Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Understanding race

Last week, one of my teaching assistants held extra office hours for a paper due the following week. Aside from being obsequious, I sought genuine guidance on the assignment. I sat patiently for the two students ahead of me to finish with the T.A., who were there for, presumably, the same reasons. Quarters being tight as they often are for T.A.s, I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation which transpired between one of the students and the aide.

“The terms ‘people of color’ and ‘colored people’ have two different connotations,” the T.A. explained after skimming the student’s first draft.

The student apparently used the phrases interchangeably in her paper unaware that ‘people of color’ is a term of empowerment, starkly contrasting ‘colored people,’ both a derogatory and antiquated expression. The T.A. gently admonished the student, who quickly apologized for the mistake, referring to a lack of certainty in racial phraseology. No harm done. Right?

Did I brand the student as a flagrant racist because of the mix up? No. I have no doubt that it was an innocuous error. However, I found the ignorance on display cause for reflection.

I immediately thought back to the front page story the Collegian printed last week about affirmative action ending in the college admissions process nationwide. The article cited a recent study conducted by Jessica Howell, an economics professor at California State University, Sacramento. Here were some of Howell’s findings: race-neutral college admissions standards would cause a two to four percent decline in the enrollment of blacks and Latinos; among the top ranking universities, that figure more than doubles.

A similar study appeared in the Boston Globe this week which found Asians are statistically held to higher standards in terms of SAT scores when applying to colleges.

Next time you’re walking to class take a good look around. You’ll see that UMass can’t afford a depletion in its already lean minority constituency.

Affirmative action has been a hot button issue since its inception during World War II. It has affected the racial make-up of numerous institutions from the federal government to public transportation and schools.

UMass enrolled 863 African American students during the fall 2009-2010 academic year. It enrolled 770 during the academic year a decade prior. That is an average growth rate of fewer than ten black students per year enrolled. Those figures don’t strike me as being particularly “affirmative.”

I bring these statistics to your attention, not to single out UMass. The university finds itself in abundant company. So what does all this have to do with the student who misused ‘colored people?’

I’m going to make a bold statement: white people, my experience has led me to conclude, do not often socially integrate with people of color. I include myself in this regard. Think of the people with whom you eat your meals, who your roommate is, who you sit next to in class, who your professors are, who the people are holding the red Solo cups beside you in your Facebook pictures. We surround ourselves with the people with whom we most closely identify. This is true for most everyone.

In addition, white people aren’t forced to think about skin color: White is white. It is the societal referent on which everyone is based. It won’t factor into purchasing a car, or taking out a loan, renting an apartment, or applying for a job. Quite frankly, the difference between ‘people of color’ and ‘colored people’ is unimportant to many whites.

When I think of the term “colored people,” I think of the famous (or should I say infamous) photo from the Jim Crow era depicting a black man drinking from a dingy “colored” water fountain. Next to it stands a well-maintained “white” fountain. Within the black community, “colored people,” is still sometimes used as a term of endearment. Many oppressed groups have “taken back” words and phrases which pejoratively refer to them and have breathed new life into them, so to speak. Thus, expressions such as “colored people” can possess esoteric meaning when applied within the context of the black community. But outside of that realm the term reverts to its racist roots. 

Don’t be “that kid.” The student I witnessed last week in the T.A.’s office was embarrassed by the semantic mistake. But I’m quite sure the student isn’t the only person on campus who’s erred in that manner. Schools need to do more to promote a culture of cognizance and hold students to a high standard. Just as we are taught to use MLA format when writing scholarly papers, or use pencils in math, we should be inculcated with the principle that a preposition can make all the difference in the world. Colleges need to increase minority enrollment. How can they even consider “reversing” affirmative action when it hasn’t had the chance to kick in?

Shane Cronin is a Collegian columnist. He can be reached at [email protected].

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  • S

    ShaneFeb 12, 2010 at 1:00 am

    Ed: First, I too thought affirmative action started under Nixon, however, I did a bit of research and discovered it started under FDR. Secondly, yes, I am aware of the conflict in the Northern Ireland. Although I did not explicitly state so, the article speaks specifically to the racial situation in the U.S. Thirdly, race is clearly a complex issue. By no means did my editorial cover all the bases. Unfortunately I only have 800 words to make my case.

    Muad’dib: I am aware that white college applicants have a hugh advantage over all people of color at being accepted to college. The article I referenced in the Globe attests to the unfair treatment Asian applicants suffer at the hands of admissions offices nationwide.

    Thank you both for your spirited interest,
    Shane

    Reply
  • M

    muad'dibFeb 11, 2010 at 3:14 pm

    You know why Asians need a higher GPA to get into university than whites? Because the universities are operating affirmative action *for white people*. If they actually switched to meritocratic admissions, they’d have schools full of East Asians, Indians, and Middle-Easterners alongside minorities of whites, blacks, and Latinos!

    And *that* is why affirmative action needs to go. It runs on pity for “oppressed” races, even while minorities can *beat* whites through hard work and study.

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  • E

    EdFeb 11, 2010 at 4:42 am

    First, Affirmative Action (or as some call it, “Affirmative Retribution” did NOT start during WWII. Try 30 years later, and by President Richard Millhouse Nixon, who did as much damage to the Republican Party as Obama is doing to the Democrat Party.

    Second, as to “white is white”, are you at all familiar with what is going on in Northern Ireland? People of Irish ancestry and people of Scottish ancestry blowing things up and killing each other. Ever hear the distain and almost hatred between the UM employees of Polish ancestry and those of Irish ancestry?

    Third, ever hear of a man named Martin Luther King Jr? Ever hear of his “dream”? Ever think that the girl might truly have been a bigot until being taught (by the TA) to be one?

    Fourth, ever notice how there are two black women for every black male in college? Would you be willing to advocate for affirmative action for black MEN only? How about for men of any color only?

    If you are not willing to argue that the admissions standards for men should be lower than the admission standards for women, even though we can clearly see that social justice would demand such an affirmative act, then how can you demand doing likewise in any other capacity?

    Well????

    Reply