As a native to the island of Barbados, there are many differences between the atmospheres of my homeland and Houghton. I come from a nation which speaks up and acts on the issues and the difficulties that are built into our schools, workplaces and across the country. At Houghton, I have found the process to be a bit different. We discuss, we listen, and we move on. This passive way of dealing with situations has never satisfied me because the majority of the time, the crucial step of acting is left out. I find, as it relates to our minority students, the “action” step is never an option.
When I chose to attend Houghton, I was excited and ready to explore, engage, and learn alongside other God-loving students. Houghton has been my home for the last four years. It has been a place where I have grown in my Christian faith, a place where I have had many opportunities to broaden my work experience, a place I met many cool people that I now call friends, and this list goes on and on. However, Houghton has failed to fulfill some crucial things for me and for the wider community of minorities on campus, and the lack of those things have been keenly felt. As a senior, I have decided to share my story as a minority international black student before I leave.
My story begins my freshman year when I lived in Roth on 4th West. It was clear to see that I was the only minority student on my floor, so I knew from the beginning if any racial slurs or incidents occurred, I would either have to go straight to my RA for help or deal with the issue myself. Sadly, the lack of my RA’s presence on my floor led to me doing the latter in all incidents. Whenever I reached out to my RA, he was always busy or was just not around.
The first incident was probably the hardest and longest I had to deal with. There was a transfer student on my floor who frequently occupied the lounge playing video games. He constantly used disgusting language. In spite of this, I was determined to not let his words affect my dorm experience. However, one day he blurted out the N-word. I wondered who he was talking to. I jumped out of my room and went to the lounge to see who he was addressing. However, much to my surprise, there was no one there, so I went back to my room.
Over the next couple of weeks, he continuously played video games with friends in the lounge and he kept blurting out the N-word. After a while, I reported it to my RA and told him that, firstly, a white man should not be using this word, and that second, as a black male I do not use this word in my vocabulary. It is degrading and should not be the part of anyone’s vocabulary. My RA spoke to him, but nothing changed. He began using the word more and more, and it frustrated me. After a few weeks I’d had enough. I marched into the lounge and shouted at him. It was a good five minute rant about the origin of that word, and why he or anyone on my floor shouldn’t use it. By the end of this rant my RA was behind me. All he muttered was, “Yes, what Travis said.” After that I went back to my room and balled my eyes out. I couldn’t believe that I had to deal with such an issue by myself. Furthermore, my RA never came around and spoke with me to see how I was doing. After this incident I never heard the word again on my floor, for that semester, anyway. However, he continued saying it, and I had to continually get up and silence him.
I share this story to say that I do not believe any freshman, or student, should have to resolve an issue like this on their own. It should be up to the RA or the RD to do so. Whenever I think back on this incident, I always remember asking myself if I made the right decision by coming to Houghton. This incident will forever be in my memory, and I believe Houghton needs to increase RA training as it relates to diversity and conflicts management.
During the spring of my freshman year, Black Heritage Club put up a display of black students in the basement of the Campus Center during the month of February. The project was entitled “Shades of Black,” and included the story of many of the black students on campus. It was displayed for other students to read and to learn more about the black and African American students on campus. However, an alum of the college saw it differently and decided to create paper chains to hang over the display and also to put the word “light” over “black”, basically degrading our hard work. He said that he was trying to make a joke at the newly released book “50 Shades of Grey”. He later confessed he could see how the paper chains could be seen as reminiscent of slavery, but went through with it anyways. This incident on campus sparked a lot of conversations and arguments, and many promises were made by the administration to do more for minorities on campus. Sadly, most of those promises have not been kept. We have always been told to “dream big” and to “think big,” but there was never any action to go along with those dreams. At the time, I expected for the college to shut down all classes and hold an immediate chapel about the incident. However, I am from a different culture and my expectations might seem a bit far off. The administration moved too slow, and essentially made myself and most of the black students on campus feel unwelcome. This incident, as well as the others I have mentioned, truly took a toll on me as a student. I do not think the campus truly did justice to the matter. In addition, I hope that the college leaders will take my story into consideration in hope of not seeing a repeat of the incidents I was faced with during my time here.
Therefore, I must say that this campus is in great need for a Diversity Coordinator. This position should probably be held by someone who is a minority, someone who has felt into or has personally lived the pain of most minority students. This person would be the facilitator and the bridge between students and the administration. This position will allow for such a person to act on the many things this campus needs if they want to keep diversity on this campus. The Diversity Coordinator would be a safe person for minority students and other students as well to go to and vent about their problems when they feel they are being treated or threatened unjustly. This coordinator will be an asset to Houghton and this position needs to be made. Over my four years here at Houghton, one curve ball that has always been thrown at us students is that our budget is tight. But I strongly believe that if we cannot make room or find money for a Diversity Coordinator, we must be spending and budgeting our money in the wrong way. Therefore, I hope that the College will hear my words and story, and take the time to listen to the minority, without waiting for the majority to act.