Dear editor,
I read your editorial regarding the suspension of the two UT football players titled “Stop the sexual assault shame,” and I was deeply moved by it. I commend you. It’s about time that someone stood up and said what needed to be said. Sometimes we think it, but rarely do we ever voice our thoughts out loud.
That’s actually why I am writing this letter. In light of recent events with the grand jury decision in Ferguson, social media has caught fire. Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, you name it — but especially Yik Yak. This new anonymous sharing app has opened my eyes to the pure ignorance and racism our campus is suffocating in.
Just from scrolling down the feed, there are countless yaks that range from supporting Darren Wilson to asking why “black people are so lazy” to condemning affirmative action to making black jokes. It’s appalling and gross to say the least.
I always felt that this campus was somewhat segregated, but this app has really shined the light on how a majority of my “fellow Vols” really feel. It was not just ignorance but pure malice and hate. Rarely do I allow racist remarks to get to me. I’ve heard it all, the racism for being black, the prejudice for being Muslim, the sexism for being a woman, but for some reason, reading those remarks deeply affected me.
When I first started at UT as a freshman, I was excited to be studying at a “diverse and progressive institution.” It was only later that I realized that the atmosphere on campus was nothing like the pictures I saw on the UT homepage. Let’s be real, most people here stick with the people they know and the people like them.
Now, as a senior, I scrolled down the feed on my phone, and I attempted to grasp or understand why I was reading, what I was reading. The first time I discussed racism at UT was in my elective race and ethnicity class, that’s it.
When it comes to racism, we whisper it quietly because “we don’t want to bring up the race card,” and we pretend like it’s not still a problem. Racism is real. Racism is a problem at UT.
Without informed dialogue and discussion about an issue that plagues all of us, we create a breeding ground for ignorance and hate that yields comments like the ones on the ever popular app Yik Yak. When voicing my frustration to my peers, some advised me to “just ignore it.”
Ignoring it is part of the problem. Not writing about it is part of the problem. Pretending it doesn’t exist is part of the problem. Too often when racism is discussed, there is an “us” and “them” mentality. People need to realize that racism is not just a black issue. It is a campus wide issue, a national issue.
It is my hope that through this letter, maybe we can start this much needed conversation. I’m willing if you are. #BlackLivesMatter #GoVols
Hawa Henderson is a senior microbiology and Africana Studies. She can be reached at [email protected].
