The moment I heard a TA say ‘There is no racism at Cornell’

As he said those words, my heart raced, my head spun and my anger rose.

It was as if there was a flash of fire that ran through me, and I could not believe the words that I just heard. I could no longer focus on the science in front of me.

On the other side of divide I had heard the words of one of my teaching assistants: “There is no racism at Cornell.”

This was the person whom I trusted to teach me the science to help save lives. However, this was also the person who said those heavy words.

As I sat there taking my science exam, I also wanted to explode. But I didn’t ….. because I was afraid of being labeled as the stereotype.

The stereotype that pictured me as the loud angry black woman who added nothing more to society than noise. So I sat there in silence and cowardice until his fellow TA corrected him.

His colleague responded, “No matter where you are, there is always racism.”

I could breathe again and tried to focus back on my science. The purpose of being a student at Cornell was to succeed in life, so I questioned whether it was right to focus on my academics but not the feelings buried within.

More questions started to flood my mind a few days later. What if another TA was not there to correct the first TA’s statement? Would the first TA continue to question the reason people of color were protesting?

Would he then wonder about the purpose of minority organizations such as the Black Students United? Would he continue to question the merit of the protests at Ithaca College?

An epiphany struck my mind: He was a teaching assistant for an important science course. He held responsibility in aiding the foundations of medicine within tomorrow’s scholars, but he could not see the racism on campus.

He did not notice the countless number of micro regressions that we as students of color faced. But he did play an avid role in my education, and was employed as an undergraduate teaching assistant at Cornell.

Cornell has failed at its motto “any student any study,” if it does not take a larger role in diversity inclusion. There should not be a student on our campus that says the words “There is no racism at Cornell,” if Cornell truly stands with diversity.

Commencement

We have a few diversity initiatives on campus, but are they truly as effective as they should be? Why are the diversity resource centers underfunded and understaffed? Why must all students pass the swim test, but not take classes that truly teaches them about diversity on campus?

To clarify, I am not undervaluing the classes that currently count as the diversity requirement. But many of them do not support the campus progressive for diversity inclusion.

One in particular teaches students that we are all different, but do not have to be ashamed. It is devoted to hearing the voices of different students on campus and educating the masses about the merit of differences.

The class I am referring to is EDUC 2610: The Intergroup Dialogue Project. Yet, it is once again an example of an underappreciated, underfunded, and understaffed diversity initiative at Cornell University.

To move forward, we as a united front at Cornell must do better. We must take the time to learn about the true meaning of a diverse campus. We must realize our privilege. We must realize our oppression. And we must work together to eliminate barriers that can hurt one another.

I hope the first teaching assistant realized his white privilege after he made the statement. And I hope if a similar situation presents itself again, I will muster the courage to speak out.

I wrote this post to take one step out of the shame I have placed upon myself. I bring to light a reality on campus to hopefully move the entire Cornell community into a place where there is truly “any student any study.”