BASED on the public attention the issue of racism has gotten in the past two and a half years I have been here, at first glance one might compare the University community to a relapsing alcoholic. Having conquered their most recent unpleasant outburst with public rallies and black ribbons, everyone assumes the community has been cured and goes about their business. They are then shocked and dismayed when, only a few months later, another heinous incident explodes onto the public scene, and the cycle repeats itself.
Over the past two semesters the issue received very little attention. But according to the Office of the Dean of Student's Bias Reporting Web site, over that same period 64 incidences of bias were reported. Add to that the untold numbers of minority students who didn't feel comfortable coming forward about the discrimination they encountered, and you begin to realize that racism does not really leave Grounds between the public episodes. It is always there, it always has been, and in some form or another it always will be.
Therein lies the problem with many of the ways we've tried to deal with racism in our community. Rather than trying to cope with the problem, we keep trying to cure it in one fell swoop. Thus, after a recent public racial incident it was refreshing to see members of Student Council designing a policy that would confront racism in the long term.
Last week the Student Council Diversity Initiatives Committee introduced a bill before Council's representative body that would establish a "Pledge Against Prejudice" that students would have the option of signing every spring semester, an effort primarily targeted towards first years. As Diversity Initiatives Co-Chair Ryan McElveen explained in an interview, "The pledge will provide a way for first years finding their place to reflect on the scope of the diversity present in our community."
He said that while the University does focus on issues of race during orientation for incoming first years, their timing makes these programs of limited use. "They have all these diversity events that they throw at you at orientation before students have had the time to gauge the dynamic of the community," he commented. For students who have not come from diverse high schools or communities, all the talk about upholding diversity rings rather hollow. And while orientation programs may at least make students aware of some of the race issues present, they certainly do not inoculate them for all four years.
That is where the diversity pledge is designed to fit in. The legislation calls for the "distribution and collection of pledges at a public event" every January starting next year, with the initial pledging event to occur this April. McElveen said that according to the 2004 Enrolled Student Survey, 55 percent of racial incidents reported in 2006 were committed against first years, so it's quite likely that many of the offenses are also committed by first years. It makes sense to get first years thinking about race and diversity at this point in the year, when they have been here long enough to experience living in a diverse community but perhaps have not thought much about the kind of respect they owe their fellow students.
Obviously, an optional pledge is not designed to cure or eradicate racism, but that works to its advantage. It brings the issue to students' attention at a time when they are normally concerned with other matters, and it provides them with a chance to think about how they treat other students and make a public commitment to uphold the standards of a decent society. This opportunity for reflection, McElveen says, forms the core of the proposal. "At the very least, it's going through their head the minute they're signing it, and that's better than nothing."
Much better, in fact. By designing a pledge that is administered not only once but annually, the Diversity Initiatives committee created a mechanism that keeps our community conscious of issues of race and prejudice in a way that public rallies and other short term but large scale measures cannot. Even if students do not sign the pledge every year, they will be reminded of the commitment they've already made. That is not to say public demonstrations of solidarity following racial incidents are not important. They send a strong, if short lived, message that our community will not tolerate such behavior. But the committee has crafted a strong proposal to address the roots of the problem over the long term, and for that they deserve both the approval of Student Council and the gratitude of the community.
A.J. Kornblith is Opinion Editor for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at akornblith@cavalierdaily.com.
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