Gueve Ataie
Revised Proposal
The problem with race at Trinity College as well as many other places in the world is that many people do not recognize that there is a problem and will not speak up when they see an act of racism occur.1 On top of that people need to understand the factual advantages and disadvantages of their race in today’s society. White’s inherently have more power and privilege than African American’s because of their race while Latinos and African American’s and Latinos are still, to a certain extent, racially oppressed.2 This is a problem in today’s society and this transfers down many college communities including Trinity’s. The frat life and many social scenes on campus don’t seem to include the minority population of Trinity very much and this is a problem. There needs to be a racially equal social scene on campus which means that everyone feels comfortable integrating and joining different friend groups. In relation to that the frats, parties, and other events should make people of all races and backgrounds feel equally comfortable to take part in.
The solution to the problems regarding race at Trinity lies within different organizations on campus. PRIDE is a huge part of making minority students feel more welcome on campus but PRIDE needs some adjustments in order to be even more helpful. PRIDE needs to be a support system for minority students but at the same time not restrict them to staying attached to PRIDE because that will in turn cause the reverse effect than what is desired. Although PRIDE does welcome white students they should make it more known so that white students don’t feel uncomfortable joining. On top of all this there should be more classes on the subject of race in school so that whites do understand what the minority students are going through and realize that for the white students it is easier to fit in than for students of color2. There needs to be more effort on the schools part to get white students involved with racial diversity on campus because no matter how much PRIDE tries to make minority students feel comfortable they will never be completely at ease until they feel like they fit in with the majority of the students on campus.
1Trinity College, “Protesting Hate at Trinity College, April 2011,” College Archives – Documents (April 1, 2011): 4.
Discusses the occurrence at Trinity College last spring where there was a hate crime on a student of color and how the college campus was affected.
2Helen Fox, When race breaks out: conversations about race and racism in college classrooms (Peter Lang, 2009).
This article talks about specific races in college and how they are treated and certain possible solutions to some of the problems.