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Volume CXXXIII, Number 16 |
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Openness key to diversity
To the Editors:
At the civil discourse about incidents that took place at the Black History coffeehouse two Thursdays ago, several students of color spoke about their experience of coming to Bowdoin as a perpetual "stepping out" of their comfort zone. One of these students expressed frustration that while minority students are constantly taken outside of their comfort zone at Bowdoin, white students rarely are.
The tense events at the Pub were a result of a rare time at Bowdoin in which white students were forced to step out of their comfort zone. The students who spoke out against the coffeehouse clearly acted out of a feeling of discomfort.
Yet I don't remember, as a prospective Bowdoin student, being promised that I would never be unsettled or challenged by the Bowdoin community. In fact it seems that the essence of educational growth is being forced out of one's comfort zone every once in a while.
Perhaps we should take the first step out of our comfort zones by asking ourselves to which students Bowdoin's social scene caters. The next time you find yourself drinking at pub ight, a social house, or an off-campus house take a look around and notice which students are not present. It will quickly become clear that many of our "campuswide" social events are not inclusive of our entire student body.
If Bowdoin students are committed to diversity, they must begin to make our social scene open and attractive to all students. While white students may have to risk losing some of their precious social institutions in the process of broadening the social scene, they stand to gain so much: a richer, more interesting, and more challenging social environment.
It is only through this process of opening the social scene to the entire student body that Bowdoin will truly become diverse.
Sincerely,
Jessie Solomon-Greenbaum '04
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