Why Binghamton needs #StopWhitePeople2k16

Buzzwords and phrases seem to be becoming more and more prevalent in the desire to remain relevant among young people. Social media has become bigger than the Internet itself and has moved past the computers, tablets and cell phones that seem to be the “only way to reach the youth nowadays”. That was perhaps the motive behind the name of the resident assistant training seminar “#StopWhitePeople2k16” at Binghamton University.

This popular hashtag became the title of a training program that according to the training schedule, was meant to teach RA’s about “understanding diversity, privilege, and the society we function within.” News of this seminar spread. Soon, students, alumni, and people with no connection to the school at all, were weighing in on this attempt to make the college experience more inclusive. Howard Hecht, writer for libertarian and conservative publication, The Binghamton Review, wrote: “At a public, state funded university, to potentially see racism endorsed is a frightening prospect for the future of higher education.” While I believe that more thought could have been given to the name of a school-sanctioned seminar, I do not believe that it should take away from the importance of making minority students comfortable in academic settings.

Pew Research Center released a study about college enrollment based on race/ethnicity. According to their findings, from 1993-2012, out of the 12.5 million students from ages 18-24 enrolled in college, 7.2 million were white. White students make up 61.4% of Binghamton University, which puts the school relatively high up on the diversity list. International students from 96 countries make up 10.4% of Binghamton’s population. Clearly the need for inclusive programs is there.

From my knowledge, it seems that there have been many programs dedicated to getting minorities into college. However, in my humble opinion, this mere “opening of the clubhouse door” is not enough. Just because a person has been given the opportunity to further their education, doesn’t mean that their path to success is clear and free of strife.

It is here that I must acknowledge my privilege when it comes to this issue. My multiracial background gives me a somewhat racially ambiguous appearance, making me hard to classify, try as people might. I grew up in a diverse place and went to a high school where being white made you a relative minority. Unfortunately, the honors classes that I was in were much less varied racially. In a sense, I got the best of both worlds and generally feel comfortable in all groups.

I was raised with a knowledge and appreciation of other cultures. I didn’t come to college with any fears of not being accepted for who I was. I know that that is not always the case. Perhaps it is my exposure to a plethora of cultures and traditions that makes me want to give others the opportunity to become “woke” about diverse topics that they may not have had the opportunity to be exposed to before coming to college. In my humble opinion, growing up with privilege does not inherently make you a bad person.

However, it is up to you to accept the privilege that you were born and live your life aware that not everyone was born with the same opportunities that you were. It is topics like this that the RA seminar was supposed to touch upon. This seminar, contrary to some people’s belief was not planned to start a race war complete with the college’s entire minority population storming the University Union with pitchforks and blazing torches. It is all about education and learning from one another to create a more positive, multicultural and inclusive environment.

While ‘#StopWhitePeople2k16’ could absolutely have been passed over for a less polarizing name, the need for education about diversity and privilege is paramount. We should acknowledge race where it is important in relation to inequality, but as Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie says, “Race is not biology; race is sociology. Race is not genotype; race is phenotype. Race matters because of racism. And racism is absurd because it’s about how you look. Not about the blood you have. It’s about the shade of your skin and the shape of your nose and the kink of your hair.” We should not let a social construct that was created to divide dictate an experience as pivotal as college. We should use this four years of our lives to broaden our horizons and learn new things. It may be scary, but surely the short time it took to close your textbook and learn something from someone unlike anyone else you’ve ever met in your life will have just as much of an impact.