Campus Event : Microaggressions Student Panel

The panel presented many different viewpoints about personal narratives that each student faced. I believe the event was necessary because it opened up the conversation, not only for students of color but for their potential allies as well. They brought up the issues that they, as students, experience in Davidson and even issues which arise for faculty of color as well. Faculty of color tend to take on an additional role as a form of support or advocate for students of color, aside from their official positions within the school.

Some topics made me feel small, upset and sad due to the severity and emotional connections to each of them. Although I’ve only been in the state for a short while I can see vastly different attitudes regarding race, compared to my home in California. It’s scary to think that there are some faculty who continuously single out students of color. Also, it’s hard to see how some students manage when they have issues with another student and the professor may not get involved at all nor advocate for the student. It’s a sensitive topic, but students of color experience these levels of discomfort constantly within a predominantly white institution and if their allies could become more involved in these situations and even advocate for those students of color even when they aren’t present; I believe it’s a step in the right direction.

This panel included many backgrounds however there was a comment mentioned anonymously saying that there was no LatinX representation, I wondered the same thing. Throughout my first semester at Davidson, I could see that the LatinX community is a minority marginalized group. Often when we have our talks about race and microaggressions much of the focus is on issues regarding the black community. I understand the need to address these issues, but at the same time, there must be room for all races to be supported in these ways. Since many of these issues go undetected.