and “Yes We Can” to Barack Obama because of the content of his character, and no the color of his skin.
Now, there are other reasons why I will never forget this time in my life and they are not worth celebrating. In my mind, this moment will be forever marred by the intolerance of my peers and my pangs of guilt for not standing up to racism when I was confronted with it. For those who do not know me, I am senator on SGA, and a leader of Colgate’s Amnesty International club and our College Democrats organization. I organized meetings, voter registration activities, efforts to get students absentee ballots, phone-banks for Barack Obama, and canvassing trips to Scranton, Pennsylvania. In doing this, I took on the responsibility to represent and defend my candidate. I would take questions and listen to comments from anyone who approached me respectfully, I went on the WRCU show ACCESS to discuss Barack Obama, and wrote articles for the Maroon-News. I regret that I did not engage those who approached me with malice. I want to tell you that some students offered criticisms of Barack Obama, criticisms that had little to do with his political positions. When these people confronted me, I did the same thing that I did in Philadelphia last summer when I was confronted with more virulent attacks: I ignored them. The difference is that I am a proud member of the Colgate community and the people around me are not just voters, they are my peers. At the time, I did not think it was worth the effort to confront these people because they seemed to have already made up their minds. The incidents of racial intolerance that have transpired on campus around the election have proved that I was wrong in my decision. I was wrong to believe that their racist views were insignificant because they are hurtful and they have hurt so many students on this campus. And I was wrong to assume that I could not help change their minds. After all, over the course of the presidential campaign many people did, and WE elected Barack Obama.
Going forward we must vow to never forget what happened. As evident by all of our experiences, this is not the first time Colgate has been faced with intolerance. We have seen such acts not just against African Americans, but also against homosexuals, women, and other groups. This can be a defining moment for Colgate. Let us to do something that really changes the social fabric of our campus and helps to root out intolerance from our community. There are many great proposals being considered for how we should meet these challenges but I would like to propose another. We should make 11/5 an annual day of remembrance and observance at Colgate. Yes we already have many important and successful events that promote tolerance for all cultures and awareness for social injustice. However, this is different because the presidential election of 2008 catalyzed individuals to vandalize a bathroom of Alumni Hall with threatening racist messages. We must never forget and tell all of the future generations of Colgate students that when we woke up on 11/5/2008 we had elected multi-racial man to be our President, an indication of how far we had come towards realizing Dr. King’s dream, and that we saw hateful graffiti, a reminder that there is still work to be done.
at the end of the first paragraph I meant "not to the color of his skin" and not "no"
ReplyDeleteI was channeling MLK. that was a typo and not a Freudian slip
sorry it's late and I can't sleep
I think the problem of homophobia on campus is very underplayed. I've heard so many people call things "gay" when they mean "stupid." It may just be a word, but people don't stop to think about what they're saying when they use it in that context. I make it a point to ask people not to use "gay" in that context, but I'm almost always met with excuses of why it's ok to say it. The worst was when someone told me that it was ok to call something "faggy" because they had a gay friend. Furthermore, they tried to convince me that since they've used the words their whole lives, they shouldn't have to change. So am I allowed to call people nigger/kike/dyke/spic just because I'm friends with a black, a jew, a lesbian and a latino? That logic is completely unreasonable and it disgusts me that someone at Colgate, a top liberal arts university, could be that closed minded.
ReplyDeleteWhite, Female, 2010
I sincerely hope that the individuals who had the audacity (and simultaneous cowardess) to write those hateful words on a bathroom wall are realizing that the space for them on this campus is as small and narrow as their minds.
ReplyDeleteI sincerely hope that this message of tolerance, inclusivity, solidarity, and sensitivity transcends the boundaries of racism and grows to include homophobia, sexism, and religious descrimination as well.
And I sincerely hope that this call to action reaches far beyond what little time I have left on this campus.
Kate Hollerbush '09
I refuse to believe that a Colgate student could make such spelling errors, even when drunk! ;-) But given the stories above, I know it's possible that someone made the errors on purpose to make it look like kids from town or staff, etc. might have done it. I'm glad that 'Gate is taking it seriously as its a serious issue. I hope it is well-publicized in Hamilton as well in case it was someone from town who did it. I'm sure Colgate has its share of racism, but the extreme form shown by this graffiti is luckily only a tiny percentage of that.
ReplyDeleteI encourage everyone not to let this incident spoil their celebration in the wake of a great victory by Obama. In the spirit of Obama I hope that the silver lining will be a frank and respectful dialogue about race on campus, and among alumni (it has already in my circle) because even though this incident doesn't represent the sentiment of colgate students, there is always room for improvement.
White, male, 1982
I am lucky enough to not have a personal negative experience with racism to share, but I think it is interesting to look at those polls and see that racism isn't the only prejudice or ignorance we are dealing with on campus. Sexism is way up there- and I find that a lot of it is so subtle that I can't pick a particular incident of a sexist comment. Women on this campus are disrespected in "joking" ways very often. I often find that my intelligence is not valued as much because I am female, and my opinions viewed as wrong because of my gender. I agree with a poster above that this is an important opportunity to address all sorts of ignorance and intolerance on campus.
ReplyDeleteI was walking down Broad Street one time on my way to a party, minding my own business.
ReplyDeleteA car of white males suddenly passed by and shouted, "Spic!!"
I felt so offended and powerless.
Female, Latina, 2010
Can we get a poll going about how often you hear homophobic comments? "Multiple times daily" shoud be an option.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that bothered me the most was the lack of reaction by the administration when this graffiti was found. We have ONE CAMPO OFFICER investigating the issue. Excuse me if I do not feel reassured by this Ms. Chopp. This is insulting, and I feel it shows the lack of commitment by the administration to find the culprit.
ReplyDeleteLast year when an Asian student posted a "bomb threat" which was hardly a threat (more of an observation about the lack of security at our school) the reaction by the administration was quick and decisive. The few days following the incident there were multiple state troopers on campus investigating the matter. Now I ask myself, why are there no state troopers investigating the incidents that have occurred over the past week? How come when one white female student feels threatened by a seemingly harmless blog post, the school alerts every parent right away and launches a full-scale investigation? Most of our parents have no idea about these incidents of racism on campus. The entire African American population on campus is directly threatened by a statement calling to lynch them all, and there is NO REACTION BY THE ADMINISTRATION. Instead they hush it up, no press, no outside investigators.
The graffiti found in Alumni qualifies as a Federal Hate Crime under national law, as it is a direct threat to the black students on campus. This merits a federal investigation by the FBI. Somehow one Campus Safety officer investigating does not seem the proper response.
Every parent, student and alum should have been notified about these incidents, as they affect every student on this campus. Instead of a vague e-mail, the exact threats/statements should have been told to each and every person associated with Colgate University in any way.
Make no mistake, as long as the administration keeps up this stance of inaction in regard to issues of racism, no change will happen. Yes the students are the ones responsible to initiate change, but the inherent racism of the Colgate Institution needs to change, and this will not happen if the people at the top are not challenged. Their inaction in the past week must be recognized, and I hope the student task force that commences tomorrow can address this very disturbing issue.
Thanks,
Male, My Race Should Not Matter, 2010
Time to stop being "Anonymous"and stand behind what you believe in.
ReplyDeleteAm not a student of Colgate, but this behavior stinks, I am surprise people at this present age see race, I for one do not, but I think the world have come to a point where by we should allow ourselves to see the inner person in everyone, be it white, black, brown or what ever color he or she might be.
ReplyDeleteThese are troubling times, the country we love and adore is on a downwards spiral, and we should allow the best to lead as out of this mess. Even if the best is Black or a woman.
Ok, so this Saturday (Nov. 14th), the residents of Newell 18 think it's ok to host a party entitled "Gangsta's Paradise". Perfect example of the pervasive racist attitudes that are so prevalent at Colgate. This behavior is disgusting, especially coming just a few days after the solidarity event in which we all pledged to take stands against acts of racism and intolerance. I believe that perpetuating negative stereotypes against black men should be included in this pledge. Who's with me?!
ReplyDeleteWhite female, 2009
In response to the post about the party held at Newell 18, I don't think this individual has any idea who these people are and how these girls (Meg Mylan, Jessica McCarrick)stand against racist attitudes and negative stereotypes. My name is Tiana Tyeskey, a good friend of both these girls. You are under the impression that the party was called "Gangsta's Paradise" to "perpetuate negative stereotypes of black men." The party was named after a song by Coolio (the lyrics were on the invitation). Both of these girls love the song and the picture of Tupac on the invitation was actually because of what has just happened on this campus. Both of these girls love the song "Changes" by him which was played numerous times throughout the night. These girls even call their apartment the "cure" of all drama and negative stereotypes and that's why they put up a picture of Tupac; they even have a Tupac poster in their room. The party wasn't given the name to come dressed like gangstas or black men (as stereotyped in your post). It was given the name because they love the song and what both Coolio and Tupac have stood for throughout their lyrics. Both of these girls were by my side at the solidarity march this weekend and have been active in making better changes for this campus. I think pointing out individuals under assumption is not what this website is about. We should not be dividing ourselves within our community, we should be working together to understand one another. If I didn't write this post most people would think these girls are racist which is creating even more hate. Is this really creating unity? Everyone has an opinion but if we don't take the time to understand one another we will remain divided on this campus. There was a solidarity meeting and we all were given the message of unity. You clearly know where these girls live so why not take the first step towards unity and go talk to them to get a better understanding about who they are and what was meant by the name of the party, or even if you felt offended. In my opinion that's making strides towards making this campus better, not pointing them out to the rest of the campus as racist people. I know they are open to talking to whoever wrote the post or who felt offended...it's Newell 18, so stop by.
ReplyDeleteTiana Tyeskey, Black Female, 2009
Hi, my name is Meg Mylan and I am one of the residents of Newell 18.
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult to put into words how disappointing and upsetting it was to read about our party on this website as something that was offensive and "perpetuating stereotypes". At no point was that our intention. The title "Gangsta's Paradise" is the title of a song written in the 90's for the film Dangerous Minds by the rapper Coolio. (Maybe you've heard at the jug?) We used the song as the title for the party for no other reason than that it was a song. I could have titled it "Just Dance" or "Let it Rock" or "Love Generation". It is hard for me to believe that had I titled the party “Womanizer” that I would be stereotyping all white females from the south as Britney Spears-like. The picture of Tupac was in reference to the fact that my roommate and I are big fans of his and most people who know us, know that. Both Coolio and Tupac are a part of pop culture and their music, as far as I am concerned, is open to all people. I did not realize that someone would interpret my enjoyment or reference to their music or personalities as "perpetuating a stereotype". At no point in time was the intention of the party to dress up as "gangstas" (as I think the original poster may have thought) and as anyone who was there can tell you; no one did. At no point in time did I reference "black men" as gangstas in the invitation or, frankly, at any point in my life.
The interesting part about this whole thing is that all week my roommate and I have attended the solidarity events; including the unity march that took place the morning following the party. In addition, I sat with my teammates only hours before this party discussing ways that we, as team of many different types of people, could facilitate interactions at Colgate. And as I sat at the party that night it was cool to see the very diverse group of people there. There were people from various organizations, athletic teams, races, genders, and sexualities. And although it was never our plan to make this party anything more than a party - it was exciting to see such a mixed group of people having fun.
I am confident in saying that anyone who knows me or my roommates would agree that we are unlikely to ever encourage hate or intolerance and are people who actually advocate doing the opposite. I am sorry that the girl who posted felt that we were offensive in calling our party "Gangsta's Paradise". I am sorry too that I have had to defend myself on this website because my campus address was listed. If anyone has any questions/concerns about the party, my views, my roommates' views, or anything at all, I sincerely hope that you come talk to me/us. As very clearly stated, I do live in Newell 18. Email/Facebook me or come and visit. I would love nothing more than to clear up anything about what happened.
Meg Mylan, 2009
Shortly after the campus exploded with these racial issues I (a white male) was walking past the bars one night by myself and a group of 5 black students was walking past me and all of them had some white racial-epithets to sling at me and one of them even threw a punch at me which luckily just grazed my neck, I was just shocked and walked away quickly and thankfully they kept going the opposite direction. This was a completely unprovoked attack that I think people should hear about because it is without a doubt a two-way street with racism on campus and as a white male I face hate just as people of other ethnicities do
ReplyDelete