looking at the pictures and hearing some of the heartbreaking responses from students of color about the racist themed party and the noose found hanging in the campus library, brought me back to when i was a student at irvine. i remember participating in rallies and workshops, trying to bring about change, trying to counter racism, sexism, and all the other forms of oppression that were so blatant on campus.
it's disheartening to see that things haven't really changed much. no matter how much work we put in.
i feel the same way about my current program. it's been six years already, and honestly, it the racial climate feels even worse. this is particularly true in my department. i had high hopes of changing things for the better so that people of color, particularly women of color, wouldn't have to go through the same things that i did. but it seems that the same cycles keep repeating. that the privileged stay privileged and the marginalized stay marginalized. actually, i feel like it's gotten worse. it's not so easy to speak out right now. speaking out against the obvious injustices in our department only targets us as deviants.
i have a lot more to say - but i'll leave it for some other time when i can write more coherently.
from malate,
with love.
p.s. northern samar is still on tsunami watch. i'm hoping it'll just be a false alarm, like in hawai'i.
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